What happens to a $23 skating ticket at City Center Bishop Ranch if it rains on the night you booked? Under this season's rules, you still have the ticket. You don't get a refund, a credit or a different date.
The Kristi Yamaguchi Holiday Ice Rink opens Friday, November 6, and runs through January 3, 2027. This year it has something new. Its official ticket page says that "for the first time, an overhead canopy transforms the Holiday Ice Rink," so skaters can use it in any weather. That reads like a comfort upgrade. Put it next to the fine print and it becomes the thing that makes booking ahead a reasonable bet.
The rule printed below the ticket button
The 2026–27 policy on the rink's ticket page is short and firm:
"All ice rink tickets sales are final. No refunds or credits will be issued for any reason, including but not limited to change of plans, illness, injury, scheduling conflicts, transportation issues, or failure to attend a reserved session."
The weather clause goes further. The rink "operates rain or shine, and inclement weather does not qualify for a refund, credit, or ticket transfer," and guests are told to dress for outdoor conditions. You can pass a ticket to another person, but you can't move it to a different date or session. A refund or other fix is possible only if rink management officially closes the rink or cancels a session for unsafe conditions, severe weather, facility problems or other reasons outside its control.
Rink management can still call off a session in a real storm. The canopy covers the more common case. On an ordinary wet December evening, which the rules say earns nothing back, you now skate under cover instead of eating the cost of a night you didn't want to spend in the rain. If you plan to buy a weekend session for out-of-town guests weeks ahead, the canopy is what makes that a reasonable plan.
What a session costs now, measured against earlier seasons
Standard admission this season is $23 for a 90-minute session, and skate rental is included. Select daytime and evening weekday sessions are $16, and opening-night tickets are $35. The price only means something next to earlier years, though, and the comparison goes back further than last winter.
| Season | Standard ticket | Skate rental | Season pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 season | $12 | $5 extra | Not reported |
| 2025 season | $22 | Not reported | $90 |
| 2026–27 | $23 | Included | $100 |
In 2019, DanvilleSanRamon.com reported a $12 standard ticket plus $5 for skates, which comes to $17 for a skater who needed rentals. Last season, Patch reported $22 sessions and a $90 season pass. This year the ticket went up a dollar and the season pass went up $10, and both arrived in the same season as the canopy. Pair the $100 pass with the weather rule and the math changes. Someone counting on regular visits through January used to be betting the season would stay mostly dry. Now that bet is far smaller.
Choosing a session around the hours
The rink is fully cashless, so bring a card. The standard schedule from the ticket page:
- Monday through Thursday: 1 to 8:30 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- School-break hours: opens at 11 a.m. daily November 23 through 27 and December 21 through January 3
- Closed: Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day
The weekday afternoons are where the $16 value sessions sit, and on a weeknight the covered rink lets you settle on a plan after checking the forecast that morning. Families with young skaters can also look at the Learn to Skate Academy. It runs five weeks of Saturday-morning lessons for $169, with separate sessions for ages 5 to 8 and 9 to 14, and each age group is capped at 30 skaters. Because spots are limited, you'll likely need to sign up early.
The season on the calendar, in order
The rink is the anchor, but San Ramon's holiday calendar has events on both sides of Camino Ramon. City Center hosts some and the City of San Ramon hosts others, so they're listed here by date.
- Friday, November 6, 6 to 7 p.m. The rink's official opening ceremony features skating performances, carolers and Kristi Yamaguchi herself.
- Friday, November 20, 6 to 7 p.m. City Center's Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony includes performances by the Monte Vista Band and a group of singers before Santa arrives. The ceremony ends at 7, and Friday skating runs until 10:30 p.m., so you can see the lighting and still skate the same night.
- Saturday, December 5, 9 a.m. The City of San Ramon's Bah Humbug! 5K starts at San Ramon Central Park Community Center, 12501 Alcosta Blvd. Registration is $40 from November 1 through December 4 and $55 on race day, and a group of five is $160.
- Saturday, December 12. Holiday on the Farm at Forest Home Farms Historic Park has Santa, ornament making, a puppet show, entertainment and refreshments. The city puts on its Saturday farm programs with the San Ramon Historic Foundation.
- Saturday, December 19. The Forest Home Farms events schedule also lists Victorian Christmas Tours, with time slots from 10 a.m. through noon. Tickets are $12 for residents and $15 for nonresidents.
The last December 19 tour slot is listed at noon, and the rink stays open until 10:30 that Saturday night, so a morning tour and an evening skate fit in the same day. The canopy helps here too. A wet morning at an outdoor historic farm doesn't have to take the evening skate down with it.
Before or after the ice
Unlike the rink's first seasons, City Center now has a dining option that suits a skating night. DanvilleSanRamon.com covered Meyhouse's debut this spring. The Turkish restaurant and jazz club soft-opened April 30, started lunch service May 2, and scheduled jazz performances beginning May 8. For younger skaters, lil sweet treat is listed in the City Center directory as a candy shop open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, so it's still open after most weekend sessions end.
More is coming. A May report in DanvilleSanRamon.com said Rico Rico Taqueria was planned for the former C Casa space and that lululemon would run a one-year pop-up in the space Nike left. The City Center directory now lists Rico Rico Taco as a modern Mexican taqueria. Check its hours before you count on it for a post-skate dinner.
If this is your first season paying attention to City Center, the shopping center has changed quite a bit since the steakhouse closing we covered in August. This winter adds a covered rink to that list. More local guides are on our San Ramon neighborhood page.
Seasonal amenities are part of what makes a neighborhood feel like home, and they're part of what buyers ask about when they're weighing San Ramon. If you're wondering how your home fits into that picture this winter, Christina Beil can walk you through it over coffee near the rink. Request Your Home Valuation to see where your San Ramon home stands before the new year.
