Public skating around Columbus is mostly run by one operator. The OhioHealth Chiller rinks in Dublin, Easton and Lewis Center share one price list and similar session names, so the address matters less than the session you pick. A lunchtime Noon Skate, a weekend Public Skate and a Friday Night Meltdown can cost very different amounts for the same family, even at the same building.
For something different, Lou & Gib Reese Ice Arena is east of the city in Newark. It is a community rink with its own lower prices and its own calendar. This guide compares the published session types and full costs, then explains where each one fits.
Start with the Chiller price list
The Chiller public-skating page posts one table for every location. As of September 18, 2026, skaters aged 6 and up pay $8 for Noon Skate and $10 for a regular public session. Children 5 and under pay $4. Skate rental is $5 extra at both. That makes a rented weekend session $15 per older skater, and a rented Noon Skate $13.
Friday Night Meltdown is priced differently: $18 for every age, with rental included. For a skater who needs rentals, that is only $3 more than a weekend session, so the price difference is smaller than it looks. For a child under 6, though, it is far more than the $4 weekday or weekend admission.
The Family of Four ticket is $50 and covers admission and rental for four people. Four rented skaters aged 6 and up would otherwise pay $60 at a regular public session. The ticket does not apply to Noon Skate or Friday Night Meltdown, and the page says the under-5 price does not combine with it. Sessions are walk-up, with tickets bought on arrival. Groups of 15 or more can prearrange a group rate. The table also lists a $6 Cheap Skate, but the dated schedules checked for this guide showed no Cheap Skate sessions in the coming weeks.
Dublin, Easton and North: choose by the calendar
The three Chiller buildings currently follow a similar weekly rhythm. There are weekday Noon Skates, a Friday Night Meltdown and weekend afternoon public sessions. The weekday Noon Skates fall on different days at each building. Dublin’s schedule, Easton’s schedule and North’s schedule list dated sessions, and those are what to trust on the day.
Chiller North in Lewis Center has three NHL-size sheets, and its dated schedule currently lists Noon Skate on every weekday. Dublin, the original 1993 Chiller building, and Easton each have two sheets. Choose between them by driving distance, since the prices are the same.
Plan your visit Prices, rentals & more
- Admission
- Public-skate admission is set by session, not by location: Noon Skate $8 for ages 6 and up and $4 for ages 5 and under; Public Sk8 and Adult Sk8 $10 and $4; Cheap Skate $6, free with skate rental included for ages 5 and under; Friday Night Meltdown a flat $18 for all ages with rental included. A Family of Four ticket is $50 including rentals and excludes Noon Skate and Friday Night Meltdown. Freestyle ice is $16.00 per hour, bought online in advance. Open Hockey drop-in sessions (Adult Drop-In, 50+ Drop-In, TGIF 40+, Women's Drop-In and the 14-17 age group) are $16 per person, goalies play free or for a refundable $16. Stick & Puck sessions (adult and all youth age groups) are $16 per person including goalies; youth sessions add $8 per accompanying parent. Source · 2026-09-25Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skates & rentals
- Skate rental is $5 at Noon Skate, Public Sk8/Adult Sk8 and Cheap Skate. Rental is included at Friday Night Meltdown, in the Family of Four ticket, in free Cheap Skate admission for ages 5 and under, and in the quarterly Noon Skate pass. Source · 2026-10-04Review due · confirm the current policy
- Booking & check-in
- No reservations are required for public skating; tickets are bought on arrival, and there is free wi-fi. Source · 2026-10-11Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skating with children
- Ages 5 and under pay $4 at Noon Skate and Public Sk8/Adult Sk8, or skate free with rental included at Cheap Skate. The $50 Family of Four ticket includes rentals but excludes Noon Skate and Friday Night Meltdown. Source · 2026-10-04Review due · confirm the current policy
Plan your visit Prices, rentals & more
- Admission
- Public-skate admission is set by session, not by location: Noon Skate $8 for ages 6 and up and $4 for ages 5 and under; Public Sk8 and Adult Sk8 $10 and $4; Cheap Skate $6, free with skate rental included for ages 5 and under; Friday Night Meltdown a flat $18 for all ages with rental included. A Family of Four ticket is $50 including rentals and excludes Noon Skate and Friday Night Meltdown. Freestyle ice is $16.00 per hour, bought online in advance. Stick & Puck sessions (adult and all youth age groups) are $16 per person including goalies; youth sessions add $8 per accompanying parent. Source · 2026-10-10Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skates & rentals
- Skate rental is $5 at Noon Skate, Public Sk8/Adult Sk8 and Cheap Skate, and included at Friday Night Meltdown, in the Family of Four ticket, in free Cheap Skate admission for ages 5 and under, and in the quarterly Noon Skate pass. Source · 2026-10-10Review due · confirm the current policy
- Booking & check-in
- No reservations are required for public skating; tickets are bought on arrival, and there is free wi-fi. Source · 2026-10-11Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skating with children
