Carrollton on Ice Keeps a Thursday-to-Sunday Schedule Until School Lets Out
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
To reach the ice, you turn in at East Carrollton Rec's main entrance by the skate park and drive past the baseball and soccer fields. Free parking is straight ahead, next to the Polar Pavilion at 410 North Lake Drive. From November 28, 2026, to January 18, 2027, that pavilion covers Carrollton on Ice, the city's outdoor rink with twinkling lights overhead and a roof that keeps the season going in any weather.
This is the rink's third winter. The City of Carrollton introduced it as a new East Carrollton Park attraction in 2024, and The City Menus called last year's run its second. If your family has been once or twice, you probably know the basics: $10 a ticket with skate rental included, paid by card at the rink. For most of the season the rink is a four-day-a-week place, and it only opens daily when Carrollton City Schools go on Christmas Break.
Leave out the holidays and the city's ice skating calendar follows the same weekly pattern from the first week of December into mid-January.
| Day | Public skating |
|---|---|
| Monday | Private rentals only |
| Tuesday | Private rentals only |
| Wednesday | Private rentals only |
| Thursday | 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Friday | 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Saturday | Noon to 8 p.m. |
| Sunday | 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. |
Sunday is the shortest public day of the week. If you're planning an evening skate on a school night, Thursday and Friday are your only options, and both end at 8. The city's rink page lists Mondays through Wednesdays as private rental time, with blocks from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. There's also a Sunday rental slot from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., after the public session closes. Groups book those through Drey Arnold at 770-834-1127.
The weekday hours are also earlier than in the rink's first winter. For that opening season, which ran from Saturday, Dec. 7, through Sunday, Jan. 12, the Times-Georgian reported Thursday and Friday sessions of 4 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 9 p.m. This season, those weeknights run 3 to 8 and Saturdays close at 8. A family heading over after school gets an earlier start, and someone arriving at 7:30 now gets 30 minutes on the ice instead of 90.
Food trucks show up the same way. The posted truck schedule lists Fridays and Saturdays only. Travelin Tom's is booked for most Fridays, and Saturdays rotate among Chick-fil-A, Moos and Brews and Echeri Kafe. Lobster Dogs joins on January 9 and January 16. If hot cocoa from a truck is part of the plan, go on Friday or Saturday.
The Carrollton City Schools 2026–27 calendar sets Christmas Break for December 21 through 31, and January 1 is also a break day. The rink calendar adjusts to those dates. Starting Monday, December 21, rental-only weekdays become full public days:
By the city's calendar, the rink has 35 public skating days this season. Twelve of them, about a third, fall in the two weeks from December 21 to January 3. It's also the only time all season when you can skate at lunchtime on a Tuesday. If you have relatives visiting after Christmas, Monday the 28th through Wednesday the 30th give you three straight noon-to-8 days, usually quieter than the weekends around them.
The weekly pattern returns the following week. Monday, January 4, is a student holiday on the school calendar, with classes resuming January 5. The rink still treats January 4 through 6 as rental days with no public session. From there it's Thursday through Sunday again until the final weekend.
That last weekend has one more weekday. The season ends Monday, January 18, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a no-school day for Carrollton City Schools. The rink is open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. that day. January 16 through 18 make a three-day closing run of Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The rink opens just after the schools' Thanksgiving Break, which runs November 23 to 27. Families can still use that week. Carrollton Parks and Rec holds a Mini Ice Skating Camp November 23 through 25, three mornings for $30. Ages 7 to 9 skate from 10 to 10:45 a.m., and ages 10 to 12 from 11 to 11:45 a.m. Registration is on Otto. Campers need long pants and gloves, and bike helmets are required for the younger group. None of those are provided. Questions go to Parks and Rec at 770-832-1161.
So a child who goes through camp that week can be back for the public opening on Saturday, November 28, from noon to 8 p.m., when Chick-fil-A and Moos and Brews are the trucks on site. Sunday, November 29, runs 1 to 5 p.m. Then come three rental-only weekdays, and the first regular Thursday session is December 3.
The first Saturday in December is the busiest day of the season, and the schedule is set up so you can move from East Carrollton to downtown. The city's Merry Market listing ends with "After the market, head over to Adamson Square for the annual Carrollton Christmas Parade!"
The market and the rink overlap from noon to 3. That's the window for shopping, skating and lunch at the pavilion before you head downtown for the 4 p.m. crafts or to find a spot along Rome Street.
A week later, on Saturday, December 12, Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch skate with families from 4 to 6 p.m. during a regular noon-to-8 session. Chick-fil-A and Moos and Brews are the trucks that night.
The rink rules shape a visit as much as the hours do, especially with young kids or visiting relatives:
Admission is $10 with skates, the same price The City Menus reported for the 2025 season, which ran November 24 to January 11. This season opens four days later and ends a week later. The city's general annual events page may still show last season's dates. The Carrollton on Ice page has the current 2026–27 schedule.
If you're planning holiday visits, whether you're hosting family or showing out-of-town guests around Carrollton, Kelly Berry | The Home Team is always glad to share local favorites, and the noon-to-8 break days from December 28 to 30 are a good place to start.
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