Douglas County, Colorado
Thanksgiving week, both weekends: three turkey trots, dinner to go, Black Friday hours and every event by town in Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Sterling Ranch and beyond.
By Connor Tien, DougCo Social · Updated November 4, 2026 · Photo: Turkey ROCK Trot / RUN to Change Lives
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. This page covers the whole week around it, both weekends included: Saturday, November 21 through Sunday, November 29, because people travel early and stay late. The three Thanksgiving-morning trots and the dinner-to-go deadlines come first, then Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, then every event on our calendar that week, town by town, one line each. Dates, times and prices are read from each organizer's own page. Veterans Day weekend events are in our Veterans Day roundup.
Three Thanksgiving-morning races, one each in Castle Rock, Parker and Highlands Ranch. All three finish before the kitchen needs you. We found no 2026 trot in Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Sterling Ranch or Roxborough; if yours is missing, send it over.
Thursday, November 26, 2026
8 a.m.
Parker Recreation Center | 17301 Lincoln Ave
Turkey Day 5K FUN Run/Walk with RNK Running & Walking The tradition continues! Celebrate Thanksgiving Day with family and friends while getting a workout.
$38 plus fees through Nov 11; price goes up after
Event detailsThursday, November 26, 2026
8:30–11 a.m.
Douglas County Fairgrounds and Event Center | 500 Fairgrounds Rd
Castle Rock's largest attended running race and Thanksgiving morning tradition returns Thursday, November 26, 2026 at the Douglas County Event Center.
$40-$50 (5K); Free (1K Kids Dash); $35 (Virtual 5K)
Event detailsThursday, November 26, 2026
9 a.m.
Canvas Credit Union Stadium at Highlands Ranch (Shea Stadium) | 3270 Redstone Park Circle
Highlands Ranch's Thanksgiving-morning 5K starts and finishes at Canvas Credit Union Stadium at Highlands Ranch (Shea Stadium), 3270 Redstone Park Circle, at 9 a.m. on Thursday, November 26, 2026.
$44 adults / $28 kids 6-12 through Nov 5; $48 / $32 Nov 6-21; 5 and under free
Event detailsPacket pickup: Turkey ROCK Trot on Friday, Nov 20 (3 to 6 p.m., RNK, 440 Fourth St) and Saturday, Nov 21 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 105 West Brewing); Parker Turkey Day 5K at RNK Parker on Nov 23 and 24, at the Parker Recreation Center on Wednesday, Nov 25 (3 to 7 p.m.), or from 7 a.m. race day; TD5K on Tuesday, Nov 24 (1 to 6 p.m., McDonald Hyundai). More runs: Running Races & Run Clubs in Douglas County.
Only offers we confirmed at the business's own page, with the order-by date and the pickup window. A restaurant's absence means it had not posted 2026 plans when we checked, not that it is closed.
Running a Thanksgiving menu, a to-go feast or holiday hours? Send it over and we will add it. The Thursday before the week, Nov 19, is our own Dinner Club in downtown Castle Rock, 6:30 p.m.
Posted hours and shop-local events, each checked at the owner's own page. We do not list a store as open unless it posted its holiday hours.
The craft fairs and Christmas markets that follow, including the Festival Park Starlight Market (Dec 4 and 5) and the Downtown Parker Holiday Market (Dec 5): Craft Fairs & Holiday Markets in Douglas County.
Not an event, but worth knowing: the Highlands Ranch Mansion is open for free self-guided and docent tours Tuesday, Nov 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Wednesday, Nov 25, 3 to 6 p.m.
Nothing on our calendar for Thanksgiving week in Roxborough yet. The Roxborough events calendar updates as organizers post, and the sections above cover the trots, dinners and tree lightings nearby.
More of the season: Holiday Events in Douglas County · Starlighting · Christmas Lights · Where to See Santa · Craft Fairs & Markets · Running Races · Fall Festivals · Full events calendar
Thursday, November 26, 2026. Black Friday is November 27 and Small Business Saturday is November 28. This page covers both weekends around it, Saturday, November 21 through Sunday, November 29, because that is the stretch families are actually planning around.
Three. In Castle Rock, the 22nd Annual Turkey ROCK Trot starts at the Douglas County Event Center, 500 Fairgrounds Drive: the expo and race-day registration open at 7:30 a.m., the free 1K Kids Dash goes at 8:30 and the 5K at 9. Registration is $45 through November 23 and $50 on race day, with $15 off for kids 17 and under, $5 off for seniors 60 and up, veterans and first responders, and 15 percent off for families of four or more; packet pickup is Friday, November 20, 3 to 6 p.m. at RNK, 440 Fourth St, and Saturday, November 21, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 105 West Brewing. It benefits the Help & Hope Center. In Parker, the Turkey Day 5K Fun Run/Walk starts and finishes at the Parker Recreation Center, 17301 E. Lincoln Ave, at 8 a.m. in waves based on pace; it is $38 plus fees through November 11 and goes up after, with 10 percent off for groups of four or more. In Highlands Ranch, the Turkey Day 5K (TD5K) starts at 9 a.m. at Canvas Credit Union Stadium at Highlands Ranch, better known as Shea Stadium, 3270 Redstone Park Circle, and benefits the Douglas County Fallen Officer Fund; it is $44 for ages 13 and up and $28 for kids 6 to 12 through November 5, then $48 and $32 through November 21, and kids 5 and under run free. Packet pickup is Tuesday, November 24, 1 to 6 p.m. at McDonald Hyundai.
