Founded in 1956, Winter Lodge in Palo Alto, California, is the only permanent outdoor ice skating rink west of the Sierras—and a cherished community gathering place for generations. Conceived by engineer Duncan Williams as an experiment in maintaining real ice under California’s mild winter skies, the rink quickly grew into a beloved local institution.
Over the decades, Winter Lodge has survived waves of redevelopment and global economic challenges thanks to passionate grassroots support. Today, Winter Lodge is operated as a nonprofit organization and it remains a unique blend of sport, tradition, and neighborhood spirit—an enduring symbol of winter magic in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Origins and establishment (1955–1960s)
The rink’s origins trace to Duncan Williams, an engineering professor originally from Wisconsin who relocated to Palo Alto. He experimented with refrigeration systems, using a brine-based cooling system and shading strategies, to sustain ice in the milder California winter climate. His forward-thinking, brilliant design remains largely intact today.
The Winter Club officially opened on February 15, 1956, in what was then a relatively undeveloped part of Palo Alto along Middlefield Road. The first facility included the main outdoor rink and a smaller practice area for figure skaters.
Memberships, family skating nights, youth hockey, ice shows, and birthday parties formed the early core offerings. By 1959, the rink had peaked at 500 family memberships. Over the 1960s and 1970s, Williams personally sustained the rink’s operations, often only turning a modest profit.
Redevelopment possibilities, civic debates, and institutional transformation (1980s)
By the early 1980s, Williams planned to retire, and the landowner proposed redeveloping the property into condominiums. Faced with the imminent closure of the rink, local supporters and skating enthusiasts mobilized.
The group (Trust For Community Skating) appealed to the city council to fund repairs to the Middlefield site. The council declined. Under the leadership of local advocate Jack Morton, the group persevered while extending the lease and continuing to press the city for support.
In 1983, with a one-year lease extension and partial funding for repairs from the city, the rink reopened under its new name Winter Lodge.
Still, the long-term future was uncertain. The Trust sought to purchase the property, but the city council declined further loans. In response, supporters circulated a ballot initiative to require the city to maintain an ice skating facility, but this was controversial in public debate.
A more feasible approach was devised: a land swap. The Trust proposed that the city exchange a parcel at Geng Road for the Winter Lodge land so the ownership could remain with skating supporters while freeing the developer to build elsewhere. Two ballot measures—one to allow the land swap, and one to rezone the Geng parcel—were placed before voters. In November 1985, both Measure A and Measure B passed by a landslide, enabling the swap and preserving the rink’s location.
Over the following years, the legal and financial structures were finalized, and now, as a non-profit organization, Winter Lodge officially assumed operational responsibility.
Modern era (1990s to present)
In the decades since the 1980s, Winter Lodge has successfully operated as a non-profit recreational skating facility, offering classes, public skating sessions and group events.
By 2007, the rink was ranked by Outside Magazine among the top 10 outdoor ice skating experiences in the United States. And later rated the number 1 skating rink in the U.S. by USA Today, according to Yelp users. Also voted 'Best of the Bay Area' by Bay Area Parent Magazine for a family favorite destination. It continues to be the only permanent outdoor ice rink west of the Sierra Nevada.
As of recent years, the rink serves over 3,000 skating students per season in one of the largest recreational skating schools in the U.S. and welcomes over 70,000 guests per year.
Today, Winter Lodge stands not only as a place to skate, but as a testament to Palo Alto’s community spirit and perseverance. What began as one man’s inventive experiment in 1956 has become a treasured local landmark, preserved through decades of dedication, advocacy, and love from generations of skaters and supporters. As the only permanent outdoor ice rink of its kind west of the Sierras, Winter Lodge continues to bring people together under the open sky—where the simple joy of gliding on ice connects past and present, and the warmth of community endures no matter the season!