Pittsburgh's Christmas Crown Jewel Is A Giant Rink Transforming Into A Lively Holiday Hub

Pittsburgh has earned a lot of accolades in recent years. Sports fans should know it was ranked No. 3 on the Manual's 2025 list of best hockey cities, as well as America's third-best city for outdoor recreation in 2024. It's also been named one of the busiest cities for festivals thanks to events like Little Italy Days in its historic Bloomfield neighborhood and Picklesburgh, USA Today's top-ranked specialty food festival for 2025.

And if you're looking for places to get into the holiday spirit, Pittsburgh's been praised for that, too. More than three million people visited downtown's Christmas festivities in 2024, and WalletHub ranked it the second-best city for Christmas in both 2023 and 2024. This ranking was partially based on its abundance of affordable shopping spots, but it also has the fifth-most ice skating rinks per capita in the United States. One of those is the UPMC Rink at PPG Place, an outdoor skating rink right in the heart of downtown. Every winter, the plaza encircled by the iconic glass towers of the three-block PPG Place complex transforms into a winter wonderland. This annual tradition started in 2001 and has only gotten better with time, with a rink upgrade in 2015 that made it even bigger than the more famous rink at New York's Rockefeller Center.

The ice rink isn't the only holiday happening in this one-time steel capital's revitalized downtown. Pittsburgh's annual holiday market is open from late November through Christmas Eve. Inspired by German Christmas markets, the event features charming wooden chalet stands of Christmas-themed gifts and treats, along with live music and light displays. Make sure to stroll through Market Square on your way from the rink to the Christmas market to enjoy the Yinzer Wonderland decorations and holiday window displays of the stores.

The Rink at PPG Place opens in mid-November and stays open through the winter, usually closing in early March (March 9^th in 2026). The rink's centerpiece is a 60-foot-tall Christmas tree, which is illuminated at the yearly Pittsburgh Tribute of Light Ceremony in late November. The tree lighting coincides with the city-wide Light Up Night, which also features fireworks shows, live music, and other light displays across downtown. 

Visitors can skate on the rink daily between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., with extended hours on weekends and immediately around Christmas and New Year's. General admission costs $12 for adults and $11 for children and seniors, though families can save a bit on Tuesday Family Nights, when one child's admission is free with every adult ticket, and students can skate for half price on Wednesdays starting in January. Kids can skate with Santa on Saturday afternoons in December, while couples can take advantage of BOGO admission during the January Thursday Couple Skates or the Valentine's Day Sweetheart Special. You don't need your own gear, either, since you can rent skates at the rink. Just be sure to bundle up, as an outdoor ice rink can get pretty chilly on a winter night. 

If you're still hungry for holiday fun after a few laps at the rink, the Pittsburgh Zoo puts on the Wild Illuminations holiday lantern experience during the evenings from late November through January. You can check their online calendar for daily ticket prices and scheduled performances. There's also a seasonal light display at Kennywood, Pennsylvania's premier amusement park located just outside of Pittsburgh, which includes the tallest Christmas tree in Pennsylvania along with synchronized light shows, meet-and-greets with Santa and Rudolph, and rides like the Gingerbread Express that takes you on a tour through a life-sized gingerbread village.