Backyard Ice Rink Ideas: Photos of Real RinkMaster Rinks

Thinking about a backyard rink this winter and not sure what it should look like? Here are real rinks built with RinkMaster liners, kits and boards, from small learn-to-skate rinks to full hockey rinks with boards and lights. Use them for ideas, then check out the links in each section to see what you'd need.

Small yards and kids' rinks

You don't need a huge yard. A lot of the best rinks we see are small ones built for little kids learning to skate, or a spot just big enough for a net and some stickhandling.

small backyard ice rink with a net and two kids skating, built with a white rink liner
A small backyard rink with room for a net and two skaters. Plenty for learning to skate.
two kids in hockey helmets chasing a puck on a backyard ice rink
The best part of a backyard rink: kids out on the ice every day after school.
young hockey player skating with a puck toward a mini net on a backyard rink surrounded by snowy pine trees
A mini net and a few metres of ice is all a young player needs.
small rectangular backyard ice rink with a red tube frame and white liner after a fresh flood
A compact skating rink kit. The red tubes telescope, so the frame can be set up smaller than the listed size.

Building for little ones? Have a look at the 10' x 10' Kiddie Rink Kit, or our Backyard Skating Rink Kits that start at 15' x 20'.

Liner rinks and skating rink kits

The simplest way to build a backyard rink: a white RinkMaster liner, either on a rink kit frame or on a frame you build yourself with lumber or snow banks. White reflects the sun, so the ice lasts longer on bright days.

backyard ice rink built with a RinkMaster skating rink kit behind a brick house, red tube frame around smooth ice
A skating rink kit set up right behind the house.
long backyard skating rink with a red tube frame and glassy ice beside a garden shed and evergreen trees
A longer rink tucked in beside the shed. Lots of room for laps.
group of kids and adults playing shinny on a large outdoor ice rink built with a RinkMaster rink liner
Big enough for a full game of shinny with the neighbours.
child skating on a rink kit set up on a farm at sunset with grain silos in the background
A rink kit out on the farm. No fence needed.
backyard ice rink built on a white liner with snow banked around the edge and a full size hockey net
A liner rink with snow banked up around the edges.

Every rink needs the right size liner, with enough extra to go up and over your boards. Not sure what size you need?

What size liner do I need?
Put in your rink size and our calculator gives you the exact liner size, and the price. Opens in a new tab.

More on setting up a liner: rink liner tips and our ice rink liners (seamless, 6 mil, shipped free across Canada).

Full hockey rinks with boards

For families who want the real thing: white puck board, a yellow kickplate, netting to keep pucks in the yard, and the RinkMaster logo on the boards. These are built with our Hockey Rink Kit brackets and your own 4x4 lumber.

backyard hockey rink with white puck board and yellow kickplate under a blue winter sky next to a house
White boards, a yellow kickplate and fresh ice. About as close to an arena as a backyard gets.
three kids playing hockey on a backyard rink with white boards, yellow kickplate and wooden netting posts
Game on. The boards keep the puck in play.
kids skating on a backyard hockey rink surrounded by sports netting on wooden posts
Sports netting on the posts keeps pucks out of the neighbour's yard.
corner of a backyard hockey rink showing white puck board, a yellow kickplate and smooth ice
A clean corner. The kickplate protects the bottom of the boards from skates and pucks.
wood framed backyard hockey rink with yellow kickplate and netting posts next to a garden shed in winter
A full hockey rink build with the netting posts up.
player shooting a puck toward a mini net in front of RinkMaster branded boards with a yellow kickplate
Shooting practice against the boards.
FloodMaster ice resurfacer leaning against the boards of a backyard hockey rink
Keeping the ice smooth with a FloodMaster.

The parts: puck board, kickplate, hockey netting and the FloodMaster resurfacer. Building your own boards? Read how to build hockey rink boards.

Rinks at night

In January it's dark by 5. Some lights on the rink means skating after supper, and it's honestly the best time to be out there.

two kids playing hockey at night on a backyard rink with yellow kickplate and string lights across the fence
String lights across the fence make for great night games.
backyard ice rink at night decorated with white string lights and lit trees
Light up the trees and the rink becomes the place to be.
backyard skating rink kit at night with house lights and holiday lights in the background
A skating rink kit at night with the holiday lights on.
two kids in hockey gear playing at night on a backyard ice rink next to a net
Night shinny under the backyard lights.

Ideas for lights, scoreboards and a warm spot to lace up: backyard ice rink add-ons.

Building in the fall

The rinks that are ready for the first cold snap are the ones that got set up in the fall. Frame, boards and posts go in on the grass, and the liner goes down when the ground starts to freeze.

man installing a hockey rink bracket and 4x4 lumber on the grass in the fall
Brackets and 4x4s going in on the grass, weeks before the first freeze.
backyard hockey rink frame of black brackets and 4x4 lumber set up on green grass before winter
The finished frame, waiting for winter.
white puck board hockey rink boards installed on a backyard lawn in the fall
Boards up on the lawn in the fall.
red tube frame of a backyard skating rink kit set out on grass with the first snow
Rink kit frame laid out with the first snow on the ground.
person tucking the edge of a white rink liner into the red tube frame of a backyard rink kit
Liner going into the frame. Pick a calm day so the wind doesn't grab it.
backyard hockey rink with boards used for ball hockey in autumn, with fall leaves on the ground
No ice yet? The boards still work for ball hockey all fall.

Step by step: Backyard Rink 101: how to build a backyard ice rink. Got a slope? Read dealing with a sloped yard.

Send us your rink

Built a rink with RinkMaster? We'd love to see it. Email a photo to info@rinkmaster.com or tag @rinkmaster on Instagram, and it might end up on this page.