Carbondale's Skating Season Started in October. The Town Rinks Are Still Waiting on the Cold.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, the ice at the Steadman Philippon Outdoor Arena on County Road 100 was busy at both ends of the day. At 9:45 a.m., Revolutions Skating Club's Saturday class was on the ice. At 5 p.m., Colorado Extreme hosted the Roaring Fork Valley's first World Girls Hockey Weekend skate. It was free, with no registration, and loaner gear was there for anyone who needed it. That was mid-October, weeks before any pond in town would hold a skater.

Meanwhile, the Town of Carbondale's ice page carried a closed notice for both of its rinks, with open-skate hours that "apply once the rink is officially open." Carbondale now has two kinds of winter ice. One kind is chilled, lit and run on a program calendar. The other is open skating run by the Town, and it depends on the weather. The Town's family rink also no longer sits on 4th Street. Which ice you get this winter depends on whether you sign up in advance or just show up with skates.

County Road 100 skates on a calendar

Colorado Extreme is a hockey nonprofit, and its Carbondale home rink is at 2340 County Road 100. The Steadman Philippon Arena opened in November 2022, according to The Aspen Times. Programs on the ice include Learn to Skate, 10UAA, 12UAA, 14U and Academy Hockey.

Colorado Extreme's own mission page says Learn to Skate is free, 6U and 8U players have no family cost, and the 10U through 18U travel programs charge subsidized fees.

The site is also getting bigger. In November 2025, Garfield County commissioners approved moving Colorado Extreme's second rink from the Rifle Fairgrounds to the Carbondale site, where it would be cut down from full size to a smaller skills rink. The Aspen Times reported that Colorado Extreme Academy CEO Steve Briere described the smaller rink as a place for goalie sessions and for 8U and 10U players, "which is the majority of the kids that are in the program starting out." Further out, founder Sheldon Wolitski told The Sopris Sun in April 2025 that the goal is to open a permanent indoor facility in September 2027.

All of this ice is organized around programs. Colorado Extreme's facilities page doesn't list a regular public skate. The October girls' skate was a one-time community event.

Figure skating arrives midvalley

That calendar is now big enough to share. Revolutions Skating Club is an Aspen-based nonprofit, and it expanded to the Steadman arena this fall. The Post Independent reported that this ended Aspen's long run as the only place in the valley with a skating program. Director Michelle Hocknell, who has coached figure skating for 42 years, told the paper the move came straight from what she heard from parents:

"From what I'm hearing from parents, they're like, 'Oh my gosh, my son or daughter has always wanted to skate, but we don't want to drive up to Aspen,' so they're really excited to have something midvalley."

Hocknell credited Wolitski with making the expansion possible by giving the club ice time at the arena. The sessions are open to all levels, ages 3 and up. Each one has a warm-up, a 30-minute group class and supervised practice. The club's 2026–27 membership page lists Carbondale on Saturdays, 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Fall Saturdays cost $99 a month, skate rentals are included, and skaters are billed monthly.

For a family in Carbondale, that puts a weekly figure skating class a few minutes down County Road 100. Before this fall, the nearest one was up valley.

The Town's ice runs on cold nights and shovels

The other kind of ice belongs to the Town, and it runs on a different set of rules. Gus Darien Arena, at 1151 County Road 100, is flooded each winter for skating, hockey and broomball. The smaller Family Ice Rink is set aside for open skating. Once it opens for the season, hours are noon to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

The Recreation Department's rink page lists the house rules:

• Sticks and pucks are not allowed on the Family Ice Rink. Hockey and broomball go to Gus Darien.
• The Family Ice Rink can't be rented.
• You skate at your own risk, and helmets and safety gear are strongly recommended.
• "Scrape it if you skate it." The Town leaves shovels at the rink so skaters can clear the surface.
• When conditions are bad, stay off the ice until the Town says it's ready.

Gus Darien is the Town rink you can rent for a group. The Town's rental form lists the full rink at $53 an hour, half the rink at $26 an hour and skate rentals at $6 a pair. To book, call the Recreation Center at 970.510.1290.

The two rinks on County Road 100 differ in almost every way that matters on a winter afternoon:

The family rink has left 4th Street

The biggest change to the Town's ice this winter is where it sits. The Recreation page says plainly that the 4th Street Plaza Ice Rink has moved to the Rodeo Ground Practice Arena.

That moves the Town's family rink away from the corner where Carbondale gathers in December. The Launchpad is at 76 S. 4th St. From Nov. 13 through Dec. 24, Carbondale Arts turns its gallery there into the Deck the Walls Holiday Market, with handmade candles, cards, jewelry, chocolates, ceramics and soaps from local and regional artists. On Friday, Dec. 4, Light Up Carbondale runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Santa lights the Forest Service tree and the Main Street tree lights at Weant Boulevard and Main Street at 5:30 p.m. Free sleigh rides line up at 4th and Main from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m., and Deck the Walls stays open until 7 p.m. with performances by the Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra. Families who used to finish a First Friday with a lap on the plaza ice will find the rink somewhere else this year.

The plaza may get its ice back eventually. The master plan for Chacos Park, at 4th and Main, also covers the 4th Street plaza across the street. The Sopris Sun reported that the design includes 26 market vendor stalls and "designated space for the winter ice rink." Parks and Recreation Commission minutes from October 2025 said the construction documents were meant to make the project shovel-ready in 2026, with implementation funding budgeted for 2026 and phasing required because the space is used year-round.

Where the rest of the winter's ice sits

For adults who want organized hockey, the nearest league ice is down valley. The Glenwood Springs Ice Rink is at 100 Wulfsohn Road. Glenwood's 2026–27 adult hockey schedule started with games on Sunday, Nov. 1.

Here are the dated stops on Carbondale's winter calendar:

1. Nov. 13: Deck the Walls opens at the Launchpad, 76 S. 4th St., and runs through Dec. 24.
2. Dec. 4: Light Up Carbondale, 5 to 8 p.m., with the tree lighting at Weant and Main at 5:30.
3. Dec. 19: Bonedale Winter Bonanza, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., across the Carbondale Creative District. Once the Town's rinks open, open skate on the Family Ice Rink at the Rodeo Ground Practice Arena runs from noon to 9 p.m. daily.

Carbondale's best winter features change from season to season, and that includes knowing which rink to head to on a Saturday morning. Sam Augustine has been part of mid-valley life for years, from County Road 100 to the corner of 4th and Main. Discover the professional difference. Contact Sam.