Marble Falls Gave Up the Ice Rink. Here's What Lakeside Park Gets This Christmas

"The first year is going to be kind of a transition, so we're probably going to have to sacrifice other Christmas things to get it up and running." Mayor John Packer said that on June 2, the night Marble Falls City Council voted to take the Walkway of Lights over from the Marble Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber had run it for more than three decades.

By August, the thing being given up was the ice rink. The city moved that money into lights, and in September it agreed to let a private company build what could become the world's tallest Christmas tree on the Lakeside Park peninsula. Christmas in Marble Falls this year comes from three budgets: the city's, the Marble Falls Economic Development Corp.'s and an outside operator's. Nearly all of it will be at Lakeside Park.

Where the ice rink money went

The Walkway has been running for 36 years. Parks and Recreation Director Lacey Dingman told council it brings in more than 40,000 visitors a year, which makes it the city's biggest holiday draw and an important source of sales tax. Buying it was the easy part. Paying to run it was the open question, and in June Dingman said she couldn't yet put a number on what maintenance would cost.

At that same June meeting, she pointed to the ice rink as one way to cover it. The rink cost about $160,000 a year, and the city hadn't fully recovered its operating costs in recent years. By August the decision was made.

"We are focusing on the lights this year," Mayor Pro Tem Craig Magerkurth told DailyTrib. "That area that had the rink it will have a new LED light feature."

Here's how the money moved:

The city structured the display purchase through the EDC so it wouldn't take on new debt. The Chamber assets came over "as-is." The 12 new areas will have large sculptures and interactive photo spots meant to fit with the existing displays. Magerkurth called the change a "gradual handoff," and the Chamber is still advising.

A tree the city isn't paying for

The table's last row looks nothing like the others. On Sept. 1, council approved a licensing agreement with The Glory Tree, which does business as World Icon LLC. The deal lets the company put up a temporary artificial tree up to 250 feet tall at the end of the Lakeside Park peninsula, outside the Walkway's usual footprint.

"They are offering to bring this to us at no expense to the city," Dingman told council. "What we're really offering if we decide to move forward is access to the space." World Icon will also pay for permanent electrical infrastructure, a first community lighting ceremony with live entertainment, and a New Year's Eve drone show.

At full height, the tree would be 14 feet taller than the current record for tallest artificial Christmas tree, a 236-foot tree in Sri Lanka from December 2016. Co-director Whitney Glover connects the height to the nation's 250th anniversary: "Every one of these 250 feet is a tribute to 250 years of America." The city's Sept. 3 announcement says the tree will be free to visit through the Christmas season. It also leaves the door open for the city and the operator to agree to bring it back in future years.

The city also says the tree and the Walkway are planned together so visitors move between Lakeside Park and downtown Marble Falls, with downtown businesses benefiting. A rink was a stop in one corner of the park. A tree you can see across Lake Marble Falls draws people to the whole park.

The bridge that closes the loop

A December built around Lakeside Park depends on getting there, and that got easier on Sept. 29. That afternoon, the city announced that the new Avenue N bridge over Backbone Creek was open to through traffic. It had been closed since April 2025.

The old crossing was a low-water crossing that flooded in heavy rain. The new bridge sits above the 100-year flood marker. It's again a dependable route between Marble Falls and Meadowlakes and a link on the north side of the lake between Johnson Park, Lakeside Park and downtown. That's the same route the city wants holiday visitors to follow.

The pedestrian bridge between Johnson and Lakeside parks opened for daytime use earlier this year. A January report said round-the-clock access would follow once lighting work was done, but nothing published since confirms the bridge is open after dark. Walkers planning a 6 p.m. visit should check before counting on it.

