If you’re a student looking for a place to glide around or just chill out, then maybe ice skating will do the trick.

The Westfield Downtown Plaza Ice Rink at 7th and K Street is the area’s only outdoor ice skating facility.

The rink is located by St. Rose of Lima Park and hosts nearly 200,000 people each year since the rink has been open for the past 16 years, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership which operates the rink. The 7,000 square feet rink has a cooling system so there is an even layer of ice throughout Sacramento’s mild winter.

The ice rink, which is conveniently located just steps away from the Light Rail stop as well as Old Sacramento, The Westfield Downtown Plaza, and a variety of restaurants, will be offering a place to skate around until Jan. 21, 2008. My advice is to be make sure you wear warm clothes since the chill of the ice is hard to miss despite a large outdoor heater available for people to stand in front of and defrost.

Don’t worry if you find the cold too much to handle since you can rent or purchase gloves and other apparel to stay warm and focus on practicing your moves on the ice.

“I would totally tell people to come here and give ice skating a try,” said Danielle Young.

A Sacramento State sophomore, Young said she thinks skating is a great escape from school, especially with finals coming up. She also plans to come back once school is out.

“This is the second year I’ve come here and it’s great because it gets me into the holiday season and it’s just a fun way to relax at the same time,” she said.

The Westfield Downtown Plaza Ice Rink is an ideal place to spend time and money. The rates for skate rental are affordable, even for a student on a budget. General admission will set you back $6 for a two hour skating session and in case you don’t have or you forgot your ice skates at home a rental fee of two dollars will cover you.

So if you plan on stepping out on to the ice make sure you stop by between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday until Dec. 30. On weekends the rink is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. They will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. After the holidays the rink will resume regular hours of operation Sunday through Thursday noon to 8 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 11 am. to 10 p.m. until Jan. 21.

Weekdays are obviously less crowded than the weekends, but it’s a good experience and worth the wait even if there is a line.

Just remember this is a Sacramento version of an outdoor ice rink so don’t expect to see New York’s Rockefeller Center Ice Rink right here in river city. It’s still a good attempt at bringing the community together and offering some holiday cheer.

I say give it the benefit of the doubt and let loose on the ice. Just don’t hurt yourself. And remember to bring cash because that’s all that is accepted.

Lana Saipaia can be reached at [email protected]