It is now the cold but joyous month of December. December is a month full of holidays from all cultures and backgrounds, family gatherings, and of course cold weather. Although San Francisco never experiences real snow, ice skating rinks have to be the closest thing to some holiday snow.

The two main and most popular ice skating rinks in San Francisco are the Yerba Buena rink and the Kristi Yamaguchi rink. Both of these rinks are located downtown and are available to the public for a very reasonable price.

The more popular iceskating rink, the Yerba Buena center ice skating rink, is connected to a bowling alley and located next to the Moscone Center. This indoor, 32,000 square foot rink is open year round, seven days a week from 5 am to 11 pm depending on scheduled lessons and parties. The rink offers skating lessons and workshops and is available to rent for private groups and parties. For one timers, public session costs are no higher than $6 dollars and skate rental is only $2.50.

In the winter, the Kristi Yamaguchi ice skating rink is one of the most popular and most talked about sites to see in San Francisco. What makes this rink special is the fact that it’s outdoors, unlike the Yerba Buena rink. The rink is located at the far east end of Market Street in the Embarcadero center in San Francisco.

Contrary to the Yerba Buena rink, the Kristi Yamaguchi rink is only open during the winter, from November to January. The rink is open from 10 am to 10 pm daily, and open until 11:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The prices are about the same cost as at Yerba Buena, just add a dollar or two, and subtract senior rates all together. Adult admission is $7, children under 8 years old pay $3.50 and skate rental is also $3.50.

One thing the Kristi Yamaguchi rink does that the Yerba Buena doesn’t is donating 50 cents of every adult admission is donated to San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks youth programs.