Getting to Nov. 29

Most of the fall calendar leads up to opening night, and much of it is already at Lakeside Park or on Main Street:

• Tuesday, Oct. 6: National Night Out runs 6 to 8 p.m. at Thunder Rock in Marble Falls, on Burnet's Main Street near the Historic Square, at Quarry Park Pavilion in Granite Shoals and at Quail Point Lodge in Horseshoe Bay. That same evening, the City Manager's report to Marble Falls council includes a "Christmas Season Update."
• Oct. 11: Gathered Table on Main Street in Marble Falls, sponsored by the city's Downtown and Marketing department.
• Oct. 16–18: MeatFest, the first barbecue competition at Hooper's, 1010 King Court in Kingsland, with up to 25 teams and a $5,000 top prize.
• Oct. 17–18: The Open Water Swim at Lakeside Park and Beach.
• Oct. 31: Main Street Treat Fest, 4 to 7 p.m. downtown. Earlier that day, the Refuge Round Up runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge, 24518 E. FM 1431.
• Nov. 20: Merry & Pink Christmas, a free shopping evening at participating Main Street boutiques around 215 Main St., with discounts, raffles, small bites and drinks.
• Nov. 29: The Walkway of Lights opens at Lakeside Park and Beach, 305 Buena Vista Drive, and runs nightly from 6 to 10 p.m., weather permitting, through Jan. 2, 2027. It's free, the path is paved and ADA-accessible, and handicap parking is by the entrance. The city is also aiming to light the Glory Tree that night if the project stays on schedule.
• Dec. 4: The Light Up Christmas Parade, 6 p.m. on Main Street.
• Dec. 5: Market Day on Main in Marble Falls, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of the Highland Lakes. Down the road, Bertram Country Christmas runs 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a 10 a.m. parade and the Rudolph Dash.
• Dec. 12: Christmas on the Square in Burnet, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 220 S. Pierce St., with a noon parade, more than 175 vendors and Main Street Bethlehem.

Some older Visit Marble Falls pages still mention the skating rink, ticket sales and different dates for the Walkway and the parade. The 2026 event listings above are the current ones.

What's still unannounced

The city's Sept. 3 release promised more details "over the next several weeks." As of early October, here's what hasn't been published:

• A firm lighting date for the Glory Tree. On Sept. 3 the city said the project was moving into final engineering, permitting, site planning and operational coordination. The operator's website now says the tree "is already being built" and is "Coming November 2026." No later update has been published, so the Nov. 29 lighting is still a target.
• Names or themes for the 12 new Walkway areas, and a design for the LED feature going where the rink was.
• A 2026 parking, traffic or shuttle plan for Lakeside Park. With a free tree up to 250 feet tall drawing crowds on top of the Walkway's usual 40,000-plus, this is the one most worth watching for.

The Oct. 6 council update is the next scheduled chance to fill in these gaps.

New stops on the way in

A few places have opened around the county since summer and work well before or after an evening at the park. The Old Drive-In Diner opened in early July at 220 Ranch Road 261 in Buchanan Dam, serving burgers, wings, seafood and pizza. Fuzzy's Corner reopened under new owners with a Sept. 19 grand opening at 15224 E. Texas 29 near RR 1431, with pool, darts and shuffleboard. The Hangar at Log Country Cove in Burnet has five pickleball courts, batting cages, a golf simulator and outdoor putt-putt.

Two more are on the way but don't have firm dates. Kynda Coffee closed its Cottonwood Shores shop on Sept. 27 and plans to reopen at 4909 RM 2147 in Horseshoe Bay. The owner hopes to be ready by winter but hasn't set a date. In Burnet, the Little Red Barn Stand is growing into the Little Red Barn Market at 103 S. Silver St. In late August the owner estimated three to four months, depending on permits and renovations, so a holiday opening is possible but not promised.

Jim Banks grew up in the Hill Country and works out of Burnet. He has watched the Walkway light up Lake Marble Falls for most of its 36 years and follows changes along the north shore, from the reopened Avenue N bridge to what goes up on the Lakeside Park peninsula. If those changes have you thinking about property near the lake, Jim Banks is glad to share what he knows. Let's Connect.