Riverfront Park's Skate Season Is Back at Last Year's Prices. What's Changed Is Around the Edges.

The Numerica Skate Ribbon opens to the public on Saturday, November 21, 2026. An adult ticket costs $10.95, the same as last year. Youth admission and skate rentals are each $7.95, also unchanged from last year. This winter's changes are in getting to the park and in where you can go after leaving the ribbon.

Three things changed around the park between May and October. The Post Street lot was rebuilt. A new restaurant opened across Spokane Falls Boulevard. A cocktail lounge opened a few blocks south. Together they turn a quick skating trip into a full downtown evening without much extra walking.

The ice, side by side with last winter

City of Spokane posts a Skate Ribbon opening-day page every year. Putting the 2025 listing next to the 2026 listing shows how little has moved.

Opening day runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Helmets are free if you ask at the rental counter. Last season the city sold Unlimited Ice Passes for $39.95 for adults and $28.95 for youth, with a $19.95 rental add-on. If you skate more than three or four times in a winter, check this year's pass price before you buy single tickets. The 2026 opening-day page invites passholders to the preview night on Friday, November 20, the evening before the public opening.

Prices haven't changed, and the season again opens with a Friday passholder preview and a Saturday public opening, a day earlier on the calendar than last year. A family's skating budget doesn't need to change. The rest of the night can.

Arriving: the Post Street lot reopened October 15

The Riverfront Park Post Street lot closed for a repair project funded by the Spokane parks levy. The levy schedule set the work for July through September 2026. On October 15, 2026, Together Spokane announced that the lot "has reopened to the public after a full renovation."

The project page lists the work: new grading and asphalt, a new sidewalk, better ADA access, a better connection to the Centennial Trail, and new lighting. Final installation of the lighting was still to come at the time of the announcement. The lighting matters for skating season, since the ribbon is open until 9 p.m. on opening day.

This will be the first skating season since the renovation. The improved Centennial Trail connection also helps anyone who walks or bikes into the park along the river instead of driving downtown.

Across the street: Lilac & Pine's first winter

Until this year, the restaurant inside the Davenport Grand Hotel was Table 13. That space is now Lilac & Pine at 333 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. It opened May 14, 2026, according to the Spokesman-Review.

The Spokane Journal of Business reported on October 8, 2026, that the remodel cost $600,000. Permit plans called for a 500-square-foot circular bar and 2,900 square feet of dining space. The restaurant seats 161 and handles different group sizes more easily than Table 13 did. That flexibility helps with a group of skaters who all want to sit down to eat at 7 p.m.

Chef Rudy Velasquez wrote the opening menu, which runs from cheeseburgers and salads to salmon, pork chops and steaks. An in-house pastry team makes the breads, desserts and ice cream. Spokane artists Ben Joyce and Jesse Pierpoint made artwork featuring local landmarks, and the restaurant created custom products with Spokane-based Spiceology and Dry Fly Distilling.

For winter regulars, the bigger news is the new programming. Melissa Green, vice president and area managing director of Davenport Hotels, told the Spokane Journal of Business that the restaurant recently launched a happy hour and monthly cocktail classes in The Reserve. The Reserve is the private room that used to be Table 13's whiskey bar. Holiday-themed cocktail classes, wine-blending classes and other seasonal events are planned.

"We're seeing strong demand from both hotel guests and the local community."

Green said that in the same Spokane Journal of Business interview.

A few blocks south: Lilac Room on Sprague

The second new stop is for adults. Lilac Room is at 319 W. Sprague Ave., next to the Spokane Comedy Club. Adam Norwest built it with his parents, Renee and Kevin Fandt, who also built the comedy club. The space used to hold Pinot's Palette, which moved to 1919 E. Sprague Ave. Lilac Room opened to the public at the end of August, according to the Inlander.

The Inlander describes Lilac Room as one of the few places in the country that finishes drinks in a pneumatic tube, the kind used at bank drive-thrus. The tube, called the Lilac Express, runs across the ceiling and gives three cocktails and one mocktail a final shake. A bartender rings a bell when a drink goes in. The Summit, an $18 tube drink, uses Browne Family Northwest vodka and a house-made huckleberry syrup. The Butterfly Bloom, a $14 mocktail, is made with butterfly pea tea and house lavender syrup. Food is kept to small plates and flatbreads, such as a smoked salmon dip served with naan.

Norwest told the Inlander that the comedy club never had its own lobby or bar, and that the family wanted a lounge where people could spend time before or after a show. Lilac Room is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. It is closed Monday and Tuesday, so plan any after-skate visits for the second half of the week.

Where the new pieces fit on the park's calendar

The ribbon's opening weekend starts a run of free and low-cost evenings at the park. Each one now has new options for parking, dinner or drinks nearby.

1. Friday, Nov. 20: Unlimited Ice Passholder preview night on the ribbon.
2. Saturday, Nov. 21: Public opening of the Skate Ribbon, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
3. Saturday, Nov. 28: The free Numerica Tree Lighting Celebration, 4 to 7 p.m., with food trucks, live entertainment and a 6 p.m. countdown at the plaza next to the Skate Ribbon.
4. Dec. 10-13: The free Holiday Village at Gesa Pavilion, presented by Gesa Credit Union. It includes an artisan market, crafts, a holiday photo station, local performers and a glass-top tent under the pavilion's LED canopy. Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
5. Friday, Dec. 18: Storytime at the Looff Carrousel, with $1 rides.

The tree lighting ends at 7 p.m. That leaves time for a late dinner across the street at Lilac & Pine, or for adults, a drink on Sprague. The evening Holiday Village hours on December 10 and 11 fall on a Thursday and Friday, two nights Lilac Room is open. If you're planning to drive to either event, the Post Street lot is the closest rebuilt parking. The Tree Lighting and Holiday Village pages list more details, including how vendors apply. Times and hours can change, so check the city's Riverfront calendar before you go.

For more about the city beyond the park, our Spokane neighborhood page covers the areas around downtown, and our look at Kendall Yards' night market follows a similar change on the other side of the river.

At Robert Jacobs II & Associates, we track changes like the Post Street lot and new spots on Spokane Falls Boulevard because they affect daily life near downtown long before they show up in any market report. If you live near Riverfront Park and want to know how this winter's changes could affect your home's value, request a free home valuation and we'll go through it with you.