Your guide to skating outside
A month into winter, outdoor ice skating rinks across the state are open for the season.
Local rinks
Local cities and towns like Manchester, Concord, Nashua, Bow, Merrimack and Hopkinton have outdoor rinks that are free and open to residents and non-residents.
The rinks may be open on and off, depending on the temperatures, so be sure to call or check your city’s or town’s website or social media before you go. Matthew Casparius, director of Merrimack Parks & Recreation, said temperatures must stay below 32 degrees consistently for the ice at Merrimack’s rink at Watson Park to freeze.
“Ice conditions can vary greatly with a temperature change as small as a few degrees,” he said. “If it doesn’t get cold or stay cold, then the rink season may be shortened.”
The rinks are skate-at-your-own-risk. Skaters are asked to stay off the ice if the rink is closed, and to practice common-sense Covid-19 safety measures while on the ice.
“We don’t really regulate it, but obviously people should maintain social distance, and masks are recommended,” said Janet Horvath, Manchester’s recreation and enterprise manager.
“Anyone that is showing symptoms of Covid-19 or has been exposed to Covid-19 should not visit the facility until they have been cleared by a medical professional,” Casparius added.
That’s especially important since skating so far this season seems to be a popular idea.
“This year, with a focus on outdoor activities as being safer for all, there has been more interest in skating than ever before,” said Veronica Lester, director of marketing for Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, home to Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond.
Puddle Duck Pond is approximately 12,500 square feet, “75 percent of the size of a standard hockey rink,” she said. With an admission fee of $12, it features amenities like an outdoor patio and food truck on weekends; services including ice skate rentals and sharpening; rink rentals for private events; and skating lessons for kids and adults.
The perfect skates
Dave Palisi, owner of Capital Sporting Goods in Concord, which sells new and used pond or recreational skates and hockey skates, shared some tips for buying your first pair of skates.
If you plan on going ice skating on any kind of regular basis, Palisi said, it’s worth it to buy your own skates. Owning your own skates allows you to skate anywhere rather than being limited to rinks that offer skate rentals, and your skates are going to fit better and be more comfortable than rentals.
“You aren’t going to get a good fit with a pair of rented skates because you don’t get properly fitted when you’re renting. They just give you skates based on your shoe size,” he said. “That’s fine if all you’re looking to do is get into a pair of skates so you can spend a half hour skating, then take them off and be done.”
If you decide to buy your own skates, getting professionally fitted in person at a local shop that sells skates is the only way to ensure that you’re buying skates in the right size, Palisi said, adding that he would “recommend 110 percent not buying skates online.”
“I can’t emphasize enough the fitting process and how important it is,” he said. “If you put the time and effort into getting fitted correctly, you know it’s going to fit and that it’s going to perform the best for you.”
The biggest mistake people make when it comes to buying skates, Palisi said, is buying skates that are the same size as their regular shoe size.
“People think they know what size they need, but shoe sizes and skate sizes are totally different,” he said.
Another common misconception is that the best-fitting skates are the skates that are more expensive and higher-quality.
“You do not need to spend a lot of money,” Palisi said. “You’re better off buying a cheaper skate that is properly fit.”
A good-fitting skate should be tight against the foot. If the skates are “loose and floppy” and have enough space inside for your feet to move around, that will lead to soreness and discomfort, Palisi said.
For the best possible fit, you can get heat moldable skates. Palisi said Capital Sporting Goods and most specialty skate shops have a special “oven” that can “bake” the moldable skates. Once the skates are heated up, you wear them for 15 minutes or so, creating a custom mold around your feet.
If you’re trying to decide what type of skates to buy, Palisi recommends hockey skates for beginners, as opposed to figure skates. The blade on figure skates is fully exposed, with a squared-off tail on the end and a jagged “pick” at the toe. The blade on hockey skates is inset in a plastic holder and is smooth and slightly curved on both ends. To slow down or stop on hockey skates, the skater rotates their leg and scrapes the ice with the flat edge of the skate, whereas on figure skates, the skater uses the pick to push off and stop, which Palisi said is more challenging and takes some practice.
