November 5, 2026
At 5 p.m. on Friday, December 4, Santa and Mrs. Claus light the tree at Evergreen Lake House. That opens Downtown Evergreen's 34th Annual Holiday Walk, and the event calls it the official start of the Evergreen holiday season. After that, the season moves uphill. On Saturday the big free event is near Bergen Park, and on Sunday morning the Chamber's Santa Breakfast fills a barn on Bergen Parkway. In three days the season goes from the lakeshore to the Parkway, and each day uses a different part of town.
So plan the weekend by location. Friday is downtown and on foot. Saturday and Sunday are up the Parkway, with parking lots and reservations. The Sunday breakfast is the one event you can't decide on the day of.
The Holiday Walk runs 5 to 9 p.m. The tree lighting at the Lake House comes first. Then everyone heads back downtown, where the main street becomes a walking mall with no cars. Expect fire pits, s'mores, photos with Santa, live performances by local music and dance groups, and holiday specials in the shops. Downtown Evergreen's event page still lists the detailed schedule as "Coming Soon," so check the Holiday Walk page the week of the event for exact times.
Plan Friday dinner around the closed street. Murphy's Mountain Grill sits creekside at 27906 Highway 74, right in the middle of the walk. It's open until 9 p.m. on Fridays, the same time the walk ends. The menu is pub-style: burgers, including a Colorado elk burger, plus salads, sandwiches, house specialties, and artisan sundaes. Murphy's has been here since 2017, so it isn't new. At this year's Taste of Evergreen, though, some attendees were finding it for the first time.
Skating on Evergreen Lake runs on a different schedule from the tree lighting. The Evergreen Park & Recreation District sets opening day by the ice, and it says the rinks can close at any time because of poor weather or ice conditions. For day-to-day status, EPRD runs a skating hotline at 720-880-1391. The rinks are at 29612 Upper Bear Creek Road.
Prices for the 2026/2027 season are already posted on EPRD's ice skating page:
| Option | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Single admission | $15 per person | Skating only |
| Admission with rental | $20 per person | Skating and skates |
| Skate rental alone | $10 per pair | Skates |
| 10-punch pass | $120 | 10 admissions for the price of 8, shared across the family, rentals not included |
| Season pass | $200 | Admission and rentals for the whole season |
Kids 3 and under skate free on punch passes. Punch passes are sold online only. EPRD offers no refunds, transfers, or credits on passes, because it can't guarantee opening days or ice quality. Hours for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and MLK Day depend on the weather. On weekends and holidays, when the Lake House lot fills, EPRD runs shuttles from Stagecoach Park.
The lake gets Friday's tree lighting on a fixed date. Skating starts whenever the ice is ready.
On Saturday, December 5, Center for the Arts Evergreen holds Winterfest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's a free artisan gift market and holiday festival for all ages. Vendor tables are indoors and in tents outside. There's more than shopping. Santa visits with kids, a holiday craft station is open to anyone, and food trucks, a hot cocoa bar, and live holiday music run all day. The Center's annual member exhibition will be on view, and everything in it is for sale. Gift wrapping is free.
Winterfest runs snow or shine and closes only if the weather becomes dangerous for vendors and guests. Parking is at Bergen Park Church and at the RTD park-and-ride across the street from the Center.
Friday is the town's party in the street. Saturday is the shopping day. It's six hours long, so you can drop in for an hour or stay until close.
When Winterfest closes at 4, the newest place on this side of town opens an hour later. The Frame Shop Lounge opened in 2026 at 2962 Evergreen Parkway. It shares a building and owners with Evergreen Brewery. The lounge is open Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m., with rotating signature cocktails and seasonal shareable bites. Reservations through Resy are encouraged, and a few spots are held for walk-ins. The lounge is adult-preferred. The brewery upstairs is family-friendly and open to all ages.
The lounge already won something this fall. At the Evergreen Chamber's Taste of Evergreen on September 15 at the Lake House, its butterscotch-style pudding with berries and pistachios took first in the sweet bites category from both the judges and the popular vote, according to the Canyon Courier. The same story reports that attendees at the event were discovering restaurants that were new to them, including Murphy's Mountain Grill and Evoke 1923.
The last day climbs a bit further up the Parkway. On Sunday, December 6, the Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce holds its Santa Breakfast at Hiwan Barn, 1552 Bergen Parkway. There are two seatings, 8 to 9:30 a.m. and 10 to 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $28 per person for adults and children. The Chamber lists the youngest children as free, so check the age cutoff when you buy. The ticket covers breakfast, crafts, a visit with Santa, and photos.
This is the one event of the weekend that takes planning. The Chamber says the breakfast sells out every year and space is limited. Tickets must be bought in advance, and there are no day-of tickets or walk-ins. Tickets are on the Chamber's Santa Breakfast page.
If the December 6 seatings sell out or don't fit your plans, there's a second date. On Saturday, December 19, the breakfast moves to The Wild Game, 1204 Bergen Parkway, with seatings from 8:30 to 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to noon. The Chamber says both dates have the same menu and program.
For a quieter Sunday night after three busy days, Evoke 1923 is at 27376 Spruce Lane, off Highway 73. The Evergreen Chamber's directions put it 3.3 miles from downtown. Chef Rand Packer opened it in October 2024 in the former Bistro at Marshdale building. It serves dinner 5 to 9 p.m. every day except Tuesday, and happy hour runs 4:30 to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. The Evergreen Chamber's directory describes a rotating menu of global flavors built on seasonal ingredients. The menu includes seafood, pasta, meat, and vegetarian dishes alongside cocktails and wine.
Saturday's Winterfest is free. Only the Sunday breakfast has to be booked now.
If a weekend of walking from the Lake House up to Bergen Parkway has you thinking about a spring sale, or a remodel you want done before next year's tree lighting, THE LIST can tell you where your Evergreen home stands. Let's connect, and start with a free home valuation.
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