Walnut Creek on Ice Turns 21 Just as Downtown Swaps Out Its Other Family Outings

Where do you take a seven-year-old in downtown Walnut Creek on a Saturday afternoon? For six years one answer was Putter's Goat Track Mini Golf on South California Boulevard. Starting November 20, the answer becomes the rink in Civic Park. The two overlap for exactly ten days.

Putter's closes on November 29. Walnut Creek on Ice opens November 20 and runs through January 18, 2027. That makes the most dependable family outing downtown a seasonal one, open about eight and a half weeks a year. Most of the new businesses opening around it serve food and drink rather than games, so the downtown calendar is doing more of the work that a permanent attraction used to do.

Ten Days When Both Are Open

Putter's started as a pandemic-era pop-up in 2020 at 1275 S. California Boulevard. According to Walnut Creek Spotlight's October 21 issue, it is closing because the property is slated for condominium development. The owners hope to reopen somewhere else. They're encouraging customers to come by one last time and use any unredeemed gift cards before the 29th.

The rest of the late-fall calendar falls around that date:

1. November 20: The Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony and opening night of Walnut Creek on Ice, both in Civic Park.
2. November 29: Last day at Putter's Goat Track Mini Golf.
3. December 3: Broadway Plaza's Holiday Parade of Lights and Tree Lighting, 6 to 8 p.m., with a parade and a Santa-led tree lighting.
4. December 11: Bacio di Latte's planned grand opening at 1500 Mt. Diablo Boulevard.
5. January 18, 2027: Final day of the rink season.

Downtown has two tree lightings two weeks apart: the Civic Park one on opening night of the rink, and the Broadway Plaza one on December 3. Both are free events put on by the district itself.

The Rink Is the Constant

Walnut Creek on Ice is back for its 21st season at Civic Park, 1365 Civic Drive, under a covered rink. The 90-foot Frosty's Summit Ice Slide returns, along with private fire pits. Walnut Creek Downtown's October 13 announcement calls it the Bay Area's only outdoor ice rink and 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 the Walnut Creek Business Association, said in that announcement.

The rink belongs to the downtown business community. Community Partnership for Walnut Creek Downtown, the nonprofit partner of the downtown business improvement district, develops and promotes it alongside the Locust Street Festival and Oktoberfest. The businesses that benefit from people coming downtown are the ones keeping this outing going every winter.

Here is what a visit costs and when you can go, according to the rink's official page. The rink treats November 21 to 30 and December 19 to January 4 as holiday periods, with longer weekday hours.

The 2026–27 ticket page adds that skating includes rental, and that a slide ticket covers unlimited rides on a one-person inner tube during the booked session.

Skating and the slide are booked as separate time slots, so a family doing both needs two reservations. Littles Skates, for children five and under with a parent or caretaker, run on Wednesday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m. on December 2, December 16 and January 13. The season also includes the Ice-Skating Academy, hockey classes and a morning visit from Santa.

The first holiday period runs November 21 to 30, so the rink opens at 10 a.m. on weekdays for exactly the stretch that turns out to be Putter's last full week.

What's Opening Is Food and Drink

The new arrivals downtown this fall are mostly places to eat and drink.

Masses Sports Bar & Grill is back at 1411 Locust Street after a soft opening October 20 to 25. It has four pool tables, darts and electronic golf, and pool is free until 5 p.m. on weekdays. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, with food until 9:30 p.m.

Bacio di Latte is taking the former Vineyard Vines space at 1500 Mt. Diablo Boulevard. Bay Area Telegraph reported that developer Brian Hirahara of BH Development wrote, "Bacio is planning a Grand Opening on 12/11/26 but hope to open sooner."

Chagee gets the other part of that same building. In Bay Area Telegraph's follow-up, Hirahara confirmed, "The Corner space will be Chagee." No opening date has been announced. The outlet cited San Francisco Business Times reporting that its planned Bay Area shops, Walnut Creek included, are expected to open in 2027.

Smaller changes over the past two months point the same way:

• The BOBA Lounge opened at Broadway Pointe, Beyond the Creek reported in September.
• Salt & Lime is coming to 1521 N. Main Street in the former Oyama Sushi space. No opening date has been given, per Beyond the Creek.
• Shabugo, a Japanese shabu hot-pot restaurant, has signage up in the former California Pizza Kitchen space across from Sala, according to Walnut Creek Spotlight's September 30 issue.
• Saatva opened at 619 Mt. Diablo Boulevard in the former Sleep Number location, the same issue reported.

This summer, MIXT opened at 1105 South California Boulevard on the former Genova Deli site, the East Bay Times reported. That's a few blocks from Putter's. None of these places is built around a child's afternoon the way a mini golf course is. Gelato, boba and hot pot fill a stop before or after an outing. The outing itself has to come from somewhere else.

The Proposal That Would Fill the Gap

The one pending project built around an outing is still on paper. The Yard is proposed as a temporary outdoor venue at 1250 Locust Street, the site previously approved for The Foundry project. According to a city planning notice summarized in Walnut Creek Spotlight, the plans include food and beverage stalls, outdoor seating, two stages for live entertainment, game areas and a dedicated children's space. Alcohol service would be allowed until 11 p.m., pending city approval.

The proposal is in design review and permitting, and the application includes no permanent development. If it's approved, Locust Street would have a space for families with a stage, games and a children's area, about a block from the reopened Masses. Until then, Civic Park's rink and the two tree lightings are the main family draws downtown.

A Late-November Afternoon That Uses All of It

Between November 20 and 29, you can visit both of downtown's family outings, the one that's leaving and the one that's back, in a single afternoon:

1. Start at Putter's Goat Track Mini Golf, 1275 S. California Boulevard, for a last round and to use up any gift card.
2. Walk north to North Broadway. Three of the four murals from the city's new Mural Grant Program, the program's first funded projects, are at 1419 N. Broadway: Junglelaya by Steve Anderson, Creek Dwellers by Joey Rose and Alexandra Underwood, and Confluence by Tsui Xiao Rui and Elliot Trent Thompson. The fourth, Zoe Adiah Boston's A Step Off The Path, is at 1372 N. Main St., the City of Walnut Creek announced in July.
3. Finish at Civic Park with a skating session. Holiday-period weekday hours run 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. from November 21 to 30, and Thanksgiving hours are 6 to 9:30 p.m. Book the slide separately if it's on the list.

For holiday weekends further out, our recent walks through downtown Lafayette, downtown Orinda and Danville's Hartz Avenue cover the rest of the corridor. More on the area is on our Contra Costa page.

Putter's last day is Sunday, November 29. The rink stays open through January 18.

We follow how downtown Walnut Creek changes, from the Civic Park rink to the sites on Locust Street that are still in planning. If you're weighing what nearby changes like these mean for your own home, The Lederer Team is glad to talk through it. Get in touch for a tailored home strategy.