Lakeshore East's Winter Backyard Opens Nov. 13, and the Free Ice Goes to Early Risers

The Maggie Daley Park skating ribbon charges up to $23 to rent skates on a Saturday. Bring your own skates to the 8 a.m. session that same Saturday and you pay nothing. The ribbon's whole price list follows that logic. The cheapest ice comes at the hours when getting there is hardest unless you live a short walk away.

For anyone in Lakeshore East, that walk ends just across Randolph. The season's first bookable dates, Nov. 13 through 29, go on sale at noon this coming Monday, Nov. 2, according to Maggie Daley Park's ribbon page. That gives you a few days to decide how you want to use the season before the rest of the city starts booking.

The Ribbon Gets a Week to Itself

On the calendar, November has two separate openings. The first bookable ribbon dates start Friday, Nov. 13. The McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park doesn't return until Friday, Nov. 20, weather permitting. The city's tree lighting is that same night.

That leaves seven days, from Nov. 13 to 19, when the ribbon runs without the downtown holiday program starting up one park over. The ribbon still takes reservations then, since every skater needs a ticket for a specific session. Tickets come out in blocks, each released at noon on a Monday:

1. Monday, Nov. 2: Nov. 13 through Nov. 29
2. Monday, Nov. 16: Nov. 30 through Dec. 10
3. Monday, Nov. 30: Dec. 11 through Jan. 3, the holiday season
4. Monday, Dec. 21: Jan. 4 through Jan. 17
5. Monday, Jan. 4: Jan. 18 through Jan. 31
6. Monday, Jan. 18: Feb. 1 through Feb. 14
7. Monday, Feb. 1: Feb. 15 through Feb. 28
8. Monday, Feb. 15: March 1 through March 7, ending on closing day

Each release covers roughly two weeks. If you skate regularly, you only need to plan about a fortnight ahead. Walk-up tickets are sold only when a session hasn't sold out online. If the online listing shows a session as sold out, there's no walk-up sale at the gate. Living close is a real advantage for walk-ups. You can check the listing from your kitchen and be on the ice in minutes, which beats arriving from across town and hoping for a spot.

What Your Own Skates Are Worth

Every session is two hours, and the ice is resurfaced between sessions. On non-holiday weekdays, sessions start at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays add an 8 a.m. session. Prices depend on the day and on whether you rent:

Friday is the odd day out. It's priced like a weekend for rentals but like a weekday for your own skates, so the free session that day is at 11 a.m.

Two people renting online for a Saturday afternoon session pay $42. The same two people bringing their own skates to that afternoon session pay $10. If they come at 8 a.m., they pay nothing. Across a season of weekend visits, the gap between $21 and $5 per person, per session, adds up to real money. The visitors paying top rate are mostly the ones who traveled downtown with nothing on their feet.

Skate aids for beginners cost $11. They can't be reserved and go first-come, first-served at the time of your booking. The fieldhouse has washrooms, lockers and skate rentals. Its posted hours differ between the park's own site and the Chicago Park District listing, so check them before you count on a locker for an early session.

The Holiday Stretch Puts the Free Hour on Every Morning

The ribbon's holiday season runs Dec. 11 through Jan. 3. During that stretch, regular days follow the weekend schedule, starting at 8 a.m. and ending with the 8 p.m. session, and only the three holidays listed below run shorter. Rentals cost the higher $21 online every day, but the free 8 a.m. session for your own skates also comes every day, Tuesdays included.

Holiday days have shorter hours:

• Thanksgiving, Nov. 26: 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. sessions only
• Day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27: full schedule, 8 a.m. through the 8 p.m. session
• Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. sessions only
• New Year's Eve: sessions through the 5 p.m. slot
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18, and Presidents Day, Feb. 15: full schedule

The last skate on Thanksgiving or Christmas ends at 4 p.m. If you have family visiting, plan for an afternoon skate on those days, not an evening one.

Nov. 20 Is When the Park Next Door Fills Up

The week after the ribbon's first bookable dates, the Millennium Park side of Columbus starts its own season, and several things begin at once. The 113th City of Chicago Christmas Tree, near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street, is lit at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20. It stays up through Jan. 10. The Millennium Park Holiday Market runs noon to 8 p.m. on Nov. 20 and 21 and noon to 5 p.m. on Nov. 22. The Holiday Sing-Along follows at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18.

The McCormick Tribune Ice Rink offers a different deal from the ribbon. Admission is free, it's open daily from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Momentum Coffee and Millennium Hall sell snacks and hot drinks next to the rink. The Chicago Youth Foundation teaches free lessons there from 9 to 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, with free rental skates. Registration opens the Monday before each weekend, and each level is capped at 20 people. Parents or guardians must register too if they want to join their children on the ice. If you have a beginner at home, a Saturday morning could start with a free lesson at 9 a.m. in Millennium Park and move to the ribbon for the 11 a.m. session.

This year, Millennium Park is also partly under construction. The city says the Jay Pritzker Pavilion trellis is being renovated. Since Sept. 18, the restrooms on the lower level, on the east and west sides of the pavilion, have been closed, while the restrooms in the Park Shop building stay open during park hours. The south walkway in Lurie Garden is closed too. One more detail matters on busy nights like Nov. 20. During events, the city lists the BP Bridge between Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park as exit-only. On tree-lighting night, the bridge will carry people back toward Maggie Daley Park, but you can't count on it to get you into Millennium Park.

Other parts of Maggie Daley Park are already in winter mode. The climbing wall is closed for the season after a last top-rope day on Sept. 6. The Picnic Club is closed for the season. Downtown Deli and Daley Cafe list hours of 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., depending on the weather. Those stops close half an hour into the 5 p.m. session and well before the 8 p.m. session starts. After an evening skate, your warm-up spots are back on the Lakeshore East side.

Matching the Session to the Table

The ribbon's session times line up well with what's open near Lakeshore East Park. Here are the closest options by session, using each place's listed hours:

The free 8 a.m. weekend session ends at 10 a.m., and Avli's weekend brunch starts half an hour later. On a weekend, that makes Avli an easy next stop after the morning skate. The 8 p.m. session ends at 10 p.m., which is when the Toro kitchen closes and Mariano's listed hours end. Avli also closes at 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and at 9 p.m. on Sunday. Toro's bar, open until midnight, is the one place in this group still serving after that last session. Toro lists normal hours on Thanksgiving. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, its kitchen serves until 9 p.m. and the bar and lobby until 10 p.m. MingHin says its Lakeshore East location is open 365 days a year.

Mariano's store page shows the 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours but also says store hours are currently unavailable, so call ahead before an early run. The Drunken Bean Coffee & Wine Bar, at 400 E. South Water St., describes itself as a morning coffee and breakfast spot with an evening bar. Its weekend opening time is worth checking before you plan an 8 a.m. stop there.

The first chance at the free ice comes Saturday, Nov. 14, at 8 a.m., and the tickets for that day go on sale at noon Monday, Nov. 2.

When I evaluate a downtown condo, I look at how close it is to daily routines like the walk across Randolph to the ribbon, not just at its finishes. If you're curious what your Lakeshore East home is worth this season, Larissa Brodsky can walk you through it building by building. Request your complimentary condo valuation.