“If you don’t know what the toe pick on figure skates is or know anything about how to use it, just don’t even go there,” he said. “You don’t need to. Just go with a hockey skate.”
If you’re only skating outdoors, Palisi said, it’s futile to get your skates sharpened more than once a season.
“All the sand and grit on outdoor ice is going to ruin your sharpening, and there’s just nothing you can do about it,” he said, “but as long as you’re staying outdoors, [sharpening] is not a big need.”
Build a backyard rink
Building your own backyard rink is a great way to get in more skating time this winter while maintaining social distance.
“There are lots of backyard rinks right now,” Palisi said.
First, he said, find an area of level ground and decide how large you want your rink to be.
Then, go to a hardware or home improvement store and get a sheet of plastic for the base of the rink, and boards to enclose it.
“Just tell the people at the store that you’re looking for some liner to make a backyard rink, and they’ll know exactly what you’re talking about,” Palisi said, adding that some stores also sell complete backyard rink kits.
Another perk of building your own rink is that it doesn’t require as much freezing as public ponds do, so you can still skate even when the public ponds are closed.
“Ponds are deeper, so there needs to be several inches of ice,” Palisi said, “but if you make a backyard rink with just one or two inches of water, you don’t need it to be as cold for as long.”
To maintain your rink simply hose it down after each use at night when temperatures are freezing.
“It’ll smooth out overnight and be ready for the next day,” Palisi said.
Guided forest bathing walks
Not all rinks may be open. The open/closed status of the rinks can change from week to week depending on the temperatures. Call or check the city’s or town’s website or social media for the most recent information.
• Beaver Meadow Pond, at Beaver Meadow Golf Course, 1 Beaver Meadow Dr., Concord, 225-8690, concordnh.gov/1410/winter-activities. When open, hours are daily from dawn to dusk.
• Bow Town Pond, next to the Bow Community Center, 3 Bow Center Road, Bow, 223-3920, bow-nh.com/256/Parks-Recreation.
• Dorrs Pond, adjacent to Livingston Park, 56 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 624-6444, manchesternh.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation. When open, hours are daily from dawn to dusk.
• Four Corners, behind Holman Stadium, Sargent Avenue, Nashua, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov/1464/ice-skating-rink–seasonal. When open, hours are daily from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. for general skating, and before 11 a.m. and between 4:30 and 6 p.m. for hockey.
• Ice Skating Rink at Watson Park, 441 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 882-1046, merrimackparksandrec.org/watson-park. When open, hours are daily from dawn to 9 p.m.
• Jeff Morin Fields at Roby Park, 126 Spit Brook Road, Nashua, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov. When open, hours are daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for general skating, and from 8 to 10 p.m. for hockey.
• Kimball Lake, 47 Kimball Lake Road, Hopkinton, 746-8263, hopkintonrec.com/info/activities. When open, hours are daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond, at Strawbery Banke Museum, 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth, 422-0600, strawberybanke.org/skate.cfm. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission costs $12 for skaters age 5 and up. Skate rentals are available for $6, and skate sharpening is available for $7.
• Rollins Park, 116 Broadway St., Concord, 225-8690, concordnh.gov/1410/winter-activities. When open, hours are daily from dawn to dusk.
• White Park Pond & Hockey Rink,1 White St., Concord, 225-8690, concordnh.gov/1410/winter-activities. When open, hours are daily from dawn to dusk.
Buy skates
Here are some local shops selling ice skates.
• Capital Sporting Goods, 276 N. State St., Concord, 224-6921, capitalsportinggoods.com
• TSR Hockey, 5 Kelly Road, Salem, 898-7777, tsrhockey.com
Featured Photo: Labrie Family Skate at Strawbery Banke Museum’s Puddle Dock Pond in Portsmouth. Courtesy photo.
