Ice skating is one of the most exhilarating recreational activities. However, to the uninitiated, the foreign landscape of ice, railing, and plastic screens may appear daunting at first. Even more frightening is having to don strange boots with a heavy steel blade fitted to the sole. Although first-time ice skaters may be intimidated by the dozens of seemingly expert skaters whizzing laps around the rink with unparalleled grace, it’s only a matter of time and practice before achieving a similar finesse.
Whether an ice rink is seasonal or open all year-round, it’s a marvelous gathering place to literally chill out and have fun with friends and relatives. Additionally, the activity of ice skating itself is a fantastic metaphor for life—if you fall down, you must pick yourself up again, lest you want to be run over by a Zamboni ice resurfacing machine at the end of the day. That said, here are the top places in the U.S. to ice skate.
The Best Ice Skating Rinks in the U.S.
| Alabama Pelham Civic Center Ice Arena Pelham, AL | Montana Glacier Ice Rink Missoula, MT |
| Alaska Big Dipper Ice Arena Fairbanks, AK | Nebraska John Breslow Ice Hockey Center Lincoln, NE |
| Arizona Arcadia Ice Arena Phoenix, AZ | Nevada SoBe Ice Arena Las Vegas, NV |
| Arkansas Lawrence Plaza Ice Rink Bentonville, AR | New Hampshire Dover Ice Arena Dover, NH |
| California Snoopy's Home Ice Santa Rosa, CA | New Jersey Ice Vault Arena Wayne, NJ |
| Colorado Ice Centre at the Promenade Westminster, CO | New Mexico Outpost CooLLOOP Ice Arenas Albuquerque, NM |
| Connecticut International Skating Center of Connecticut Simsbury, CT | New York The Rink At Rockefeller Center New York, NY |
| Delaware University of Delaware Ice Arenas Newark, DE | North Carolina Extreme Ice Center Indian Trail, NC |
| Florida Florida Panthers IceDen Coral Springs, FL | North Dakota Maysa Arena Minot, ND |
| Georgia Marietta Ice Center Marietta, GA | Ohio Mentor Civic Ice Arena Mentor, OH |
| Hawaii Ice Palace Honolulu, HI | Oklahoma Devon Ice Rink Oklahoma City, OK |
| Idaho Idaho IceWorld Boise, ID | Oregon Sherwood Ice Arena Sherwood, OR |
| Illinois Southwest Ice Arena Crestwood, IL | Pennsylvania York Ice Arena York, PA |
| Indiana The Ice Box Skating Rink South Bend, IN | Rhode Island The ALEX AND ANI City Center Providence, RI |
| Iowa Mystique Community Ice Center Dubuque, IA | South Carolina Carolina Ice Palace North Charleston, SC |
| Kansas Wichita Ice Center Wichita, KS | South Dakota Roosevelt Park Ice Arena Rapid City, SD |
| Kentucky Alpine Ice Arena Louisville, KY | Tennessee Ford Ice Center Antioch, TN |
| Louisiana Leo's Iceland Baton Rouge, LA | Texas Galleria Ice Skating Center Dallas, TX |
| Maine William B. Troubh Ice Arena Portland, ME | Utah Utah Olympic Oval Salt Lake City, UT |
| Maryland The Gardens Ice House Laurel, MD | Vermont Cairns Arena Burlington, VT |
| Massachusetts Steriti Rink Boston, MA | Virginia Pentagon Row Outdoor Ice Skating Arlington, VA |
| Michigan Yost Ice Arena Ann Arbor, MI | Washington Mountain View Ice Arena Vancouver, WA |
| Minnesota Bloomington Ice Garden Minneapolis, MN | West Virginia South Charleston Memorial Ice Arena South Charleston, WV |
| Mississippi Mid-South Ice House Olive Branch, MS | Wisconsin Pettit National Ice Center Milwaukee, WI |
| Missouri Steinberg Skating Rink St. Louis, MO | Wyoming Casper Ice Arena Casper, WY |
| District of Columbia Gallery and Sculpture Garden Rink Washington, D.C. |
Do you travel for winter fun? Find the perfect accommodation on Tripping.com!
This article was written by Justina Tran.