We’ve spent many happy afternoons and evening skating our little hearts out at the Dolder ice rink, east of Zürich lake near the zoo. It’s our favorite ice rink in Zürich because of the few extras that make it even more fun for kids. Hope you like it!
| Location: | Zurich city |
| Address: | Adlisbergstrasse 36, 8044 Zürich |
| Car: | about 15 mins from Zurich center |
| Transport: | 30 mins from Zurich HB to Bergstation Dolderbahn |
| Open: | Mon – Sat 9:00 to 22:30, Sun 9:00 to 17:45. Ice rink closed Wed afternoons 17:30 – 19:00 for training |
| Price: | Adult CHF 8, Child CHF 4 (age 6-15), under 4 free Family ticket CHF 50 Skate rental CHF 8, baby skates CHF 4, polar bear CHF 6 |
| Services: | café, lockers |
| More info: | www.doldersports.com |
Special events in 2024
16 Nov 2024 – “De schnällscht Zürischlifschue” Skating competition for kids. Learn more.
24 Nov 2024 – Free entry to skating rink
7 Dec 2024 – Ice Disco Santa Edition
24 Dec 2024 – Christmas Eve Skate
28 Dec 2024 – Ice Disco New Years Eve pre-party
Getting There
This ice rink is in the forested hills east of Zürich city, near the zoo.
By car: Drive to Adlisbergstrasse 36, 8044 Zürich and park in any of the metered parking next to the rink. If you park along the road leading to the rink, the meter is less expensive per hour, at least the last time I went.
By public transport: Take a tram to Römerhof, then ride the funicular train up to Bergstation Dolderbahn. Then a short walk to the ice rink, following the signs and sounds.
Christmas Spirit & Ice Disco
During Christmas season, they have a big decorated tree in the center of the rink. My kids loved to play tag skating around the tree.
In the evenings, there are fun lights and music. They also host specific “Ice Disco” events with a DJ, extra fee for these evenings. See the current schedule.
Planning your visit
Go early. It is very quiet in the early weekday afternoons, getting noticeably more crowded by 4pm after school lets out. If you have little beginners, try to go early so they don’t have to compete for space with the super fast crazy hockey skaters. Here’s one busy Friday afternoon at 16:30…
Bring your own snacks and drinks. There is a cafe, but the prices are outrageous as most Swiss cafes are. I brought my own thermos of hot water so I could make hot chocolate, saving me 4CHF per kid. There are a lot of tables and chairs (with fluffy seat pads) around the rink that you can use for picniking.
Bring a lock. They have lockers, but not coin-operated. So bring your own lock if you want to secure your valuables.
Buy skates for your kids, secondhand if you can. Skate rental is 8CHF, so it quickly adds up. Migros Sport XX is selling an adjustable multi-size hockey-style skate for 50CHF. You can probably squeeze 2-3 years per kid out of this skate, so it’s definitely worth it. I bought mine secondhand for 20CHF at a Brockenhaus (secondhand store).
Child helmets are provided free of charge and they have a large selection of sizes.
Layer clothing and bring gloves. Kids quickly get hot and start sweating while ice skating, so use layers. Instead of snow gear, I usually put my kids in rain pants and jackets with sweaters and tights underneath. Gloves are a must as they fall a lot and their hands are frequently on the ice.
Strollers? I’ve seen moms pushing strollers on the ice, but I don’t know if this is actually allowed. Leave a comment if you know more than I do.
In any weather! Ice skating is fun even when it’s snowing (rain not so much), so don’t let the weather keep you home.
Icewalkers for beginners
Many ice rinks have icewalkers for little kids. But the ones at the Dolder have a rope so you can pull it around instead of pushing it while skating behind your kid. This is a major improvement! I actually had fun pulling my four year old around the rink instead of developing a back ache as I hunched over the short handles. I even taught myself to skate backwards so I could look at my kid while skating.
Below you can see my 4YO that finally graduated to real skates on the left, instead of two blade strap-on baby skates on the right. But he still needs/likes the ice walker.
Open Hockey
Next to the main free-skating rink, there is a hockey rink with goals that is usually open to the public during the afternoons. Here your young skaters can practice hitting the puck around and into the goals. The rink has a bucket full of hockey sticks that are free to use. You can rent a puck or bring your own. This has really motivated my 7YO to step up his skating skills. Every time we’ve gone, there were some serious hockey players practicing in part of the rink. But there was plenty of room for our kids to play too.