- Children 5 and under pay $4 at Noon Skate and Public Sk8/Adult Sk8 and skate free, rental included, at Cheap Skate. The $50 Family of Four ticket covers admission and skate rental for four; it excludes Noon Skate and Friday Night Meltdown, and the 5-and-under price does not apply to it. Source · 2026-10-10Review due · confirm the current policy
Plan your visit Prices, rentals & more
- Admission
- Public-skate admission is set by session, not by location: Noon Skate $8 for ages 6 and up and $4 for ages 5 and under; Public Sk8 and Adult Sk8 $10 and $4; Cheap Skate $6, free with skate rental included for ages 5 and under; Friday Night Meltdown a flat $18 for all ages with rental included. A Family of Four ticket is $50 including rentals and excludes Noon Skate and Friday Night Meltdown. Freestyle ice is $16.00 per hour, bought online in advance. Open Hockey drop-in sessions (Adult Drop-In, 50+ Drop-In, TGIF 40+, Women's Drop-In and the 14-17 age group) are $16 per person, goalies play free or for a refundable $16. Source · 2026-10-10Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skates & rentals
- Skate rental is $5 extra for Noon Skate, Public Skate and Cheap Skate (free with the 5-and-under Cheap Skate admission), and is included in the Friday Night Meltdown ticket, the family-of-four ticket, and the quarterly pass. Source · 2026-10-10Review due · confirm the current policy
- Booking & check-in
- Public skating is walk-in with no reservation required; tickets are purchased on arrival. The published dated schedule currently runs Noon Skate, Public Skate and Friday Night Meltdown sessions from mid-September through mid-November 2026, but does not list any Cheap Skate dates in that window. Source · 2026-10-11Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skating with children
- Admission for ages 5 and under is $4 at Noon Skate and Public Skate, and free (with rental included) at Cheap Skate. The $50 family-of-four ticket includes admission and rentals for four people but does not apply to Noon Skate or Friday Night Meltdown. Source · 2026-10-10Review due · confirm the current policy
The downtown Ice Haus is not a public-skate plan right now
The Ice Haus at Nationwide Arena is the Blue Jackets’ practice rink and appears in the Chiller’s schedule menus. However, its public-skating page showed no scheduled public sessions at this check. Chiller Ice Works offers only drop-in hockey and stick-and-puck. Neither is a fallback for a casual family skate unless a dated session appears.
Lou & Gib Reese in Newark for the lowest weekday ticket
Lou & Gib Reese’s public-skate page lists Weekday Noon Skate at $5 per person for all ages. It says the Noon Skate is typically on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday unless the arena’s calendar notes otherwise. Weekend and holiday-event admission is $12. Lights Out At The Lou, a Friday-night DJ skate, is $15.
The page lists figure and hockey rental skates from a child’s size 8 to an adult 13. It suggests sizing down one size because the skates run large. It does not list a separate rental price, so ask before you assume rental is included. Skate aids are $5, and only 12 are available on a first-come basis. Children may not be carried on the ice.
The drive is only worth it if Newark is already close by or the $5 weekday price matters. Otherwise, the Chiller building nearest you is the practical choice.
Plan your visit Prices, rentals & more
- Admission
- Weekday Noon Skate admission is $5, weekend and holiday-event admission is $12, and Lights Out At The Lou, the Friday-night DJ skate, is $15. Rates are per person for all ages. Groups of 20 or more can request a group rate. Freestyle practice ice is billed at $4 for every 15 minutes on-ice, equivalent to $16 per hour; skaters must have passed the ISI Alpha test or higher and have a scheduled private lesson. Source · 2026-09-25Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skates & rentals
- Figure and hockey skate rental is available at the pro shop with no separate charge listed beyond public-skate admission, in sizes from a child's 8 up to an adult 13 (rentals run a size large, so size down one). Skate aids cost $5 each, with only 12 available first come, first served. Source · 2026-10-04Review due · confirm the current policy
- Booking & check-in
- Stick-n-Puck has no pre-registration: sign in at the arena pro shop, no earlier than 1 hour before the session. Source · 2026-10-04Review due · confirm the current policy
- Skating with children
- Skate aids cost $5 and only 12 are available, first come first served, from the pro shop. Rental figure and hockey skates run from a child's size 8 to an adult 13. Children may not be carried while on the ice, and skates (not regular shoes) are required to enter the ice. Source · 2026-10-04Review due · confirm the current policy
How to choose
Choose a Chiller weekend session if you want the simplest plan. Use the Family of Four ticket when four skaters aged 6 and up all need rentals. Choose Friday Night Meltdown for an evening outing that includes rentals, and skip it for a child under 6. Choose Noon Skate, either at the Chiller or in Newark, if a weekday works and cost matters most. Whichever rink you pick, check the rink’s own dated calendar first, because a regular pattern does not guarantee a session on any given day.