Ice skating is a classic mountain activity and sport that involves gliding across prepared frozen surfaces, from refrigerated indoor arenas to open-air village rinks and naturally frozen lakes. It offers recreational skating sessions for all ages alongside complementary winter sports such as ice hockey and curling. The activity is predominantly practised during the winter months, although select resorts with indoor facilities also operate across spring, summer, or autumn.
Mountain destinations offer varied ice skating environments. In Arosa, Switzerland, the Obersee and Untersee lakes naturally freeze over when temperatures permit, providing expansive and scenic outdoor ice surfaces. Courchevel in France features an Olympic-sized indoor ice rink located in the Forum complex at Courchevel 1850, hosting public skating, hockey games, and figure skating. Italy's Roccaraso also houses an Olympic-sized indoor ice rink at the Palaghiaccio di Roccaraso, while Canazei operates the indoor Stadio del Ghiaccio Gianmario Scola, home to the HC Fassa Falcons ice hockey team. In Switzerland's Grindelwald and Wengen, visitors can choose between the outdoor natural ice rink at Bärplatz in Grindelwald's village square and the Wengen Sports Center, which provides a natural ice rink alongside dedicated curling sheets.