Rory’s Diner in Parker takes pre-orders for a $90 heat-and-serve Thanksgiving dinner for four (turkey or ham, two sides, a vegetable, cranberry sauce and rolls; pies $20 more), picked up Wednesday, November 25 between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. by last name; order with your server, at 720-708-2889 or [email protected]. Coast2Coast Culinary in Castle Rock sells a from-scratch Thanksgiving Meal Kit, $285 for 4 to 6 or $545 for 7 to 10, ordered by November 19 and picked up Wednesday, November 25, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 1605 Park St. Seasons 52 at Park Meadows in Lone Tree pre-orders its Thanksgiving Green Box (serves 4 to 6) through Monday, November 23 for pickup Wednesday, November 25, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Perry’s Steakhouse at Park Meadows pre-orders Thanksgiving to go for pickup November 25 and 26 and serves a $59 Thanksgiving menu in the dining room on the day, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. We list only what we have confirmed at the restaurant’s own page and add more as they post.
No. The Outlets’ posted holiday hours have the center closed Thursday, November 26, and open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for Black Friday on November 27, with free pancakes, live entertainment and a shopping reward at opening.
The week opens with the Starlighting on Saturday, November 21 (2 to 6 p.m. downtown, the star on the Rock lit at dusk) and the holiday carriage rides from Sunday, November 22 ($59 per carriage from Festival Park, no rides on Thanksgiving Day). Thanksgiving morning is the Turkey ROCK Trot at the Douglas County Event Center (Kids Dash 8:30, 5K at 9). The Outlets are closed on the day and open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for Black Friday. Through the week the Wild Blue Yonder paint nights (a glass suncatcher workshop Sunday, November 22 and the Holiday Snoopy night Wednesday, November 25), trivia, bingo and the weekend live music at 105 West, the Whiskey Lodge and Sinners & Saints are all in the Castle Rock list above.
Thanksgiving morning is the Turkey Day 5K (TD5K) at Shea Stadium, 9 a.m., for the Douglas County Fallen Officer Fund. The weekend before brings Nutcracker Highlights at Southridge Recreation Center (Saturday, November 21 at 3 and 6 p.m., Sunday, November 22 at 3 p.m., $17.42), The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at St. Luke’s and the Friends-giving Golden Girls mahjong party at Olive Juice Beauty Bar on Sunday, November 22 (4 to 7 p.m.). The Highlands Ranch Mansion is open for free self-guided and docent tours Tuesday, November 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Wednesday, November 25, 3 to 6 p.m. HRCA’s four rec centers and Max Taps are closed on Thanksgiving Day; Max Taps’ free comedy show is Saturday, November 28 at 7:30 p.m.
The Parker Turkey Day 5K starts at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning at the Parker Recreation Center. Black Friday evening is the Mayor’s Holiday Lighting at O’Brien Park, 5 to 7 p.m., with a Silent Night sing-along and the Town Tree countdown, and the Parker Ice Trail at Discovery Park opens the same day (11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, $8 to $11 plus $4 skate rental). Small Business Saturday, November 28, opens Downtown Parker’s Hometown Holiday Experience weekends, with Buddy the Elf out noon to 3 p.m., and the $5 Brewery Bus Loop runs 2 to 9 p.m. between Lone Tree Brewing Parker, Downhill Brewing, Bent Barley and Parker PourHouse. At the PACE Center and the Schoolhouse: the Nutcracker of Parker through November 24, An Evening with Peter Billingsley and A Christmas Story on Wednesday, November 25, Phat Cat Swinger and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas on Black Friday, and FROST on the 28th and 29th.
The Schweiger Ranch Holiday Display of Lights opens the evening of Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, and runs nightly through January 24: a drive-by display on the historic homestead at 10822 S. Havana St, viewed from the parking lot and along Havana Street, or on foot from the East West Trail (the ranch gates stay closed). Warren Miller’s Days Off plays the Lone Tree Arts Center November 23 to 25 and Suzy Bogguss’ A Swingin’ Little Christmas closes the weekend there on Sunday, November 29 at 7 p.m. Lone Tree Brewing has Kings Highway live on Saturday, November 21 (5:30 to 8:30 p.m.) and a euchre tournament Wednesday, November 25, then closes for Thanksgiving Day. For dinner, Seasons 52 and Perry’s at Park Meadows both take Thanksgiving pre-orders.
Pink Friday at The White Antler on Friday, November 20 is the town’s shop-small night, the week before Black Friday. The Castle Pines Library hosts a free sound bath Sunday, November 22, 2 to 3:30 p.m., and Pines Bar and Grill runs trivia Tuesday, November 24 and karaoke Wednesday, November 25. The Canyons’ holiday calendar and the rest of the season are on the holiday guide.
The Sterling Ranch Tree Lighting is Saturday, November 28, 5 to 7 p.m. at Ranch Social, 8155 Piney River Ave, with hot chocolate and live music and the Sterling Center tree lit at 6 p.m. Trivia at the Sterling Ranch CAB runs Wednesday, November 25, 7 to 9 p.m.
Saturday, November 28. Downtown Parker opens its Hometown Holiday Experience weekends that day with Buddy the Elf out noon to 3 p.m., and the Mayor’s Holiday Lighting is the night before. In Castle Pines, The White Antler hosts Pink Friday on November 20. As of November 4, Downtown Castle Rock and the Outlets had not posted a Small Business Saturday event; Castle Rock’s carriage rides run from November 22 and the Festival Park Starlight Market follows December 4 and 5.
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