On the Lodge at Whitehawk's dining page, The Bear and the Butterfly still lists its "late-summer / early fall" menu, with the service hours above it: "Open Friday - Monday @ 5PM." The page describes elk, Berkshire pork and Certified Angus Beef served at Whitehawk Lodge, "in the heart of the Lost Sierra." It gives no closing date, and as of Thursday, October 29, the kitchen hasn't posted one.
The course is on a different schedule. Whitehawk's 2026 rate sheet ended prime season on October 11 and lists fall aerification from "October 12th through Close." The sheet never gives the final day of play. Golf at Whitehawk winds down without a set end date, and the valley's events calendar fills up in the same weeks. Graeagle and Portola have more dated events between October 31 and December 19 than at any other point in the cold season, and last winter's restaurant schedule showed that stretch ending in early January.
The rate sheet ends, and the valley calendar picks up
Whitehawk's own season is front-loaded. The rate structure centers on summer, and once aerification starts, the property's published calendar has nothing more to say. Downtown Graeagle and the Portola rail yard fill that gap with events that are listed and dated.
Seven dated events cover the next eight weeks:
- Saturday, October 31. Graeagle's annual Trick-or-Treat is held downtown, and the town lists it as a "safe Trick-or-Treat." Details are on the Graeagle Annual Trick-or-Treat listing.
- Sunday, November 1. Iranian vocalists Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat perform with composer and setar player Atabak Elyasi at Big Springs Garden Retreat Center. See Persian Music at Big Springs.
- Thursday, November 26. Nakoma serves Thanksgiving dinner, and the resort is taking reservations now.
- Saturday, November 28. At Graeagle Shop Small Saturday, participating downtown businesses give shoppers a chance to win Graeagle Bucks.
- Saturday, December 5, 1 to 5 p.m. The free Graeagle Holiday Festival runs downtown with a tree lighting, Santa photos, carolers, refreshments at the little red shops, and a decorated Christmas trolley ride through town.
- Saturday, December 5, starting at 5 p.m. The Western Pacific Railroad Museum's Santa Trains in Portola begin their run. Gates open at 4 p.m. and rides go from 5 to 8 p.m.
- December 11, 12, 18 and 19. The Santa Trains run four more nights on Fridays and Saturdays, with the same hours.
Six of the seven fall on a weekend. The exception is Thanksgiving, and Nakoma has a table ready for it.
Where the kitchens line up on a weekly grid
The calendar shows where to be on a Saturday. Posted restaurant hours cover the other days of the week, and here is what each kitchen lists as of late October 2026:
| Kitchen | Location | Posted hours, fall 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| The Bear and the Butterfly | Lodge at Whitehawk | Friday to Monday, from 5 p.m. |
| Long Boards Bar & Grill | Plumas Pines | Thursday to Monday, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Sierra Smokeshow | Graeagle area | Thursday to Sunday, noon to 7 p.m. |
| FIFTY44 | Nakoma | Dinner Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 5 to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 9 p.m. |
| FIFTY44 | Nakoma | Brunch daily 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; bar bites daily 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Kafé eatery + drinkery | 7539 Highway 89, Graeagle | "Fall 2026 Hours," lunch service to 2:30 p.m. |
Read the grid by day and the week leans heavily toward Thursday through Monday. Every kitchen in the table that posts its days serves Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Kafé posts fall hours without listing the days, so check before you go. Tuesday is the thin day. None of these kitchens posts Tuesday dinner, so FIFTY44's daily brunch and bar bites are the dependable Tuesday options. Wednesday adds FIFTY44's dinner service and nothing more from this list.
The Bear and the Butterfly's Friday-to-Monday schedule fits the events calendar closely. Dinner at the Lodge starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, the same hour the Holiday Festival ends downtown and the first Santa Train leaves in Portola. Reservations go through the restaurant at 530-832-7761.
The other kitchens post their own updates. Long Boards refreshed its hours page on October 1 and sends diners to its Facebook page for changes. Kafé labels its schedule "Fall 2026 Hours" and promotes daily lunch and dessert specials. Owners Gina LaSuer and Stacey Scott serve gourmet grilled cheese, homemade soups, salads, wine and beer in a dining room hung with original local art, and there's a garden patio. Sierra Smokeshow currently lists a Thursday-to-Sunday window.
Why last winter puts a deadline on all of this
The posted hours apply to the next few weeks. Last winter's schedule shows how long they lasted.
Play Graeagle publishes a winter dining guide, and the latest edition is labeled "Winter Hours Around Graeagle 2025-26." Its last update was December 31, 2025. That guide shows several familiar kitchens stepping away in midwinter:
- Long Boards Bar & Grill was closed January 3 to February 14.
- Cuccia's was closed February 15 to mid-April, after a Tuesday-to-Saturday dinner schedule.
- Sierra Smokeshow was listed as closed for the season, still offering catering and private-chef services.
That was 2025-26, and no 2026-27 edition has been posted. These dates are last year's pattern, not this winter's schedule. Last winter, Long Boards' break started January 3, just after the holidays. The two closures were staggered: Long Boards' break ended February 14, and Cuccia's started the next day.
If this winter follows the same pattern, the stretch from Halloween to the third week of December is the time of year when the events calendar and the full restaurant list overlap. Every event above falls inside it. In January, last year's guide showed the dining list shrinking just as the events calendar ran out.
Cuccia's hasn't posted current hours online yet, and its site says the webpage is still being worked on. Call ahead before planning a winter dinner around it.
Two Saturdays carry most of the season
Of all the dates on the calendar, November 28 and December 5 do the most for an owner who comes up for a weekend.
November 28 comes two days after Thanksgiving. Shop Small Saturday brings people downtown during the day with the Graeagle Bucks drawing. Long Boards and Sierra Smokeshow both post Saturday hours, and The Bear and the Butterfly serves Saturday dinner from 5 p.m. For a holiday weekend that starts with Nakoma's Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Saturday is the day with the most going on.
December 5 stacks three events back to back. The Holiday Festival runs downtown from 1 to 5 p.m. and every activity is free. In Portola, Santa Train gates open at 4 p.m. and rides start at 5. Doing the tree lighting and the train in one afternoon means leaving Graeagle before the festival ends, since the train gates open an hour earlier. The other choice is to stay for the festival, have Saturday dinner at the Lodge, and ride the train on December 11, 12, 18 or 19. With four more train nights on the calendar, December 5 doesn't have to be the night for both.
The quieter dates are just as specific. The November 1 concert at Big Springs Garden Retreat Center falls on a Sunday, when The Bear and the Butterfly, Long Boards, Sierra Smokeshow and FIFTY44 all post hours. Trick-or-Treat on October 31 is the closest date to this post's publication, two days out.
The rate sheet still doesn't give the course's last day. Owners checking on the course in the coming weeks can find the aerification notice and current information on the Whitehawk Ranch rates page.
If you're coming up for a holiday weekend and want help planning the details, like a Lodge reservation, the Santa Train dates, or a check on which kitchens are open the week you arrive, The Liz Joy Team is just up the road in Portola and glad to help. Let's Connect.
