On Saturday, October 3, two seasons began in the same evening. At Longview Farm Park, the City of Town and Country put on Fire & Ice, with live music from Whiskey Morning, food and drink trucks, and a drone show over the park at 8 p.m. Earlier that day, St. Louis County opened the 2026–27 public skating season at the Greensfelder Recreation Complex in Queeny Park, a season that runs through February 21, 2027.
Those two openings set up the rest of the year. The city has two dated events left in 2026, a Thanksgiving morning race and a December afternoon at Town Square. The county rink on the city's border runs every week in between and keeps going well after the city's last event.
The Greensfelder rink is the weekly constant
The rink runs about 20 weeks, from October 3 to February 21. Public skate sessions repeat on the same weekly schedule all season, per St. Louis County Parks:
- Sunday: 3 to 4:30 p.m.
- Monday through Thursday: 10 a.m. to noon
- Friday: 10 a.m. to noon, 1:45 to 3:45 p.m., and 6:30 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday: 8 to 9:30 p.m.
Admission is $6 for children 4 to 12 and seniors, $8 for adults 13 to 64, and free for children 3 and under with a skating adult. Skate rental is $3. The county's page for last season lists the same admission and rental prices, so skating costs what it did in 2025–26.
Friday has the most public ice of any day, with three sessions. Saturday has one session, and it starts at 8 p.m. A family planning a weekend skate will find more open time on Friday evening or Sunday afternoon. Hockey takes up much of the remaining ice time. Recreation Complex Manager James Hurley told West Newsmagazine that from October to February, "we host numerous Mid States hockey games and practices every night."
The complex opened in 1974, funded by a $1 million gift from Ethel Queeny and a matching amount from the Albert P. Greensfelder Foundation. It closed in May 2021 for an $11 million remodel and reopened in October 2022 with a new lobby, new locker rooms, an upgraded warming area and a new seasonal ice rink package, according to the same West Newsmagazine report. The 2026–27 season is the rink's fifth winter since it reopened.
Adults who want open ice with a stick can use Stick & Puck, held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 3 p.m. through February 18.
Thanksgiving week is when the two calendars meet
On Thursday, November 26, the rink is closed. Public skating is listed as closed on Thanksgiving and on Christmas. The city fills the morning instead.
The Town & Country Turkey Trot starts at 9 a.m. at Longview Farm Park, 13525 Clayton Road. This is the race's 20th year. In the September 2026 Parks & Recreation newsletter, Parks & Recreation Director Anne Nixon writes that the city is marking the anniversary, during the country's America 250 year, with a special-edition patriotic T-shirt.
The course is 3 miles. The kids' half-mile Fun Run starts at 10 a.m., and both groups get complimentary bagels, coffee and water afterward. PNB and Get Centered Counseling are this year's race sponsors. Older race pages on the city's site list a 5K and fees from earlier years. The 2026 newsletter's 3-mile distance applies this year. For registration, use the city's event listing.
The timing works well for a resident. The 10 a.m. Fun Run leaves time to get home before a Thanksgiving meal, and with the rink closed, Longview Farm Park is the place to be that morning.
Winterfest brings the season to Town Square
The city's last event of 2026 is Winterfest on Saturday, December 5, from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at Town Square, 13360 Clayton Road. According to the city's newsletter, the afternoon runs in this order:
- 1 p.m. Local vendors open with gifts, handmade goods and holiday treats, alongside caroling and entertainment from local groups.
- 2 p.m. Santa arrives on a firetruck and stays for pictures and greetings until 5:30 p.m.
- Through the afternoon. The Grinch makes an appearance, children make holiday crafts at Santa's Workshop, and families can take photos inside the Snow Globe.
- 5:15 p.m. The annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, with a holiday performance by the River Blenders Chorus.
The tree lighting at 5:15 p.m. is the only fixed time most families will need. Arriving close to 2 p.m. means seeing Santa's firetruck arrival and getting into the photo line early.
The newsletter credits the city's event sponsors, especially its community partners Peoples National Bank, Mari de Villa and Principia School, for making these programs possible. Peoples National Bank appears twice, as a Turkey Trot sponsor and as a year-round partner, which makes it the closest thing the city's event calendar has to a regular backer.
After December 5, the rink carries the season alone
Once Winterfest wraps up on December 5, the city has no more dated events listed for 2026. For the rest of the year and into the new one, the Greensfelder rink is the main seasonal activity, and late December is when it changes its own routine.
| Date | Greensfelder rink | City of Town and Country |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 26 | Public skating closed | Turkey Trot, 9 a.m.; Fun Run, 10 a.m., Longview Farm Park |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Regular Saturday session, 8 p.m. | Winterfest, 1 to 5:30 p.m., Town Square |
| Mon–Tue, Dec 21–22 | Skate camp, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; no Stick & Puck Dec 22 | None listed |
| Thu, Dec 24 | No Stick & Puck | None listed |
| Fri, Dec 25 | Public skating closed | None listed |
| Mon–Tue, Dec 28–29 | Skate camp, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; no Stick & Puck Dec 29 | None listed |
| Thu, Dec 31 | No Stick & Puck | None listed |
| Sun, Feb 21 | Last day of public skating | None listed |
The two skate camps cost $50 per session, and preregistration is required. Parents who used last year's dates as a guide should check the calendar. In 2025 the camps ran December 22–23 and 29–30, and both sessions have moved one day earlier this year. The county's general Greensfelder page still shows the 2025–26 dates. The current schedule is on the dedicated ice rink page.
The rest of Queeny Park keeps the same routine
The rink is the seasonal part of Queeny Park. The rest of the park stays the same year-round. Queeny is open from 8 a.m. to dusk, which the county defines as half an hour after official sunset, with entrances at 550 Weidman Road and 1675 South Mason Road. As November sunsets get earlier, that closing time comes earlier with them, while the rink's Friday 6:30 p.m. session stays the same.
The park's 10 miles of trails are open to hiking, biking and horseback riding. Tails & Trails, the five-acre, membership-only off-leash dog park, has separate areas for large and small dogs, agility stations and watering stations. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to sunset, except Tuesdays, when hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. That Tuesday schedule matters for dog owners who usually go in the afternoon.
The park's newest addition is at the Mason Road side. Teddy and Friends, an inclusive playground at 1675 S. Mason Road, was slated to open in August 2025, according to St. Louis Magazine. It replaced the park's earlier playground, which the county closed in October 2023 over safety concerns. Its board game theme includes a Hungry Hungry Hippos entry, a Connect Four climber, a Don't Break the Ice rope element, a Game of Life car glider and a Candy Land-inspired house, as West Newsmagazine described it. Published cost figures vary. St. Louis Public Radio called it a $2.4 million project in October 2024, and the nonprofit Unlimited Play now lists a $3.2 million fundraising goal as fully reached.
One piece is still being funded. Unlimited Play's splash pad page shows its fundraising at 98% of a $275,000 goal. No opening date has been announced. When the rink closes on February 21, that splash pad will be the next thing to watch for at Queeny.
The parks calendar is one of the things Will tracks in his own community. Plenty of conversations about where to live in St. Louis County begin over Saturday plans like these. If you would like to talk through what Town and Country's seasons look like from a specific street, William Springer is glad to hear from you. Schedule a Consultation with Will.
