Every skate at the Holland Ice Park is booked online, in advance, for a set 90-minute session. Before it opened in November 2025, the first public skate session sold out within 36 minutes, WGVU reported. The first Friday-night session sold out as well.
The second season opens tomorrow, Friday, November 20, and runs through March 14, 2027, weather permitting. One winter in, the park in Window on the Waterfront has shown how it really works. It is a reservation calendar with a rink attached. If you know when each month's tickets go on sale, you can skate on the nights you want. If you don't, you end up watching from behind the rail.
What one winter of demand looked like
The park sits at 71 E. 6th Street, inside Window on the Waterfront. It cost more than $11 million, and more than 80% of that came from private donors. One of them was retired teacher Frank Kraai, who gave consistently for nearly 20 years. His gifts eventually passed $1 million. The site itself used to be a city dump, a dredge site, and a diesel plant.
By mid-February of the first season, the crowds had passed what the city planned for. Holland Recreation Manager Kemri Hilton told FOX 17 on February 12, 2026, "We've sold about 26,000 open skate tickets in that time, which has been kind of crazy." That count left out curling. By then the park had brought in between $275,000 and $300,000 for the city.
The season ended a month later. The city's Michigan Municipal League award entry counted 33,400 individual skating sessions over the full first winter, plus more than 40 school groups. The same entry says the park earns enough to cover its own operating costs without adding a burden on the city.
The first winter also showed the park's other limit. On the Saturday right after opening day, warm temperatures and wind spoiled the ice, and the noon and 2 p.m. skating and curling sessions were canceled, WZZM reported. The pond is refrigerated, but a lakeshore November still gets a vote.
The calendar that actually runs the rink
The city now releases tickets in monthly blocks, set out in its season announcement.
| Sale opens | Skating dates covered |
|---|---|
| Friday, October 16, 2026 | November 20 to 30, skating only |
| Monday, November 16, 2026 | December 1 to 31 |
| See the city's ticket page | January 1 to 31, 2027 |
| Saturday, January 16, 2027 | February 1 to 28 |
| Tuesday, February 16, 2027 | March 1 to end of season |
So on publish day, all of the November and December sessions are already on sale. February and March tickets go on sale on the 16th of the month before. The city's announcement doesn't give a clear sale date for January tickets, so check the Holland Parks & Recreation ticket page before the holidays.
Here's how buying works. Open skate costs $10 a person for a 90-minute session, and skate rental is included. If you bring your own skates, you still need a ticket. All tickets are sold online and in advance because each session has limited space. The park is cashless. Reservations can't be moved to another session once you buy them, and they aren't refunded unless Holland Parks & Recreation cancels a session itself for weather or facility reasons. In that case, every ticket holder gets a full refund and is notified by email and text. Spectators don't need a ticket. The park is open Tuesday through Sunday and closed Mondays.
If the city calls off a session, you get your money back. If you just decide a raw night isn't worth the drive, you don't, so the forecast is still worth a look before you pick a week.
What the city added after last year
The 2026-27 season was built around the crowds from season one. The city says it is adding more skating sessions, curling clinics, and Learn to Skate classes meant to get more local kids onto the ice.
Curling has its own calendar. Reservations opened November 16 for play from December 1, 2026, through February 28, 2027. A 90-minute session costs $100 to $125, includes equipment, and the city's announcement says each one comes with a short introduction to the game. One reservation covers up to eight people. Split among a full group, that works out to about $12.50 to $15.60 a person. That's not far off an open-skate ticket, and you get the curling sheet to yourselves for the whole session.
The curling season is also shorter than the skating season. Last winter, Hilton told FOX 17 the curling sheet would likely close around the first week of March, while skating would run to the middle of the month. This season's reservation window ends February 28. If you want to try curling, plan it for winter instead of saving it for March.
The dates worth booking around
Once ticket blocks sell out, the themed nights are where the crowds go. These are the scheduled events on the park's seasonal events page:
- Dutch Winterfest, "Holidays on the Canals," December 1 to 5. This year Tulip Time adds Dutch Skate, a new event with skaters in traditional Dutch clothing showing off one of the Netherlands' best-loved winter customs, MLive reported. Tulip Time's call for skaters lists 6 to 6:30 p.m. December 1 through 4 and 2:30 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 5. The skaters are current high-school Dutch Dancers and alumni in costume.
- Glow Nights, every Friday in January, February, and March.
- Character Skate, every Wednesday in January, February, and March.
- Love on Ice, February 12 to 14. It runs as three separate nights: the Ultimate Love Glow Party on Friday, February 12; Soul on Ice on Saturday, February 13, which is skate sessions only from 5 to 9:30 p.m.; and Family Love Day on Sunday, February 14.
Glow Nights fall on Fridays, so February's Fridays go on sale January 16. If you want a Glow Night or Love on Ice, that's the date to remember.
Opening night, and the blocks around the ice
November 20 is also opening night for Kerstmarkt, the outdoor holiday market outside Holland Civic Center Place at 150 W. 8th Street. It runs Fridays and Saturdays through December 19, with 25-plus artisan vendors. Hours are 3 to 7 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, according to Downtown Holland's winter events page. A Friday skate session and a walk over to the market fit easily into one downtown evening.
Tuesday, December 1, is the busiest night on the calendar. The 6 p.m. Dutch Skate ends at 6:30, the same minute the Parade of Lights steps off. The parade runs west on 8th Street from Columbia Avenue to the Civic Center, and its 2026 float roster is already full. Starting December 4, Windmill Island Gardens adds Magic at the Mill on Friday and Saturday evenings through December 19, from 5 to 9 p.m. It features 1,000 LED blossoms, the lit DeZwaan windmill, carousel rides, and visits from Sinterklaas.
The park's FAQ lists three places to park: the diagonal spaces along 6th Street, two lots inside Window on the Waterfront along Columbia Avenue, and the public parking deck off 7th Street. Outside food and drink are generally not allowed, but there are concessions on site. The ice is for open skating only, so no hockey, figure skating, or jumping. Three fireplaces sit next to the ice, and Holland's visitor bureau points out the downtown snowmelt sidewalks that link the park to nearby shops, cafes, and breweries. The city's award entry also mentions a heated pavilion and fire features.
Placer.ai data cited in that entry shows that Ice Park visitors spend more time and money at nearby businesses. After one season, the ice has become part of a winter evening out on 8th Street.
Tammy L Kerr brings an engineer's eye and a designer's sense of detail to every Lakeshore conversation, from how a downtown project like the Ice Park changes Holland's winter to what that means for the homes a short walk away. If you're thinking about your own place in Holland's in-town blocks this season, schedule a personalized consultation.