We Tried it: Ice Skating at Winter Beach

Our Reporter Prefers Sun and Sand, Not Sun and Ice

By Abby Baker

Everything considered, there’s no real reason to ice skate in Florida.

It’s 80° and sunny most of the time, so the Coca-Cola commercial-fueled urge to skate around a temporary ice floor is really pushing the limits of what we Floridians should attempt.

That being said, the Winter Beach Ice Rink at the St. Pete Pier is a good time. For some people.

I have zero athletic ability and no children to distract from the fact that I look like a goblin on skates, so I invited two of my model-esque, similarly family-less friends to zip around the rink for 30 minutes to see what all the hype was about.

The best part? The view of Tampa Bay – complete with palm trees – from the tented ice rink. It feels like you’re getting away with something, skating in the subtropics.

The worst part is that because the rink is made from real ice, it’s really small. Which means when some guy from Chicago shows off his Olympic-style moves and comes to a screeching stop two feet in front of you, he completely annihilates you – and everyone else clutching the wall for dear life. Said guy, more of a concept than a person, knocked me – and a small child – off our skates. The entire set up is only 4000 square feet, so we crossed paths at least 4,000 more times.

Winter Beach includes a holiday market with potential Christmas gifts such as sun hats and cacti and busking musicians playing holiday music.

If nothing else, it’s worth a visit for the guy playing “Jingle Bells” on a harmonica.