Dripping Springs' Ice Rink Has Its Dates. The Punch Pass Price Is Still Up in the Air.

"Our families really figured out that punch pass and we felt it," Emily Nelson, assistant director of Parks & Community Services, told the Dripping Springs City Council in June, as reported by the Hays Free Press. The pass she meant cost $100 for 10 skates last season. Anyone in a family or group could use it, and there was no limit on how many a household could buy. That works out to $10 a skate against a $15 single ticket. The city's own reporting shows enough families did that math to change how the season paid for itself.

So the rink at Dripping Springs Ranch Park is coming back for its fourth winter on a schedule council has already approved. The shared pass that made it cheap for a family is the one ticket staff recommended repricing.

The Pass Worked Better for Families Than for the Budget

Western Wonderland opened in 2023 with a temporary 60-by-120-foot rink from Ice Rink Events, the same company the city has used every season since. Attendance kept growing. Nelson told council the 2025 season drew more than 22,000 visitor trips, almost 30% more than the year before.

Revenue moved the other way. Here are the figures from Nelson's presentation, as the Hays Free Press reported in June:

In 2025 visits rose by close to a third while revenue fell by about $9,800 from 2024. Nelson put that down to the punch pass, since families "figured out how to not pay the $15 a ticket." Cost recovery still went up because the city cut expenses by roughly $50,000. She called the pass a "double-edged sword": a good deal for families, and a hit to the revenue side.

That tension explains this summer's council discussions.

What Council Has Settled, and What It Hasn't

On July 7, council unanimously approved the ice rink agreement with Ice Rink Events, according to the Hays Free Press. The city staff report sets out the timeline. Installation runs Nov. 23 through 27, the rink is open to the public Nov. 27, 2026, through Jan. 5, 2027, and crews take it down Jan. 6 through 12. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26 this year, so opening day is the Friday after.

Prices weren't part of the vote. Council planned to come back to ticket prices and an optional ice bumper car attraction in September. Meanwhile, the city's Western Wonderland FAQ still shows 2025-26 pricing.

Here's how the options on the table stack up:

The July recommendation leaves the single ticket where it was and raises the pass, the ticket families relied on. At $120 the pass works out to $12 a skate instead of $10. "At $120, two of those skates are still free, so it's still a great deal," Nelson said, according to the Hays Free Press. Staff projected that the hybrid would bring in $153,364 and lift cost recovery to 74.41%, assuming 2025 attendance.

Council member Ana Grace Husted suggested a different approach: single tickets could go as high as $20, while the punch pass stays as the affordable option for a family of four. "I want to be able to recover as much money as possible, keep the event going and keep it worth it," she said, according to the same report. Nelson also told council the price decision could wait until the city sees how much sponsorship money comes in. In June she said that if sponsorships come in strong, she would like to keep prices where they are.

Bumper cars are the other open question. The agreement includes an option for 10 ice bumper cars at $1,400 per operating day plus about $3,800 in freight. When they run, they would take up a third of the rink. Running them every day of the season would cost $59,800, compared with $31,800 for weekends and peak days only, and Nelson described running them on peak days such as the week school lets out. On any day the bumper cars run, skaters would have two-thirds of the ice.

Where $15 Sits Among Area Holiday Rinks

To explain why the single ticket can stay at $15, staff put together this regional comparison, per the Hays Free Press July report:

Dripping Springs' $15 last season included skates and 75 minutes on the ice. That's 25 minutes longer than Bee Cave's session on the list, at a dollar less. Nelson said the only other rink with something like a punch pass is Fredericksburg, where 10 skates cost $135. So even at $120, the Ranch Park pass would still come in under the closest comparison.

Staff also pointed to features the other rinks don't offer: a sponsor and influencer night, a character breakfast, micro events, a community performance stage and a holiday light trail. Husted mentioned the food trucks too. Last season the walking Trail of Lights and the Holiday Market were free, and so was watching the skaters. The rink sells tickets, but plenty of what happens around it costs nothing.

Ranch Park Is Already Busy Before the Ice Goes In

The rink goes up at a park the city calendar already has booked most weeks this fall. Here's what's listed at Dripping Springs Ranch Park, 1042 Event Center Dr., between now and the end of the rink's first month:

1. 4th Annual Día de los Muertos Community Ofrenda, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with city calendar dates running through Nov. 5. The city asks people to bring photos, marigolds, flameless candles and monarch butterfly decor.
2. Dripping Springs Farmers Market at the Vendor Hall, Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 4 and 11 and Dec. 2, 9 and 16.
3. Ranch Park Ride Night in the Main Arena, 5 to 8:30 p.m. on those same Wednesdays.
4. Creepy Crawler Night at Ranch Park, Friday, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m., on the Dripping Springs Community Library's November calendar.
5. Kids Market at the Rink, Sunday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m., the rink's first weekend.
6. Reading at the Rink, Thursdays at 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 3, 10 and 17, from the library's December calendar.

On three December Wednesdays, the farmers market, Ride Night and the open rink all share the park in the same late afternoon. The library has also put two of its programs at the rink itself, so the ice is hosting more than paid skate sessions.

The city's Tree Lighting & Holiday Movie is a separate event, held at 160 Mercer St. near Veterans Memorial Park rather than at Ranch Park. Its city calendar entry lists Nov. 28 at 5 p.m., but the description says Nov. 29. Check the date with the city before you head downtown.

How Last Season Ran

The 2025-26 FAQ is the best guide to how the rink operates day to day, though the city will set the details for this season. Last winter the rink was closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hours were shortened to 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and New Year's Day included a Polar Bear Skate from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for anyone willing to skate in a swimsuit or beach clothes. This season's contract runs through Jan. 5, so New Year's Day is inside the window again.

Sessions run about as long as the ice holds up. Nelson told council the crew runs the Zamboni every hour to hour and a half, and clearing the ice is "kind of a natural moment that people leave."

Last season's punch passes expired with the season and don't carry over to 2026-27. That means every household that used one last winter needs a new pass this year, at whatever price the city sets. A family of four that skates twice uses eight skates. At last season's single price that's $120, the same as the recommended new pass price, and the pass would still leave two skates for another visit. Families who expect to come back more than once are the ones most affected by the punch pass decision.

If your holiday plans include family flying in, a rental property near Ranch Park or a move timed around the school break, we know how much of Dripping Springs' December runs through that park, and we're glad to help you plan around it. Friedman Real Estate has worked this part of the Hill Country for more than 30 years. Let's Connect.