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The Ice at Canalside

The Ice at Canalside is New York State's largest outdoor ice rink, two and a half times the size of a regulation hockey surface and three times the size of the skating rink at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. Located on the new northern extension of the Commercial Slip — the site of both the Erie Canal terminus and the playing surface at the old Memorial Auditorium (a special insignia on the surface of the rink pays homage to the Buffalo Sabres' former home ice) — the Ice at Canalside opened just in time for the start of the 2014-15 skating season, and also hosts broomball, curling, and other winter pastimes. Skates and "ice bikes" are available for rent as well. In summer, the Ice at Canalside is converted to a lovely reflecting pool, with old-fashioned whipple-truss bridges crossing over the water that evoke the bygone days of the Erie Canal.

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Address: West side of Main St. between Exchange and Scott Sts.
Getting there: Metro Rail: Erie Canal Harbor
Hours: Public skate Mon-Thu 3PM-7PM, Fri 3PM-10PM, Sat 10AM-10PM, Sun noon-8PM; season runs Dec-Mar
Price: $5, children 6-12 $2, children 5 and under free
Website: canalsidebuffalo.com (opens in a new tab)

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Buffalo/Downtown, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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