In the spring of 2008, City of Walnut Creek staff and a volunteer group called the Think Rink Committee had a shortlist of places where a holiday ice rink might go next. It included the Long's Drugstore parking lot, a Kaiser parking lot and 1250 Locust. They measured each site against a set of criteria, and none of them worked.
The rink had been in Civic Park for three winters, and it was about to lose its spot. On Friday, November 20, Walnut Creek on Ice opens for the 2026 season at 1365 Civic Drive, in the same park. It stayed because the 2008 search turned up no other option.
Three winters on the tennis courts
The rink began as a community request. In 2005, the Think Rink Committee asked to run a skating rink on the Civic Park tennis courts for the 2005-06 holiday season. Its members came from the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Association and interested residents. The city issued a permit, and the first season ran from November 2005 to January 2006.
It filled up quickly. The Chamber's attendance figures, cited in a 2008 city staff report, went from 30,000 skaters in year one to 41,000 in year two and 48,000 in 2007-08. In November 2007, the East Bay Times described the tennis-court rink as 9,500 square feet of ice with room for about 300 skaters. The committee also restored the tennis courts after each of the first two seasons.
Then the downtown library broke ground. The new building took over the tennis-court site, and everyone had known 2007-08 would be the last season there.
The search that ended where it started
A rink that drew 48,000 people needed a new site, and city staff and the committee listed what that site had to offer:
- Minimum size requirements
- Power, water and phone service
- A location near downtown with high visibility
- Three years of site availability, public or private
- Minimal parking impact
- Good traffic circulation
- Minimal noise impact on neighbors
- Emergency access
- A cost-effective setup
They drew up a shortlist of public and private sites around downtown. Once the criteria were applied, the staff report says, "there were no viable locations available outside of Civic Park." The committee then asked how the event could stay somewhere inside the park.
Staff looked at three spots: Civic Park East, the turf in the center of the park, and the parking lot northwest of the ceramics studio, extending onto the turf. The ceramics studio site came out on top. The Downtown Business Association and the Chamber announced the 2008 season and hired Ice Rink Events as the professional rink vendor.
Moving around inside the park ever since
The rink has stayed in Civic Park since then, though its setup has changed:
- 2009: The rink moved closer to Civic Drive, according to Walnut Creek Patch. By 2011, Patch reported 8,000 square feet of ice, built by Special Ice, a company owned by Emery Lykins.
- 2020: The season didn't happen. ABC7 reported that the Bay Area's usual seasonal rinks, Walnut Creek's included, would not open that year.
- 2021: The rink came back as the 16th annual. An East Bay Times notice listed the Chamber and Visitors Bureau, Walnut Creek Downtown and the city as organizers, with a rink measuring 80 by 100 feet.
- 2024: Frosty's Summit, a 90-foot ice slide, opened that season. A BARTable page updated December 9, 2024, called it "New this year."
- 2026: The rink's official page lists a 64-by-100-foot skating surface and more than 40,000 skaters a season. The Walnut Creek Downtown Association presents it in partnership with the City of Walnut Creek.
This season's announcement counts 2026 as the 21st season, which fits a 2005 start with 2020 left out. It also describes the rink as covered and calls it the Bay Area's only outdoor ice rink with an ice slide.
"After 21 years, we've seen kids grow up on this ice and come back with families of their own."
Kathy Hemmenway, executive director of one of the rink's presenters, said this in the Walnut Creek Downtown season announcement.
Why opening night shares a park with the city's tree
Because the rink never left a city park, its opening night lands on the same evening as the city's own holiday event. On November 20, the free Civic Park tree lighting runs from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with cocoa, carolers and Frosty. Like the rink, it's presented by the City of Walnut Creek and the Walnut Creek Downtown Association.
Ruth Bancroft Garden starts its Garden of D'Lights on November 20 as well and runs it through January 10. The garden lists VIP nights on December 5, 12 and 19, and a Holiday Sweater Night on December 18.
Here's how this season's rink schedule and prices look, from the official Walnut Creek on Ice page:
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Season | November 20, 2026 to January 18, 2027 |
| Monday to Thursday, non-holiday | 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. |
| Friday, non-holiday | 4:00 to 10:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Weekdays during holiday periods | 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. |
| Thanksgiving | 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. |
| Christmas Eve | 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. |
| Christmas Day | 2:00 to 9:30 p.m. |
| New Year's Eve and Day, MLK Day | 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. |
| Ice skating | $20 |
| Ice slide | $20 |
| Combo skate and slide | Starting at $20 |
Holiday weekday hours cover Thanksgiving week, November 21 to 30, and the winter break, December 19 to January 4. Sessions last 90 minutes, prices are per person, and the rink is fully cashless. Skate rental is included with a skating ticket. The rink also runs an Ice-Skating Academy and hockey classes through the season. Littles Skates for the youngest skaters are on Wednesday mornings, and one of them includes a morning visit from Santa. Private fire pits are available to warm up at between sessions.
The other tree, two weeks later
Broadway Plaza holds its own tree lighting on Thursday, December 3. The Holiday Parade of Lights runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the main fountain, 1275 Broadway Plaza. It starts with an open house at 6 p.m., the parade comes down Broadway Plaza Street at 7 p.m., and Santa lights the Broadway Plaza Christmas Tree at about 7:45 p.m. Macerich, Broadway Plaza's owner, runs it, and its event page points vendors and business partners to the Macerich team.
So downtown has two separate tree lightings: the city's in the park and Macerich's at the shopping center. Smaller events fill the weeks in between and after:
- Once Upon a Street: Evergreen & Elegance, Saturday, November 21, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Broadway Plaza, with holiday-themed activities.
- Gather with Santa, Sunday, November 22, 1 to 5 p.m. at Gather Walnut Creek, 1347 Locust St., billed as a new holiday tradition. It has Santa portraits, artisan booths, Frosty, free cocoa, children's activities and wine tasting.
- HEAD WEST Marketplace, Sunday, December 13, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., set up from Bonanza to Mt. Diablo with local brands, small businesses, and handmade and vintage goods.
If the rink is a regular stop for your household and you've wondered what your home near downtown is worth this season, the Jodi Nishimura Group can help. We follow Walnut Creek at street level, from Civic Park to Broadway Plaza. Get your free home valuation, and we'll walk you through it with the same care we put into every neighborhood we serve.
