From a Dream on Ice to a Community Triumph: How Salmon Built Its New Rink Together
From a Dream on Ice to a Community Triumph:
How Salmon Built Its New Rink Together
You might expect rodeo champions to come out of a ranch town like Salmon, Idaho, or maybe legendary river runners, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts. What you probably wouldn’t expect is one of the most passionate and loyal hockey communities in the West. The small mountain town is home to one of the last fully outdoor, competitive rinks in the region, a place visiting teams routinely call their favorite. And the program touches every generation. In Salmon, kids lace up skates as young as five—sometimes four if they’re eager and a parent is willing to help on the ice. The “mites” grow into older youth divisions, high school players, and eventually adults who join various leagues. In Salmon, hockey truly spans a lifetime.
The affection for the rink isn’t all sentimental, it’s an economic engine. Each season, tournaments bring hundreds of visiting skaters, families, and coaches to Salmon. Hotels fill up, restaurants hum, and local shops all feel the bump. A 2019 Economic Impact Assessment showed that the program brings roughly $1.7 million to the community each year. Ice time is valuable, but the program’s success depended on a facility held up by determination and aging infrastructure–sand-buried chiller pipes and plywood boards.
Almost a decade ago, on a dark winter night Salmon Hockey Association meeting, a group of board members and hockey supporters began to dream of changing that. They imagined a sturdier version of Salmon’s beloved rink—still outdoors, still true to the town’s identity, but built on solid ground, literally and figuratively. Back then, the estimate hovered around $350,000. A stretch, but maybe possible. No one imagined that by the time the project finally broke ground, that number would swell to nearly $1 million. What happened in between is the story of how a community—skaters of all ages, small businesses, generous strangers, volunteer crews, and a determined board—pulled off something extraordinary, together.
For Willow Griffith, now president of the Salmon Hockey Association (SHA), the project was never just about concrete, pipes, or boards. “I got involved because I wanted to keep it within the spirit of the community,” she said. Hockey is woven into her family’s life in Salmon: both children skate, and her husband, Joel, is a member of the high school coaching team.
“Hockey here is accessible in a way you don’t see anywhere else,” she said. “People have to pay thousands and thousands of dollars to skate everywhere but Salmon. We talk at every meeting about keeping hockey available to everyone, no matter what.” Free ice time, low annual dues, and a strong scholarship program have helped them deliver on that promise.
Early on, a handful of people floated the idea of an indoor rink. But it would have been nearly impossible to fund—and more importantly, Willow believed, it would have changed the identity of Salmon hockey. So the approved plan focused on upgrading the outdoor rink, calling for concrete with chiller tubes, new boards, and a new penalty box. It was designed to extend the season, improve ice quality, and reduce the back-breaking volunteer labor at both ends of winter.
Fundraising kicked into high gear in late 2021. Some efforts were grassroots and charmingly homegrown: parents selling raffle tickets, kids helping at events, SHA families spending weekends planning benefit dinners. Others were major boosts, like Salmon’s Local Option Tax, which contributed $200,000. And then came the game-changer. The association received a $300,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The grant came with a timeline, which meant the board had to act.
“That really forced our hand,” Willow explained. “We knew—this is happening. We have to make it happen.”
The committee selected a contractor and started work. What followed was a full-scale community effort. Local businesses donated weeks of labor and equipment. Volunteers of all ages spent the spring and summer hauling debris, tying rebar, pulling pipe, and cleaning up. On November 15, 2025, their collective effort culminated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the inaugural game on the new ice—a landmark moment for Salmon, and for every player who can now chase the puck on a rink built to last.
That’s what this rink represents: opportunity, pride, and a community staking a claim in its own future. And because of that collective spirit, the dream that started on a long-ago winter night is now a finished rink—one built not just with concrete and tubing but with determination, generosity, and love for a sport that holds this town together. There is a Time-lapse video showing the construction of the new hockey arena over the course of about 5 months on the Visit Salmon Valley website’s winter activities webpage: https://www.visitsalmonvalley.com/recreation/winter-fun/
Whether you’re a lifelong fan or just curious to see what a true community-built rink looks like, come to Salmon this winter and catch a game. Against the stunning backdrop of the Continental Divide and its dramatic peaks, you’ll feel the energy of a valley that breathes hockey.
For more information on where to stay, eat, and play in the Salmon, Idaho area go to the tourism website at: https://www.visitsalmonvalley.com/
Photos 1,2,3,4, and 6 credits go to Salmon Hockey Association. Photo Number 5 credit : Landon Moores