Leave Belvedere by Hamilton Pool Road, drive north to the light at State Highway 71, and go straight across onto Bee Cave Parkway. A few minutes later you reach City Hall and the Hill Country Galleria. Travis County records describe Belvedere as taking access from Hamilton Pool Road, FM 3238, so that light is where every holiday trip into Bee Cave begins.
Two decisions dated October 28 touch that drive. The City of Bee Cave lowered the speed limit on Bee Cave Parkway from 45 mph to 40 mph. On the same day, Community Impact reported that the city had approved a funding agreement with TxDOT to widen the intersection itself. Only the first one changes anything this winter. The speed limit is already lower. The rebuild has no projected timeline. For the seven weeks between the rink's opening and New Year's, the night you pick matters more than the route, and Bee Cave's calendar gives its best value to weeknights.
The Intersection Gets Rebuilt Later, Not This Winter
The plan is bigger than a signal swap. According to Community Impact's report on the agreement, it includes:
- A second left-turn lane on westbound Highway 71, plus an acceleration lane for right turns onto southbound Bee Cave Parkway
- A second right-turn lane from southbound Bee Cave Parkway onto westbound Highway 71
- A second right-turn lane from northbound Hamilton Pool Road onto eastbound Highway 71
- An acceleration lane on southbound Hamilton Pool Road for drivers turning right from eastbound Highway 71
- New signals and new pedestrian facilities along all three roads
- Possible ditch grading along Highway 71 and storm sewer work along Bee Cave Parkway
The northbound Hamilton Pool Road lane is the part that touches the Belvedere commute directly. Anyone heading east toward Austin would get a second right-turn lane. The cost estimate is about $2.8 million for the city and nearly $3.7 million for the state. Bee Cave pays for the Bee Cave Parkway work, and TxDOT pays for the Hamilton Pool Road and Highway 71 work.
The city also changed course to get here. In January 2024, City Council backed design work on an "innovative intersection" such as a diverging diamond. Since then, City Manager Julie Oakley told Community Impact, the city has found that widening the existing intersection is faster and more workable for pedestrians. Oakley also described the kind of process she wants:
"I have a lot of respect for TxDOT and their engineers, but I'd really like for the local engineers to be able to really roll their sleeves up and design these intersections in their communities."
TxDOT requires the city's resolution of support before it finalizes the Advanced Funding Agreement, which is why no construction date exists yet. So this holiday season, the drive in runs through the current lanes and signals. The only change on the way to the rink is a slower Parkway at 40 mph.
The Rink Sets the Weekly Rhythm
Bee Cave on Ice opened November 13 and runs through January 18, 2027. It sits behind City Hall at 4000 Galleria Parkway. Because it is open more days than any other event on this calendar, it sets the weekly pattern. Its hours and prices also favor midweek visits.
| Day | Hours | Last session |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Friday | Noon to 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. | 8 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
| Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year's Eve and Day | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
| LTISD holidays: Nov. 23 to 27, Dec. 18 to Jan. 5, and MLK Day | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 6 p.m. |
Regular admission is $16 plus tax. On the city's Tuesday Community Nights it drops to $11 plus tax. Both prices cover 50 minutes of skating and skate rental. The first Community Night, November 17, has already passed. Four remain: December 1, 8 and 15, and January 12. A family of four saves $20 before tax at the discounted price. That covers a good share of dinner across the plaza.
Thanksgiving week works differently. LTISD's break runs November 23 to 27, and during that week the rink opens at 10 a.m. every day and closes at 7 p.m. That gives you weekday mornings on the ice, but evening sessions end two hours early. The same holiday hours return from December 18 through January 5. Tickets are sold through the city's Bee Cave on Ice page, which warns that popular dates fill fast.
The Galleria Fills In Around It, Starting This Saturday
The Hill Country Galleria builds its schedule within walking distance of the rink, and its events add to the Tuesday pattern.
The first one opens two days after this post appears. The Bee Cave Arts Foundation Holiday Market runs November 21 through January 7 in the foundation's gallery inside the Galleria, across from H&M and Dillard's. An opening reception is Saturday, November 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. Because it is indoors and runs for seven weeks, it pairs easily with any rink night.
The Galleria's biggest night of the season is Light up the Plaza on Saturday, November 28, from 5 to 8 p.m. Magnolia Musical Theatre opens the program at 5. Santa and Mayor Kara King light the tree at about 5:45, and Thompson Square plays from 6. Admission and parking are free, and the Galleria notes that times are approximate.
Santa stays after the lighting. Santa & Elf visits run at Santa's Workshop, indoors next to Buenos Aires Café. Family photos are free, but there is no professional photographer, so bring your own camera or phone. The hours change week to week:
- November 28 and 29: 1 to 8 p.m.
- December 4: 5 to 8 p.m. December 5: 1 to 8 p.m. December 6: 1 to 6 p.m.
- December 11: 5 to 8 p.m. December 12: 1 to 8 p.m. December 13: 1 to 6 p.m.
- December 14 through 17: 5 to 8 p.m. each evening
- December 18 through 24: 1 to 8 p.m. daily
The four evenings from December 14 to 17 are the only run of consecutive weeknights before school lets out. They fall the same week as the last December Community Night on the 15th. A Tuesday on December 15 can include an $11 skate, a free Santa photo and dinner at the Galleria, all within the same few hundred feet.
December 5 Stacks Everything at Once
The weekend calendar collects in one place. Saturday, December 5, puts four events on the same stretch of Galleria Parkway.
The Jingle Bell 5K starts the day. Festivities begin at 7 a.m. and races at 8, with a run, walk or stroll option, a children's dash, a warm-up, and food and drinks afterward. The Bee Cave Holiday Market opens in the Galleria Central Plaza at 11 a.m. and runs until 7 p.m. with local makers and holiday activities. Santa is in from 1 to 8 p.m. The rink is open all day, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For a family that wants the whole season in one outing, that Saturday is the day. For a family that wants just one piece of it, the market offers two other formats over three weekends. Friday sessions run December 4, 11 and 18 from 4 to 9 p.m., and Saturday sessions run December 5, 12 and 19 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A Friday visit after work, with a 4 p.m. opening and a 9 p.m. close, sits closer to the weeknight pattern than to the busy Saturdays.
One Address on the Way Back
One new business sits on the Highway 71 side of the commute. Discover Strength is scheduled to open November 30 at 15500 Highway 71, Suite 210, with one-on-one and small-group workouts that each last 30 minutes. It opens the Monday after the tree lighting, and it is the one new address on this list unrelated to the holidays.
For the rest of the season, the trip stays as it is. It runs from Hamilton Pool Road through the current intersection, then up a 40 mph Parkway to a rink that charges $11 on four more Tuesdays. The widening will come in a later season, on a date TxDOT and Bee Cave have not set.
The holiday calendar is the easy part of planning around Bee Cave. A rebuild of the intersection at Belvedere's front door is a longer-term question for anyone who owns along this stretch. If you own in Belvedere and want to know how the Highway 71 and Hamilton Pool Road plans could shape a future sale or purchase, Jana Birdwell follows these projects as part of her local work. Request a Private Consultation, and we can go over what has been approved and what is still to come.
