Big Dipper Ice Arena — Attraction in Fairbanks

Visited Big Dipper Ice Arena for honeymoon/vacation. I fell in love.

We visited Fairbanks, AK for extended vacation/honeymoon and while in Fairbanks we found Big Dipper Ice Arena. We decided to visit there because I had never been ice skating ever.

Found the Big Dipper easily with google maps. Called for available hours and went right when they opened. It was during the weekday so there was not a crowd when I visited but I did get to meet the owner/manager and husband. We got to talking like if we were old friends. Both of them were very helpful. They were aware that this was my first time ice skating and gave me the preparations and equipment I needed to have a safe and fun time. I was on my own as soon as I found my ice legs and fell in love.

I would recommend this to be one of the stops on your visit to Fairbanks, AK. The staff was friendly and personable. They were extremely knowledgeable and will make sure that you have a fun safe time. The vibe there is very chill, no pun intended, safe and family friendly. In my opinion this is a 10/10 great, great fun. I hope you visit Big Dipper Ice Arena if you do visit Fairbanks, AK and I hope you do the same as I did and fall in love with it, even if you...

Whether it's a convention, community sales event, or any of the various sports this place is incredibly popular. Fairbanks Ice Dogs and UAF Nanooks as well as the local leagues of hockey for young and old are on display and open to the public. (some problems require purchased tickets. Tickets can be purchased before hand or at the door of most events). Sizeable parking lot shared with neighboring softball/baseball field. Only complaint as a local living close by is that when the house key games let out the traffic on Lathrop Street running in front of the Big Dipper is normally very slow moving and has been known to cause very long lines awaiting the...

Very nice arena. They have indoor and outdoor (during the winter) ice skating. They also have a walking track upstairs that is free to use. The facility is very nice and offers free parking (unlike at Patty Ice). They have a 10-skate pass or a 3 month pass if you are going to skate often. There's also a family pass for the ice rink and pools that is a great family option if you want to stay active as a family. I actually prefer skating here over Patty. They do switch directions on the rink a lot! I know that's probably better for the ice, but it seems overboard doing it every 15 minutes. Maybe I'm wrong though. I'm definitely not an...