I can’t believe I’ve lived in the Bay Area this long and never been to the Peanut’s themed ice rink and museum in Santa Rosa. As someone who loves themed entertainment, and a skater, this is straight up my alley.
Built in 1969 (the year of my birth!), Snoopy Home Ice was created by Charles M. Schultz, a long time devotee of ice skating and ice hockey. Designed to look like a Swiss chalet on the outside, the interior has a beautiful facade of a Swiss village as the backdrop of the rink. So beautiful and charming!
The actual rink is huge! We went for the 1:15pm session on a Sunday and had plenty of space to goof around. The quality of ice was great, and they had these really cute Peanut’s graphics on the ice that added to the vibe. I loved how the place was always in half-light to give it a feeling of being dusk in a European village.
There’s a little cafe next to the rink called the “Warm Puppy Cafe” that honestly I did not have high expectations for. But it had a pretty great menu for an ice rink — six kinds of hot cocoa, yummy snacks and small bites like chili, grilled cheese, and pot pies.
Right across from the rink is a huge Peanut’s gift shop that is destination on its own. Full of cool Peanut’s themed art and historical artifacts, its goes harder than it has to.
While I wasn’t super impressed by the merch, this little wooden sculpture of Snoopy and Woodstock roller skating blew me away! I’m glad that Deep bought it, although I’m a little jealous.
Just across the road is the Charles M. Schultz Museum. A lovingly presented history of the Peanut’s creator and the iconic comic strip, it’s a great way to learn about this talented and sweet man and his legacy. We got a little trapped in the arts and crafts room, making origami Snoopy dog houses and tracing Peanut’s characters. They had to kick us out at closing time!
Overall a really wonderful quick visit to the Peanut’s entertainment complex. I could have easily spent many more hours there. So grateful for my friends Deep, Addy and Joseph for rolling with me on this adventure.
