So You’re Going Ice Skating This Year? Here’s How That Holiday Ice Rink Is Made

Generic illustration of a holiday ice rink, not a photograph of a particular venue.

One day, the town square is filled with tables and shoppers. A few weeks later, people are lacing up ice skates in the very same spot. So how do operators create real ice in a downtown plaza, shopping center, or parking lot—even when the weather is not freezing?

Most temporary refrigerated rinks rely on a simple idea: remove heat from the water until it freezes, then keep removing the heat that the air, sun, and skaters bring back. Here’s the usual sequence.

1. Choose the footprint and prepare the ground

First, the organizer chooses how big the rink will be and checks that the site can support it. Crews assess the surface, drainage, slope, safe entrances, access for equipment, and where the refrigeration equipment can sit. A rink in a mall courtyard may need a level platform; a smooth paved plaza may already provide a suitable base.

Depending on the design, installers place protective sheeting, a vapor or water barrier, and insulation beneath the rink. These layers help protect the site and manage heat and moisture. Not every temporary ice system uses exactly the same floor arrangement.

2. Roll out the refrigeration mats or pipes

Next comes a network of closely spaced tubing covering the skating footprint. Portable systems may use flexible mats or coils made from materials such as EPDM rubber or polyethylene plastic. They connect to supply and return headers that distribute a chilled heat-transfer liquid across the rink.

The tubing is the hidden part of the ice rink. Once water freezes above it, visitors usually never see the cooling system beneath their skates.

3. The chiller removes heat—it doesn’t add “cold”

Here is the clever part. A refrigeration unit, often called a chiller, cools a liquid that circulates through the floor tubing. Many systems use a glycol-and-water mixture; other heat-transfer fluids and designs also exist. Pumps send the chilled liquid out through the mats, where it absorbs heat from the surface above. The slightly warmer fluid then returns to the chiller to be cooled again.

In everyday conversation, we say the machine “makes the ice cold.” Technically, refrigeration works by moving heat away. And because outdoor air keeps adding heat, the system may need to keep running even after the rink is frozen.

4. Build the ice slowly, one thin layer at a time

Once the floor is cold enough, crews begin applying water in light sprays or fine mists. Each thin layer freezes before another is added. Gradually, those layers become the solid, smooth skating surface.

How thick? There isn’t one universal number. Many refrigerated rinks use roughly one to two inches of ice, depending on the floor design, weather, event needs, and operating plan. Outdoor temporary rinks may use a thicker sheet than permanent indoor arenas. More ice is not automatically better: an unnecessarily thick sheet takes more energy to keep cold.

5. Install rink boards, lighting, and the finishing touches

Perimeter boards or railings define the skating area and help separate skaters from surrounding walkways. Depending on the installation, boards may be positioned earlier in the build. Staff also add entry gates, skate-rental and ticketing areas, lighting, signage, and places to sit or change shoes.

Even after opening day, the work continues. Skates cut shallow grooves in the ice, so rink staff scrape or resurface it and apply fresh water as needed. Temperature, sunshine, rain, wind, and humidity all affect how the rink performs.

Is that real ice or synthetic ice?

A refrigerated rink has a real frozen-water surface and needs a cooling system. A synthetic rink uses manufactured panels designed for skating and doesn’t need to freeze water. Both may appear at holiday events, but they are different experiences. Ice Rink Guide identifies the skating-surface type when it can be verified with the venue.

The next time you lace up…

Look across that downtown ice rink and remember: beneath the holiday lights is a carefully planned floor, a circulating cooling system, and layer upon layer of frozen water. It’s not winter weather alone making the experience possible—it’s engineering.

Find holiday ice rinks near you →