The Rink at Brookfield Place
250 Vesey St. at North End Avenue
Watch the Statue of Liberty spin by as you twirl around this 7,350-square-foot Battery Park rink. Sandwiched between the sparkling glass atrium of Brookfield Place’s Winter Garden and the Hudson River, the arena delivers romantic views. But it’s mostly neighborhood kids who roam this rink.
Michael Carrazza, 47, of Tribeca, brought his 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter on a recent Sunday to escape the hordes of tourists at the Rockefeller Center and Central Park rinks.
“Midtown is so congested,” he says. “It’s nice to come here with the kids.”
SmokeShack burger from Shake Shack. Plenty of food trucks also line North End Avenue on weekdays.
Chilly after your icy fun? Pretend you’re in the Caribbean with a close-up look at the 45-foot-high palm trees inside the glass-enclosed Winter Garden atrium. There are 16 of them!
Insider Tip: The ice is cleared after every 90-minute skating period, so get on the ice as soon as a new period starts — for your full $15 admission’s worth.
Info: Open daily, skate sessions from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; admission: $15; rentals: $5 for skates. (Hockey and figure skates, no helmets or lockers.) therinkatbrookfieldplacenyc.com
Blade rating: ★★★ The beautiful views, lack of tourists and friendly staff make up for a steeper price and lack of ice-adjacent amenities.
See/Change Rink
Corner of Fulton and Front streets
Tourists and locals mingle at this lively South Street Seaport rink, where a blast of holiday music and a decked-out Christmas tree set a festive mood.
At 4,950 square feet, it’s the smallest of the new rinks, with room for 200 skaters. But an $8 bag-check option tempts nearby shoppers to stash their finds and sneak a quick skate break.
“We saw the rink and said, ‘Why not try it out?’ ” says Nicole Grant, 31, of Woodhaven, who recently stopped by with her 8-year-old daughter, Aliyah, after a downtown shopping trip. Grant watched from outside the rink as Aliyah inched along the rail, encouraged by a staffer. “She’s scared, but I think she likes it,” says the mom.
Carlos Fontanez, 30, laced up his skates for the first time in 13 years. He says he wishes the ice were a bit cleaner, but gives it an overall thumbs up: “I like the vibe, the music and the tree,” says the Queens resident.
Concessions are limited to candy bars and drinks, but organizers say a full menu of treats, including chocolate churros and ham-and-cheese empanadas, should be available soon.
Insider tip: Neighbors get half off: Just show proof of your 10038 or 10005 ZIP code for admission and skate and helmet discounts.
Info: Open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; admission: $10 for adults, free for kids 5 and under; rental fee: $6 for skates, $6 for helmets. (Hockey and figure skates available.) southstreetseaport.com
Blade rating: ★★ It’s a convenient holiday pit stop, but nearby attractions and shopping are more alluring than the cramped rink. More food options would improve the rating.
McCarren Rink
776 Lorimer St. (near Driggs Avenue), Brooklyn
Pack a bag before heading to this spacious, family-friendly rink at the intersection of Brooklyn’s Greenpoint and Williamsburg neighborhoods — you’ll want to spend the whole day.
The 7,200-square-foot skater haven sits atop the McCarren Park pool plaza and offers wide stretches of ice, perfect for practicing twirls and toe-pick stops. The rink has a capacity of 350 but can attract more than 1,000 visitors over the course of a weekend day.
Amenities include lockers, a warming tent and outdoor benches for watching all the action. Tasty treats from the rink’s Hanson Brothers food tent, like a $5 pickled lychee and fried onion hot dog, will appeal to parents, while kids will dig the $3 caramel popcorn and $4 grilled cheese.
On a recent Wednesday, a trio of 20-somethings from nearby Bushwick — decked out in tights, hot pants and fur hats — linked up for a conga-line zip through the rink. “It’s winter fun close to home,” says Lauren Multer, 23. Meanwhile, Tony Jones, 11, skating with 42 of his fellow fifth-graders from PS 23 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, crowed gleefully, “It’s like riding on a scooter!”
Insider tips: Lace up on a weekday before 3 p.m. and you could have the rink to yourself. Bring your own lock and save $6.
Info: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., through Jan. 4.; admission: $8 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, $4 for kids 12 and under; rental fee: $5 for skates. (Hockey skates only, no figure skates or helmets.) mccarrenrink.com
Blade rating: ★★★ This welcoming rink makes it easy for a family to skate away the day, while nighttime views of the Manhattan skyline and sophisticated food options appeal to all.
The Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center at Lakeside
Prospect Park (near the Parkside and Ocean avenues entrance)
Frank Darby was practically skating on air the other day at one of the brand-new side-by-side rinks in Prospect Park. Comparing the gleaming new spot with the old Wollman rink it replaced, the third-grade teacher at PS 161 in Crown Heights says, “It’s like night and day. The old one was worn-down, decrepit. This is what you expect to see when you go to Central Park.”
The rinks — a combined 32,000 square feet — each have room for 450 skaters. And with the surrounding trees, visitors can feel like they’re gliding through a forest.
The $74 million renovation has added new facilities like private party rooms, lockers, two sets of bathrooms, a concession stand for quick bites and the Bluestone Café, where weary skaters can recharge with lattes and trendy treats like a “Lakeside Mac & Cheese” or a pulled-pork-and-truffle grilled cheese.
The covered rink will double as the hockey arena for local leagues, and, in the warmer months, for roller-skating. The uncovered rink turns into a shallow fountain for kiddies to cool off in starting in May.
Keira, a 17-year-old from the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment, skating confidently along the ice during a preview of the park before it opened to the public five days before Christmas, calls the setting “pretty” and gushes that she’ll be back with her family.
Prospect Park is the cheapest option among the new rinks despite the posh amenities. There’s a free skate session on Mondays from 3 to 6 p.m. for kids under 12, and weekdays are always just $6 for everyone.
Insider tips: Balance a little shaky? Wow your friends and sign up for an eight-week “skate school” hosted by the US Figure Skating Association (212-661-6640). And be warned: The cafe, which debuts Friday, will only be open Fridays to Sundays.
Info: Open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check times on holidays. Admission: $6 weekdays, $8 weekends and holidays; rentals: $5 skates and $5 helmets. prosepectpark.org
Blade rating: ★★★★ This Brooklyn gem delivers the whole package: beauty, value and elbow room all wrapped up in one all-season gift bow.