Indoor Ice Skating
The Everett Arena offers ice skating from mid-September through mid-March. During the ice skating season, the arena offers public skating, stick practice, skating lessons for beginners, learn to play hockey, travel youth hockey, and high school hockey.
Public ice skating hours are Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Admission is $6. Kids ages 3 and under are free. Skate rentals are available in the pro shop for $5. Skate aide walkers are available in a limited supply. Ice skating will continue through March 17. The arena will be open New Year’s Day.
Adult stick practice (ages 14 and up) hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Admission is $10 with free entry for goalies. Helmet and gloves are required and full equipment is recommended. Stick practice will continue through March 16.
Outdoor Ice Skating
White Park Pond & Hockey Rink
Rollins Park (along north side Broadway Street)
Beaver Meadow Pond (located at Beaver Meadow Golf Course)
The city asks that you skate at your own risk and obey all posted signs. The outdoor skating areas are maintained for the enjoyment of all residents. Be aware of others around you and their abilities. Please stay off the ice if parks staff are on the ice either removing the snow or adding water to the surface. This will allow staff to finish their work quickly and safely.
The Hockey Rink at White Park is for pick up games. Please rotate players as needed. There are LED lights at the rink this year The lights turn on with the switch next to the rink. Once the lights are turn on they will stay on for 1 hour up until 11 p.m.
When temperatures allow, the Parks and Recreation staff will flood the skating areas – usually in the early morning. Maintenance is preformed in the following order: White Park areas, Rollins Park and then Beaver Meadow Golf Course.
XC Ski & Snowshoe Trails
Beaver Meadow Golf Course
The Beaver Meadow golf course has both flat terrain, and gentle hills, making it fun for skiers of all abilities. When there is enough snow to run the groomer without damaging the golf course, the City of Concord grooms trails, both for skating and classic. The gentle hills, ponds, bridges, and other golf course scenery make this a popular location for cross country skiing.
(Free to use and maintained by the City of Concord)
Memorial Field and White Farm
These trails are groomed, are mostly flat, and suitable for beginners. The trails tend to be groomed for skiing more often than other trails in Concord since the ground under the cross country ski trails is fairly smooth, and these trails need less snow cover for grooming. The trails at Memorial Field and White Farm are connected by a tunnel under Langley Parkway. Intermediate cross-country skiers may enjoy the Pleasant View trail, which is a narrower trail through the woods that starts near the tunnel. Parking is on the left side of the State Surplus lot at 144 Clinton Street (outside of the gates), and also at Memorial Field.
(Free to use and maintained by the Capital Ski and Outing Club)
Carter Hill Orchard
Carter Hill Orchard is a scenic location to ski, but due to its hilltop location, it tends to be more windy and cold than other ski trails. That means generally more snowfall is required to make grooming possible, and the snow tends to be harder packed than at flatter locations. Currently, the trails in the orchard are not being groomed. There are also some ungroomed trails in the woods behind the orchard, connecting to both the Carter Hill Connector and the West End Farm Trail. These trails have somewhat rocky ground, and need at least a foot of snow to ski comfortably.
(Currently not being groomed, subject to change)
Other spots
In addition to the groomed trails noted above, several other trails described below are suitable for intermediate and advanced cross country skiers when the natural snow is plentiful, fresh, and in good condition. Old snow tends to get icy as it is packed down, and becomes unsuitable for skiing. Snowshoe tracks may make skiing impractical, especially on hills. Natural snow conditions are frequently poor, so exercise caution. The following trails are relatively flat and smooth, and may be skiable without requiring too much snow cover:
Upper trail at Sewalls Falls (accessible from the north side of the Beaver Meadow golf course)
Green trail at Batchelder Mill
Rolfe Park
SPNHF trails
A few neighborhood parks like Spears Park, Mast Yard State Forest, the south end of Broken Ground, the East Concord Heritage Trails, Contoocook River Park, and Morono Park should be suitable for cross country skiing on a somewhat regular basis. However, due to lack of a plowed parking lot they might only be usable for people living within walking distance of those trails. The West End Farm Trail can be skied from Dimond Hill Farm, going north or south. There is limited trailhead parking at the kiosk beside the barn at Dimond Hill Farm, courtesy of the farm. Part of the trail is groomed by the Bow Pioneers snowmobile club and is part of their trail network.
When sharing a snowmobile trail it is courteous to step off the trail when snowmobiles come through. Other trails, such as Audubon Society, Broken Ground, Oak Hill, Winant Park, Swope Park, and the Swope-Winant Connector all have fairly rocky ground, and will require at least a foot of snow coverage in order to ski without hitting rocks. These trails are recommended for expert cross country skiers in good snow conditions only.
Hiking/Snowshoeing
Did you know the City of Concord has 31 trails in Concord? These trails are maintained by a group of volunteers and are managed by Assistant City Planner, Beth Fenstermacher. All trails are open year-round and offer a great local connection to the outdoors. These trails are also great for snowshoeing when there is enough snow.
Source: City of Concord, Parks and Recreation, concordnh.gov
