Pied Piper Roller Rink

Did a package of a roller rink up in Walloon Lake, Mich. on April 14, 2026. 

CHARLEVIOX COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- Just like roller skates, the clock keeps going ‘round.

But at the Pied Piper Roller Rink in Charlevoix County, you get the sense that time has stood still since 1934.

Old skates, tools and photos line the walls; these wooden beams are filled with history.

“They used no cranes, no tractors, no anything, it was all by hand,” said Darryll Hamlin, owner of Pied Piper Roller Rink. “Hand shovels, hand pry bars, pulleys, ropes and they built this beautiful building right here in Wallin Lake.”

Hamlin’s family built it.

Before it was a rink, his grandfather wanted a place for another pastime, dancing.

“It was a booming business of ballroom dancing. They had ballroom dancing upstairs, ballroom dancing downstairs; it was quite an attractive place,” said Hamlin. “It was a big hangout and there were a lot of people.”

Then, the Great Depression hit and there was a new focus.

It was Hamlin’s mom who came up with the idea to bring in roller skates.

First named “the March Inn Roller Rink” after the original builder, then renamed “the Pied Piper of Hamlin” after his mom got gifted the rink as a wedding present.

Hamlin remembers skating here when he was three and the wheels were made of wood.

“It's like, oh, I skated here 35 years ago, 40 years ago and oh, the memories and my childhood was here, and everybody loves the history and in the uniqueness of these logs," said Hamlin.

The rink closed in 1991 after Hamlin’s mother’s death. The building went through several changes, but eventually circled back to skating and its current name, the Pied Piper Roller Rink.

Lots of changes over the years and a building that’s rolled along with every one of them.

“It's neat to see another generation of this building. Very, very cool to see and it's humbling,” said Hamlin. “It's neat. You know I lived here; I spent my whole life here and then to come back as an adult and to see it thrive again.”

Today, the rink is run by volunteers with charitable donations from the community.

It's open Fridays and Saturdays for skating and special events like euchre nights during the week.

See story on website here.