From the end of June through the start of fall, the skating rink at Christopher Morley Park held four glass-walled padel courts. A permanent indoor padel club is planned for the old Boat Basin just south of the rink, and the county's parks advisory committee approved the application in 2025. When the ice comes back in early December, the rink will be part of a corner of the park that is set to host a second sport all year.
For anyone in Roslyn Heights, the result is a winter shaped by two things. One is the rink's set weekly schedule. The other is building work that's expected to keep going in the background through 2027.
The rink runs on two-hour blocks, and Thursday is dark
Newsday's 2026 guide to Long Island rinks, published November 4, gives the Christopher Morley Park Ice Rink at 500 Searingtown Road a season of "early December through early March, weather permitting." It doesn't give an exact opening day, so call the county's rink line at 516-571-8123 before your first trip.
There's no open skating. Every public session is a fixed two-hour block, and the week looks like this:
| Day | Public sessions | Evening extras |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:15–3:15 p.m., 4–6 p.m. | None |
| Tuesday | 1:15–3:15 p.m., 4–6 p.m. | None |
| Wednesday | 1:15–3:15 p.m., 4–6 p.m. | None |
| Thursday | No sessions listed | None |
| Friday | 1:15–3:15 p.m., 4–6 p.m., 7–9 p.m. | None |
| Saturday | 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., 1:15–3:15 p.m., 4–6 p.m., 7–9 p.m. | None |
| Sunday | 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., 1:15–3:15 p.m., 4–6 p.m. | Puck shooting, 6:30–8 p.m. |
That's 16 public sessions a week. Saturday is the only day with ice in the morning and at night. Friday and Saturday are the only nights with a 7 p.m. session, which matters if school or work keeps you busy until dinner. On weekdays the ice is open only in the afternoon, so the 4 p.m. block is the realistic after-school option. Each block ends with a 45-minute gap before the next one starts, or an hour before the evening session. If you show up at 3:30 on a Saturday, you'll be waiting until 4.
Sunday night has its own crowd. Puck shooting runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m., after the last public session, and goalies get in free.
The Leisure Pass changes what each session costs
Newsday lists two price tiers. Nassau County residents with a Leisure Pass pay $10 for adults and $6 for ages 4 to 17. Nonresidents pay $15 and $10. Skate rental is $5 for everyone. Puck shooting is $10 with the resident rate and $20 without it.
The gap adds up fast for a household. Two adults and two kids who rent skates pay $52 for one session at the Leisure Pass rate and $70 at the nonresident rate, an $18 difference every time. At three or four Saturday sessions in a season, the difference covers what the county charged for the pass itself.
Nassau County set the standard Resident Leisure Pass at $36 for three years in a May 2024 county bulletin. That bulletin also lists a one-time $30 fee for certain seniors, veterans, civic volunteers and residents with certified disabilities. Check the current fee with the county before you go.
You get the pass in person, and Christopher Morley Park's own administration building is one of the places that issues it. The county's Leisure Pass page lists what to bring:
- A current photo ID: a New York State driver's license, a New York State DMV non-driver ID, a passport or an active military ID
- One proof of Nassau residency, such as a DMV registration, auto insurance card, recent property tax or utility bill, deed, voter registration or rent check
- For children, a current school or library ID can serve as proof
The same page suggests calling ahead, since some parks may not have full-time staff outside peak season. The best time to get the pass is a weekday before the ice opens, not the first busy Saturday of December.
What the rink did all summer
The rink spends the warm months as an empty slab. This year it had a summer job. Long Island Press reported that Roslyn Padel opened a four-court outdoor pop-up inside the rink on Sunday, June 28. The courts were expected to stay open through mid-October, weather permitting, and the outlet reported they "may return next summer while construction continues."
Padel combines elements of tennis and squash. It's played on enclosed courts where the glass walls stay in play. The pop-up was meant as an introduction. "We really wanted to get everyone excited about the sport and the community before we build the main facility," Roslyn Padel partner Seth Kislin told Long Island Press.
So the rink now has two seasons and two sports. Padel ran from late June into the fall, and ice runs from early December into early March. Late fall is the only real pause.
The Boat Basin is next
The permanent club is going on a different part of the park. At a June 2025 hearing, the Nassau County Planning Commission placed the indoor facility on "a portion of Christopher Morley Park formerly known as the 'Boat Basin,' which is located just south of the park's ice rink." The county had issued a request for proposals on December 10, 2023. The arrangement is a use-and-occupancy permit, and the operator agreed to make commercially reasonable efforts to earn LEED certification for the building.
The approval record has two points worth knowing. The county's Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee voted 6–0 on June 10, 2025 to approve the application without conditions. The public comment period at the Planning Commission's May 29 hearing closed without any comment from the public. From there, the permit goes to the County Legislature for its own approval.
According to Long Island Press, Roslyn Padel describes the finished building this way:
- 40,000 square feet with 10 indoor padel courts under 34-foot ceilings
- Locker rooms, a sauna, a steam room and a cold plunge
- A yoga studio, a fitness center, a café and social space
- A planned opening in fall 2027, with construction expected to take about a year
Managing partner Scott Johns explained the location to the outlet this way: "Roslyn is kind of central to the Gold Coast of Long Island."
When it's finished, this corner of Morley Park will have outdoor ice in winter, a possible padel pop-up on the rink in summer, and an indoor racquet club just to the south all year. This winter is the first one where that change is already underway.
Filling the rest of a skating day
The rink sits in the middle of a park with other year-round features. Nassau County Tourism describes a one-mile Fitness Trail with 20 exercise stations that's open all year and ends at a parking area overlooking the pond. It's a good warm-up loop or a way to fill the 45 minutes between sessions.
The park's literary landmark ran on a summer schedule. Long Island Press reported that the Knothole, the one-room writing studio used by author and editor Christopher Morley, reopened June 7 and then opened on alternating Sundays through August with free programs. Morley lived in Roslyn Estates for much of his adult life.
Three December family programs close by fit around the rink's fixed blocks:
- Saturday, December 5: Storybook Studio at the Nassau County Museum of Art, 10 to 11 a.m. in the Manes Art Education Center. The price is $20 for a member adult-and-child pair and $25 for nonmembers, plus $5 for each additional child. It ends in time for lunch before the 1:15 p.m. rink session.
- Tuesday, December 8: Winter Storycraft for ages 2 to 5 at Bryant Library, 10:30 to 11 a.m. in the Children's Room. It leaves the morning free before the rink opens at 1:15 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 9: "A Little Village, A Lot of Winter Magic," a snowy-village painting activity for grades K to 5 at Bryant Library, 4:30 to 5 p.m. It overlaps the 4 p.m. skating block, so plan on the 1:15 session that day or skip the rink.
Before any of these weekends, call 516-571-8123 to confirm the rink is open. An outdoor rink depends on the weather, and the county lists the season only as starting in early December.
New amenities like the Boat Basin padel club change what a few blocks of Roslyn Heights offer, and we track projects like it as they move from approval to construction. If you'd like to know how changes around Christopher Morley Park relate to your own plans, Golden Real Estate Group can walk you through it. Book a Consultation.
