On solid ice, where noses feel cold as gliders warm up

If the chill’s too much outside, chill inside at the Portland Ice Arena, where some 60,000 people a year skate through (or watch) the variety of programs the rink offers, including public skating, all levels of youth hockey, adult recreational hockey, and more. If you want to see how the pros do it, the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates practice here. 225 Park Ave., 207-774-8553, www.portlandicearena.com, public skating adults $5, children $3, rentals

New Hampshire

Quaint cold best describes the Nestlenook Victorian Skating Park in Jackson, on 3-acre Emerald Lake. This is the largest outdoor skate park in the Mount Washington Valley. Part of the frozen lake winds under an arched bridge adorned with evergreen trim, and when you get cold, you can cozy up to a fire with hot chocolate in an enclosed warming area on Angel Island. For youngsters new to the sport, there just opened a small, tented artificial surface rink where they can test their little skating legs. Dinsmore Road, 603-383-0845, public skating adults $6, children $3, rentals available

Skating at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, you might forget that your feet are cold when you gaze at the majestic backdrop of the Presidential Mountain Range. Skating is free for all (you need not be a guest), but be warned, this is a tennis-court-sized surface popular with children staying at the resort. Route 302, 603-278-1000, www.brettonwoods.com, free and open to the public, rentals

The covered Tohke Dome Rink is across the street from the King Pine ski area at the Purity Spring Resort in East Madison, where skating is free for resort guests or those with a King Pine lift ticket. The rink has long been popular with local families and is a great place to take children. 251 Eaton Road, 603-367-8896, www.kingpine.com/ice-skating.php, public skating $4 midweek, $6 weekends, rentals

Vermont

St. Johnsbury isn’t far from the border, so that Canadian cold means outdoor skating often into spring. The St. Johnsbury Parks and Recreation department maintains two outdoor rinks: Four Seasons Park at the corner of Main and Winter streets, and another on Portland Street. Both small parks have little warming sheds for getting out the chill. 802-748-8414,public skating free, no rentals

If you want to feel like you’re truly skating in the great outdoors, take a twirl around the Lake Morey Resort trail in Fairlee, a 4 1/2-mile loop that is said to be the longest skating trail in the country. Maintained by the resort, the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, and the Hulbert Outdoor Center, the trail benefits this year from a relative lack of snow that leaves the surface easier to keep smooth for skating. The resort, which hosts the annual Vermont Pond Hockey Championships every February, has also built smaller rinks on its property for skating and pickup hockey games. 1 Clubhouse Road, 800-423-1211, www.lakemoreyresort.com, public skating free, no rentals

Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at kandarian@globe.com.