JAUNTS : Putting Ice Skaters on Easy Street : A $3.5-million facility in Simi Valley has two big rinks and lots of time allotted for recreational skating.

If palm trees and balmy weather put a damper on your holiday spirit, here’s a way to chill out: Go ice skating.

The idea is even more appealing now that Simi Valley’s new Easy Street Arena has opened. Gone is the old dilapidated Conejo Valley Ice Rink in Newbury Park. In its place is the spiffy, two-rink arena at 131 W. Easy St., which opened this fall.

To help you get into the seasonal spirit, the arena will have something special on Saturday: snow, lots of it. The machines that regularly shave the ice for a smoother surface will pile up the shavings in a snowy mound on the rink for a snowman-building contest.

Of course, you can skate then too. There will still be plenty of room; the place is huge. Owner Sean McGillivray, who ran the old rink, put about $3.5 million into building the arena with its side-by-side rinks--one, a gigantic Olympic-size sheet, and the other, slightly smaller, regulation hockey size.

The ice is a boon to hundreds of hockey and figure skating enthusiasts, but those who simply like to skim the ice once in a while will be pleased too. The arena has allotted a much bigger chunk of ice time for public skating than was available at the old rink.

Now, with the two rinks, public sessions run sporadically throughout the day, every day, including every evening from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday nights feature a moonlight skate from 10:35 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.--popular with teen-agers.

Here’s what you’ll need to know, if you decide to take a spin on the ice. The public skating sessions generally run about two hours, and for adults, the cost is $6.50, and $5 for children 12 and under.

You can rent figure or hockey skates for $2, if you don’t own any. In fact, McGillivray bought 1,200 pairs of new rental skates for the opening of the arena. But here’s a word of caution, new skates are stiff and can rub painfully on your ankle, so bring heavy socks and maybe even some extra padding.

It takes some regular use before skates are broken in around the ankle, according to skating director Terry Tonius. “It’s a little uncomfortable, but in another month it will be a lot better,” he said. Not lacing skates all the way to the top helps, he said.

And another word about comfort. Rink temperature is 36 degrees, so dress warmly and bring gloves, especially for children.

If you’ve never skated, start slowly by taking small steps next to the railing, Tonius advises. If you can handle roller-blades, don’t expect the same ride on ice.

“It’s a lot more difficult,” he said. “We get a lot of kids, guys, who say ‘I know how to skate.’ This is definitely different--stopping is different.”

If you take a break from skating, don’t expect much in the way of food yet. The Italian restaurant, planned for the upstairs overlooking the ice, isn’t open. Nor is the snack bar downstairs. Vending machines will have to do for now. Eventually, there will be a pro shop.

But the arena is already home to the Ventura Mariners, hockey players 16 to 19 years old who are coached by McGillivray. The Mariners are playing in the inaugural season of the Western States Hockey League and have a number of home games at the arena through February. Each rink has bleacher seating for 400, and eventually ice shows will be performed there too, Tonius said.

Details

* WHAT: Easy Street Arena.

* WHERE: 131 W. Easy St., Simi Valley.

* WHEN: Public ice skating sessions are Monday through Friday, noon to 2, 3:30 to 5:15, and 7 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (for kids under 12), 1:30 to 3:30, 7 to 9 p.m., and 10:35 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.; and Sunday, 1:30 to 3:30, and 7 to 9 p.m. During Christmas vacation the hours will be extended.

* HOW MUCH: Adults $6.50, seniors and children 12 and under $5, and students $5.75. Skate rental $2.

* FYI: On Saturday, during the morning and afternoon public sessions, snow will be piled on the rink for a snowman-building contest. 520-7465.