Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink, Olympic ice rink in Olympic Valley, California, United States.
Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink is a former ice skating facility located in a valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe at roughly 6,200 feet (1,890 meters) elevation. The site now functions as a mixed-use area with parking and retail shops that serve winter sports visitors.
The skating facility hosted speed skating events during the 1960 Winter Olympics, drawing international competitors to the mountain location. After the games concluded, the original venue was no longer needed as a competition site.
The rink's name comes from Squaw Valley, the resort's name at the time of the 1960 Games; the community is now called Olympic Valley. The 1960 speed skating events were the first Olympic skating held on artificial ice, and women competed in the sport for the first time since the 1932 demonstration. The refrigeration system was moved in 1966 to the State Fair Park rink.
The rink no longer exists: the track was demolished after the 1960 Games and the site is now parking and a mixed residential-retail complex, so there is no venue to visit. Its ice-making system was moved in 1966 to the State Fair Park rink. Look for the Blyth Arena area, beside which the outdoor oval once stood at about 1,890 m.
The rink was the first ice track with artificial ice to host Olympic competitions. Its 1,890-metre altitude, about 200 metres above the Medeo rink in Almaty, helped skaters set records: Juhani Järvinen took 2.3 seconds off the 1,500 m world record at the 1959 opening, and Knut Johannesen broke 16 minutes in the 10,000 m in 1960.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,232 contributors worldwide.