Skating for Kids in Northbrook, IL

Skating for kids in Illinois splits into ice (hockey and figure) and roller. Most public ice rinks run Learn to Skate (LTS) programs — group classes, age-graded, 6-8 weeks per session — as the entry point for both figure and hockey. After LTS, the paths diverge: figure skating moves into private lessons and freestyle ice; hockey moves into mites and squirts league play. Hockey is the higher-cost path by a lot; equipment alone runs $300-600 to start, and competitive travel hockey runs into the thousands per season. Figure skating costs scale with how serious your kid gets — basic group classes are park-district-priced, but private coaching and competition fees add up fast. Roller skating venues are getting harder to find but the few that remain run birthday-party-style sessions plus the occasional kids' lesson program.

Northbrook is a village of about 34,000 people in Cook County, on Chicago's North Shore. It's a smaller town than Aurora or Bolingbrook — but kids' recreation punches much higher than the population would suggest.

The Northbrook Park District is the anchor. It runs two ice rinks, two swimming pools, two golf courses, a cycling velodrome (yes — actually), an activity center, a sports center, a theatre, and a lot more besides. Most kids' activities in Northbrook — camps, sports leagues, ice skating, swim, performing arts — route through the park district.

The Northbrook Public Library at 1201 Cedar Lane handles the free kids' programming: multiple weekly story times, reading challenges, and (since 2023) Spanish-language programs for kids.