A couple local ice skating rink and a surprising winter activity to participate in off campus this winter season.
Though winter is a time to hunker down on campus, stay indoors with a good book, and treat yourself with a hot beverage, seasonal recreational activities off campus are a way to get moving during the slower months of school.
Just a half-hour drive, the Winterhawks Skating Center in Beaverton is one of the closest rinks to Forest Grove. They began operation in 1965, and today, is the main practice and development facility for a team of the Western Hockey League—the Portland Winterhawks. For beginners to advanced skaters, they host clubs, clinics, recreational leagues, skate lessons, and competitions.
General admission for open skate is $25 including skate rentals, with a group discount with over five members. They expect skaters to skate in a counter-clockwise direction, never throw snowballs, and no more than two can hold hands and skate. Check out the skate schedule on the Winterhawks Skating Center’s website.
Further is the infamous Lloyd Center Ice Rink. Known as the former training grounds for the 90s Olympic skater Tonya Harding and now housed in the ghosttown of a mall, it is an arena designed towards public skaters and is uniquely warmer than traditional rinks. They host skate lessons, broomball, birthday parties, dances, and private and public skates. General admission for public skate hours is $20. Make it down on Fridays and Saturdays to witness a DJ provide an electric ambience to your skate.
If the thought of balancing on ice with bladed shoes isn’t on the list, head to Mt. Hood on the weekend to enjoy the mountain in a controlled, cheaper way than skiing—in an inner tube. Tickets are $36 and are suggested to be bought online. Mt. Hood is also home to Cosmic Tubing, the activity which takes place after dark on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, decorated by flashing neon lights and funky music. Conveyors lift the visitors to the top of the hill, and single tubes or tubes of 4 passengers send them to the bottom to repeat until they crave a refreshing hot chocolate inside the lodge.
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