Frozen Fun: Lace Up Your Skates and Enjoy Centre County’s Outdoor and Indoor Ice

Now that freezing winter temperatures have hit central Pennsylvania, it’s time to break out the sleds, snowshoes, skis, and ice skates. For many years, Centre County’s ice-skating options were limited, but now some communities are building outdoor skating rinks of their own, while long-standing favorite skating spots are offering fun new events and amenities. Need a little help deciding where to head this season? Here are your options. 

Howard Community Park

Some of 2022’s best ice-skating spots are recent additions, like the new ice-skating rink in Howard, which organizer Patti Long says was inspired by her love for Hallmark holiday movies. The rink, which sits on the Howard Community Park basketball court, opened for the first time last year, drawing families from the area with its free admission and always-open schedule. It even gave birth to a winter festival, which Long called “a huge, huge success.”

“We had food trucks. We had entertainment. We had about 35 craft vendors, and it was all outside by where this ice rink would have been,” she says, regretfully noting that last year’s rink melted before the festival took place in March. “This year, possibly, if it stays cold, the ice rink will still be there. We just have to sort of play it by ear with that, if it’ll be around or if it won’t be around.”

This year’s winter festival will take place March 12 from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Beyond the food trucks, entertainment, and vendors, festival plans also include historical walking tours from Matt Maris of Local Historia, a chili cook-off, and chainsaw carving demonstrations.

Bellefonte’s Talleyrand Park

A new skating rink in Bellefonte’s Talleyrand Park boasts similar inspiration. Organizer Mark Dello Stritto told the Centre County Gazette in November that the rink is intended as a draw for the downtown during the winter months, when there’s traditionally not as much activity, which will in turn benefit downtown businesses. “It is about creating this ambiance that you see in movies and on TV shows and bringing that to life in Talleyrand,” he says. 

Plans for the rink’s debut year have included seating, a temporary brick walkway and lighting. The rink has truly been a community effort, with many local businesses coming together to build the temporary rink, including Garman Construction, which built a platform and railing for skaters to more easily access the rink, and Kelleher Landscape, which laid the temporary brick walkway and added the rink’s lighting.

Boalsburg’s Blue Spring Park

Howard Community Park isn’t the only skating spot hosting a winter festival this season. Blue Spring Park in Boalsburg typically offers seasonal skating at its temporary ice rink, which is open dawn to dusk each day, with designated hockey-only skating sessions taking place Mondays and Thursdays, 3–5:30 p.m. This year the schedule is the same, with additional plans for a winter carnival in early February. 

“[The rink] is use-at-your-own-risk, and our staff will place ‘closed’ signs at or on the rink when the ice is not safe,” explains Pam Salokangas, director of parks and recreation at Centre Region Parks & Recreation. “While the ice may not be deep, if someone breaks through it with a skate blade when the ice is soft, it will damage the liner. … Weather permitting, we hope to incorporate use of the rink during our Winter Carnival on Saturday, February 5. We usually host some broom ball—skates not required—and ice games during the overall event.”

(As of Thursday the rink was closed due to soft ice.)

Even if you’re not keen on skating, the carnival will also offer other family-friendly activities, including scavenger hunts, a craft station, and s’mores and hot cocoa provided for a small donation. The carnival is scheduled for 3-5 p.m. on Saturday and no registration is required

Centre County’s State Parks 

Centre County also has options for those who would rather skate on a natural body of water this season. 

At Black Moshannon State Park, a designated skating area is located by Pavilion 4 and the adjacent boat rental building, with the pavilion transformed into a warming hut with a wood stove during the winter months. The state park office also offers an equipment loan program during business hours, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m., and Saturday–Sunday, 1:30–3:30 p.m., through which skaters can rent ice skates, snowshoes, cross-country skis, and even ice fishing equipment.

Of course, skating on any natural body of water comes with potential hazards. Michelle McCloskey, environmental education specialist at the park, notes visitors should “check the winter report for ice conditions and stay in the designated ice-skating area. Signs are posted when the ice is unsafe. If the signs say the ice is unsafe, the best practice would be to stay off the ice, even if it looks safe. Also, the ice isn’t always smooth, so be aware of bumps and cracks in the ice that may cause a tripping hazard.”

The winter report is available on the park’s website (click on “ice skating” and scroll down), as is a calendar of family-friendly Science Saturday programming, geared toward visitors ages 7 to 10. “During the program, participants complete science experiments and crafts related to snow and ice. They make fake snow, make a snowstorm in a jar, paint a snow measuring stick, go ice fishing for ice cubes, and find out how some animals are able to survive winter without hibernating,” McCloskey says. 

Ice skating is also an option at Bald Eagle State Park, but environmental education specialist Zach McCloskey notes that ice skating isn’t offered as a recreational activity through the park on an official basis. Instead, he says, “Patrons are permitted to ice skate at their own risk and with their own equipment. We do not maintain a specific area for skating or monitor ice conditions.” Skaters can look to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources’ winter report, as well as the DCNR’s online information on ice safety, as a precaution.

Pegula Ice Arena

Probably the most well-known, long-standing ice-skating venue in the State College area, Pegula Ice Arena is not just a convenient option for families. It also offers a wealth of educational options for those who want to level up their skating skills, as well as entertaining shows and special events throughout the year. 

According to Deb Campbell, operations and events manager at the arena, this year’s programming includes group lessons for beginner through advanced skaters, public sessions, low-test and high-test freestyles, and even a Coffee Club public skating session for people ages 16 and up who want a more relaxed environment where jumps and spins aren’t permitted. For those who want to attend a public skating session that isn’t as crowded as the weekend sessions, Campbell recommends the arena’s Wednesday noon sessions, which are $6 for admission and far less crowded.

“Families should make sure they are checking our schedule online, as our public-session schedule varies week-to-week depending on varsity home hockey games and other events going on at the arena,” she cautions.

“This is a very exciting semester at Pegula,” she adds. “We will be hosting the Women’s Frozen Four [NCAA hockey tournament], March 18–20, and we are looking forward to the return of our annual Spring Ice Show on Sunday, April 24. We will have several themed or special skating events throughout the semester, like a special skate prior to a men’s home game, a beach-themed skate, and a ‘skate with the Easter Bunny’ event. If people want to stay in the loop, they can follow us on social media or send an email to [email protected] to get added to our newsletter distribution list.” 

A Winter Blast from the Past

For those who are familiar with Penn State history and lore, another long-ago skating spot may stand out as more memorable than even Pegula Ice Arena. Historically, Penn State students and regional residents alike could enjoy ice skating on a frozen duck pond near Thompson Spring, off College Avenue, from 1859 all the way through the 1950s.

According to the Centre County Historical Society, “Locals would buy used skates from Metzger’s and build bonfires to keep warm after hours of figure skating and ice hockey. Even after heavy snows, there were dedicated skaters-turned-shovelers who worked to clear the pond.”

The Penn State classes of 1927 through 1931 donated nearly $20,000 to develop the site into a year-round recreational area that would include not only ice skating but also ski jumps, a botanical garden, a pool, and a summer residence for the university president. The Great Depression halted the project, which then never materialized. Today, part of that site is the Thompson Woods Preserve, which is popular for birding, hiking, walking, and biking—but no longer for ice skating.

This story appears in the February 2022 issue of Town&Gown.