A Santa Rosa icon for over 50 years, Snoopy's Home Ice offers a unique atmosphere for families to enjoy recreational ice skating and a world-class facility to support the goals of local athletes in the sports of ice hockey and figure skating.
Snoopy's Home Ice in Santa Rosa, California
Also known as the Redwood Empire Ice Rink, Snoopy’s Home Ice has become a go-to spot for Peanuts fans. Snoopy's Home Ice is located in the heart of Sonoma County's wine country, just one hour from San Francisco. There are many activities to include after your visit: hike along the beautiful Sonoma coast; stroll through a majestic redwood grove; visit world-class wineries.
The History of Snoopy's Home Ice
Well, Snoopy’s home ice, originally Redwood Empire Ice Arena, was actually built here in 1969 by the Schulz family. The ice arena was built in 1969, and it really has not changed at all since. It’s exactly like it was when I learned how to skate here when I was five.
And it was built not only as an ice arena, but a gathering place for the community. And it continues to be it’s definitely a special, special spot here in Santa Rosa and also the Bay Area.
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Charles Schulz grew up in Minnesota, and he was an avid ice hockey enthusiast. He moved around a little bit, but he settled here first in Sebastopol and then in Santa Rosa in Santa Rosa. At that time, there was only one ice arena on the east side of town on Summerfield Road, and that closed in the late 60s.
But he always dreamed of a bigger, better facility. You know, he was a serious ice hockey person from Minnesota. So he and his wife, Joyce at the time decided to build this ice arena. And he went to the owners of the former ice rink and said, hey, we’re going to build a new ice arena. Will you run it? And they did not hesitate.
They said yes, absolutely, for sure. One of those people was Skippy Baxter and Skippy Baxter’s name, like, looms very large here. And just in Santa Rosa at large. Skippy Baxter was an incredible ice skater. In fact, Ripley’s Believe It or Not reported that Skippy was the first person to land a triple salchow, which is when you’re skating, you leap into the air, you spin around three times, and you land on one skate.
Skippy Baxter really was sort of the heart and soul of this place. He was in his 90s when he died. Skippy Baxter. I lived in a house across the parking lot here that the Schultz’s built for him to live at, and he taught me how to ice skate here on the ice. He taught generations of Santa Rosa how to skate.
Heading north on Highway 101, you will get off on Steele Ln/Guerneville Rd. Head left, then keep right to stay on Steele Ln. The museum and ice rink are about a quarter of a mile down on the right. In the cement around the exterior are famous signatures of athletes, actors, and musicians, with a Charles M. Schulz signature as well.
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Features and Activities
It is an ice arena. The Arena offers public skating, private ice time, figure skating, junior hockey, and adult hockey. It is also host to the annual Snoopy's Senior World Hockey Tournament, in which 64-70 senior teams from all over the world come to Santa Rosa for a week-long hockey tournament in the summer.
The arena has about 500 permanent seats for hockey games, but this can be expanded to 3,000 seats for concerts and other events. This was like the concert venue for Santa Rosa. For a long time. There wasn’t really a performing arts center here until 1981. So people like, as you can see on the wall here, like Anne Marie played here. Buck Owens played here, Liberace played here. We have a friend of the family who saw Helen Reddy here. And there was a little known comedian who opened up for her named David Letterman. They were just they would cover up the ice. And there’s people sitting in the bleachers.
We have a cafe, the Warm Puppy Cafe, with the best cocoa around. Also, be sure to see the table by the window, which is where Charles M. Schulz sat every day to work on the strip and to have breakfast. Come visit the cozy Warm Puppy Café! Offering local, organic coffees and snacks plus sandwiches & soup, hot dogs & french fries. Don't want to skate? Settle in by the crackling fire and enjoy a Hot Cocoa or meal at the Warm Puppy Cafe, conveniently located inside the arena. Access to the Ice Arena and cafe is free. An admission fee applies for skating.
And we have the Snoopy’s gallery and gift shop, which is fantastic. Lastly, visit the museum and the gift shop before leaving the complex as they are both close by.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Ice Arena | Public skating, private ice time, figure skating, junior hockey, and adult hockey |
| Warm Puppy Cafe | Local, organic coffees and snacks, sandwiches & soup, hot dogs & french fries |
| Snoopy’s gallery and gift shop | Various Snoopy and Peanuts themed merchandise |
A Special Place
It has a Swiss Alps theme when it was built, Charles Schulz, his wife, sent a local photographer, Don Meacham, to Switzerland to photograph like villages and nature and mountains and everything. And they replicated that inside here, which you’ll see, you know, just about everyone who grew up in Santa Rosa has been here, learned to skate here, has been to events here, has been a holiday shows here. It’s a really special place. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that having a daughter certainly helped.
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You’ll see these facades of Swiss houses all around. Those are the houses that that photographer Don Meacham took photos of in Switzerland and came back. And so they recreated them all around the perimeter of the ice arena.
I remember coming here as we still do have school groups come here on a school bus, learn how to skate birthday parties. I remember coming for those. And then also, obviously the shows and that kind of thing, the hockey games, the senior hockey game in the middle of the summer.
It is fantastic. Our maintenance team puts all these beautiful decorations up. And when you walk into the building, it’s one of my favorite things to see is families that come on a regular tradition and they walk in and they see the Christmas tree on the ice and they see Snoopy and his Santa outfit in the lobby.
Built in 1969 by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, Snoopy's Home Ice has been called the world's most beautiful ice arena. Snoopy's Home Ice is the coolest place in town for sports and fun. Whether you enjoy Figure Skating or Ice Hockey or just hanging out, there is something for everyone. Bring the family (ALL ages and levels welcome) and spend the whole day - the Charles M. Schulz Museum is also right across the street.
All in all, Snoopy’s Home Ice is a great place for the whole family while in Santa Rosa.