When is the best time to skate at Bee Cave on Ice? It depends on whether Lake Travis ISD is in session that week. The rink behind Bee Cave City Hall opened its 2026 season on Nov. 13. It will stay open through Jan. 18, 2027, and the City of Bee Cave sets its hours and discount nights around the school district's holiday breaks. On a break week the rink opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. On school weeks it opens in the afternoon, stays open later on most nights, and is the only place to find the $11 Tuesday rate.
For Spanish Oaks neighbors heading to the Hill Country Galleria this season, that schedule shapes the rest of the holiday calendar too. The Galleria's tree lighting, holiday market and Jingle Bell 5K are built around the rink, and they land on their own set of dates.
A rink the city decided to keep
Bee Cave on Ice started in 2022, which makes this its fifth season. The first season was large compared with the town around it. KXAN reported in March 2023 that the rink drew 25,000 skaters in a city of about 10,000 residents, and that city officials estimated about 75,000 people came into Bee Cave during the event.
That first season cost $400,000. The city paid $300,000 and the Hill Country Galleria, where the rink stood, paid the other $100,000. The city then put a $50,000 down payment on a new outdoor-ice rink. The same KXAN report said another $250,000 was due to complete the purchase, that the city expected about $70,000 in sponsorships from Bee Cave businesses, and that officials were choosing between the hotel occupancy tax fund and the economic development fund to pay for it. City spokesperson Jenny Hoff described that first winter to KXAN:
"People just said it felt like a Hallmark movie coming out there. It completely transformed the Galleria during the holiday season."
The rink is still a City of Bee Cave program. The city's own page announces the season, lists the hours and sells tickets. The rink uses real ice, as KXAN noted in 2024, and Mayor Kara King wrote in her October 2026 column for Lake Travis View that "skating on real ice beneath the stars" has become a seasonal tradition.
Why the season runs longer than it used to
In 2024, KXAN listed the rink as open through Jan. 5, and admission was $15 plus tax. This season runs through Monday, Jan. 18, 2027, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Admission is $16 plus tax, the same price Community Impact listed for the 2025 season. Every ticket covers 50 minutes on the ice and skate rental.
The extra two weeks follow the school calendar. MLK Day is listed on the city's schedule next to the Lake Travis ISD holidays, and all of those days get the same daytime hours. Here are the hours the City of Bee Cave publishes for the season:
| When | Hours | Last session |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Friday | 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
| Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26 | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
| Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
| LTISD holidays: Nov. 23 to 27, Dec. 18 to Jan. 5, and MLK Day, Jan. 18 | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
On a school-week Tuesday, the ice opens at 3 p.m. and the last session starts at 8 p.m. During Thanksgiving week and winter break it opens at 10 a.m., and the last session starts at 6 p.m. That gives break-week skaters five more hours of daylight on the ice and two fewer hours after dark. For a family that wants to skate under the lights after dinner, a school-week evening has more evening sessions than any day of the winter break.
The $11 nights skip every holiday week
The Tuesday community-night rate is $11 plus tax. That is $5 less than the regular price for the same 50 minutes and skate rental. The city lists five discount Tuesdays this season. The first was Nov. 17, which leaves four:
- Tuesday, Dec. 1
- Tuesday, Dec. 8
- Tuesday, Dec. 15
- Tuesday, Jan. 12
Every Tuesday left off the list falls in a school holiday. Nov. 24 is in Thanksgiving week. Dec. 22, Dec. 29 and Jan. 5 fall in the Dec. 18 to Jan. 5 winter break. All four of the remaining discount nights fall on school weeks, when the rink opens at 3 p.m. and runs its last session at 8 p.m. The lowest price and the longest evening are on the same nights, and those nights fall before and after the holidays.
The rink page also says popular dates fill fast, and tickets are sold online through the city's Bee Cave on Ice page. For questions about the rink, the Galleria lists 512-797-1504.
What the Galleria builds around the ice
The rink stands next to City Hall at 4000 Galleria Parkway, so the Galleria's holiday events take place around it. Like the discount nights, these events fall between school breaks, and the deadline for the cheaper 5K entry comes first. In date order:
- Saturday, Nov. 21: last day for the lower Jingle Bell 5K price. The Bee Cave Chamber of Commerce race costs $30 through Nov. 21 and $35 from Nov. 22 through Dec. 2, according to the Athlete Guild registration page. The Kids Dash costs $15 through Dec. 2. The Chamber's race page says there will be no race-day registration.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Light up the Plaza, 5 to 8 p.m. Magnolia Musical Theatre starts the program at 5. Santa arrives and Mayor Kara King lights the tree at 5:45. Thompson Square's performance follows a live music opener at 6. Admission and parking are free, and ice skating is part of the evening.
- Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 4 to Dec. 19: Bee Cave Holiday Market. Penny V Productions and Hill Country Galleria host rotating local makers in the Central Plaza. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. on Fridays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12 and 19. The market also has pictures with Santa and face painting.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: the Jingle Bell 5K and Kids Dash. Festivities start at 7 a.m. with a warm-up, and the races start at 8. Every Kids Dash runner gets a holiday medal. In the 5K, medals go to the top three finishers in each age category.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Merry Making Saturday at the Bee Cave library, 2:30 p.m., according to the City of Bee Cave calendar.
Dec. 5 is the busiest day on the list. It has the 5K in the morning, the library event in the afternoon and the first Saturday of the market, while the rink runs its regular Saturday hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The last market weekend, Dec. 18 and 19, falls after winter break begins, so on those two days the City of Bee Cave's posted rink hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., which means the last session starts at 6, before the Friday market's 9 p.m. close. Check the city's rink page before planning an evening skate around a market visit.
Families who know the Galleria in summer should know that the shopping center's website currently shows a "Splash Pad Temporarily Closed" notice.
The drive in, at 40 mph
Many trips to the rink this season will use Bee Cave Parkway. In August, the Bee Cave City Council lowered the speed limit on Bee Cave Parkway from 45 mph to 40 mph between Bee Cave Road and RM 620. The Statesman reported that city staff tied the change to pedestrian safety, with more people walking near new crosswalks and more crosswalks planned for 2027. In mid-October, the mayor wrote that new speed limit signs were being manufactured. She said Bee Cave police would begin enforcing the 40 mph limit after a public education campaign.
For Light up the Plaza on Nov. 28, the Galleria lists free parking for the 5 to 8 p.m. program, and on the city's schedule the rink keeps its regular Saturday hours that night.
At Meryl Hawk, we keep Bee Cave's seasonal calendar alongside the market calendar, from the first skate session on Galleria Parkway to the last discount Tuesday on Jan. 12. If you are planning your next move in or around Spanish Oaks, meet with Meryl.
