Winter in New York City has its challenges – while not incessantly freezing cold or snowy like some other cities (hey, I lived in Chicago), it certainly can be. The wind amplifies as it whips around our skyscrapers, making wind chill a real trial some days. The days are shorter, and once the festive lights of the holiday season are over, a gloomy grey day can make you feel that you are enduring rather than exuberantly enjoying walking around the city bundled in your warmest parka, hat, and gloves (I recommend mittens!). However, when my sister lived in Vermont, she told me that there you just have to figure out a way to make your peace with winter, and people would take up cross-country skiing or other outdoor sports to get out and find a way to enjoy the season. I think that is true of NYC as well, and one thing that is fun to do – and with few exceptions, only available during the winter – is to go ice skating. While the iconic Rockefeller Center rink immediately comes to mind, there are many places to go ice skating in NYC. Let’s look into our options . . .

Rockefeller Center

When the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is up, it’s impossible to resist skating under it – at least once (the rink has capacity limitations, is small, and when the tree is up everyone has the same idea!). But keep in mind that the rink is open much longer than the tree is up (it opened October 21st in 2023 for this season, and will stay open until late March or early April, depending on weather). Cost for an adult to skate ranges from $21-79 (pricing is flexible and based on demand) without skate rental and for only 40-60 minutes (your time could be shorter than an hour if the Zamboni is used during your hour), so it’s not inexpensive. If you wanted to skate a lot, there is a season pass, starting at $250. It’s hard to beat this skating rink for photo opportunities (see a video I took here), but it’s not most locals’ first choice. You can find out more about the Rockefeller Center skating rink here.

Bryant Park

Not too far from Rockefeller Center, behind the iconic main branch of the New York Public Library, you can find the Bryant Park Winter Village. Skating here is FREE (this is not a misprint!), and you can reserve tickets (the reservations open up a week in advance). If you need to rent skates, they are available – if you have your own skates, there is no charge at all to skate here. See here for a video I took at the rink once when a skating performance surprised me. The Holiday Market here was recently voted the world’s best, and there are other fun things to do (rent a private igloo for dining, eat at the Lodge, have a drink at the L’OR Porch, even go curling!). Perhaps the most fun is BUMPER CARS ON ICE, where you sit in a big tube and basically slide around and bounce into others. Trust me, it is crazy fun. Bumper cars on ice is not free, but I think well worth it. Find out more about skating and other things to do at Bryant Park in the winter here.

Wollman Rink

I will put my own bias out right away – I think ice skating at Wollman Rink, surrounded by Central Park and looking at the skyscrapers ringing the park is the most beautiful and enjoyable skating experience in NYC (see a video I took while walking past on Christmas Eve in 2023 here). Tickets can be reserved in advance (around $15) and they also have skate rentals available. Tip to New Yorkers with a library card: Culture Pass, with which you can get free admission to museums and such, often has a pass for four available during the week at no charge. Wollman Rink is more exposed than many of the other urban skating rinks, so check the weather before you go. Find out more about skating at Wollman Rink here.

The Rink at Brookfield Place

Brookfield Place, near One World Trade and Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, has a nice rink that I find usually not too crowded. You have distant views of the Statue of Liberty and you are skating right next to the Hudson River. Pricing is reasonable – $15 weekdays and $17 weekends, with skate rentals only $5-7. Find out more about skating at Brookfield Place here.

Manhattan West

Manhattan West is a hidden gem – if you haven’t been to this area in Midtown near Hudson Yards, check it out. They have skating sessions mid-November through March, and the cost is about $20 (plus $5 for skate rental). Find out more about skating at Manhattan West here.

Glide at Brooklyn Bridge Park

There’s a new skating rink in NYC, and I really want to try it but haven’t yet! It’s called Glide, at Brooklyn Bridge Park right under the Brooklyn Bridge (one of my favorite pics from walking over the Brooklyn bridge is above), and is open until March 1. A skating session starts at $15, with skate rental at $5, and from what I can tell the views are incredible. Find out more about skating at Glide here.

Chelsea Piers Sky Rink

I mentioned before that most but not all ice skating rinks in NYC are outdoors, and the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers is the big exception. Completely indoors, enormous (there are two full-sized rinks), and open year-round, this is where I took my daughters to learn to skate. Find out more about Chelsea Piers skating here.

And more!

I have not personally been to the following rinks but there is ice skating at least part of the year at Industry City in Brooklyn, Prospect Park, and Riverbank State Park.

One thing I was definitely reminded of when I summited Mount Kilimanjaro this summer in freezing cold and wind: there is no bad weather, only weather for which you have not dressed properly. (OK, not entirely true, it was still cold on Kili, and certainly at times my face has become completely numb by the cold and wind here in the city during a frigid snap – but still, proper gear makes all the difference!). So let’s get out and appreciate winter here in NYC . . . for after all, would we appreciate spring and cherry blossoms quite so much if we hadn’t just lived through our austere and challenging winter?