Colorado Is Losing a Beloved Winter Attraction This Year

One of our favorite winter attractions will be taking the winter off in Colorado. Our state’s famous ice castles will not return to Silverthorne or Cripple Creek for the 2026-2027 winter season.

Conditions mean the castles won’t be ready for the holiday season, so organizers are scaling back operations, leaving some families wondering when they'll get another chance to explore the frozen attraction. Here's what's up.

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Why Colorado's Ice Castles Are Canceled This Winter

Ice Castle organizers in Silverthorne and Cripple Creek have cited mild weather, business challenges, and even regional water concerns as reasons the castles will need to sit this winter out. Colorado seems to be in for a “normal” winter this year, but current conditions still aren’t conducive to building ice castles just yet.

Last year’s warm temperatures had crews three weeks behind schedule, and the castles didn’t open up until January. They totally missed the holidays. This makes it hard to break even after the 10,000 hours it takes to build them.

Why Building Colorado's Ice Castles Takes More Than Snow

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Colorado’s famous Ice Castles are enormous attractions that take thousands of hours to build each winter. During some of the best seasons, conditions allow for towering walls, tunnels, fountains, and even ice slides. Ice Castles Vice President of Construction Dan Beck told CBS that crews expand the structures by placing icicles and spraying water over them during freezing conditions. Warm winters followed by extreme summers make construction difficult even if snow is available. Find a postcard of the old Leadville Ice Castle here.  

Where Colorado Families Can Find Winter Fun Instead

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Just because Ice Castles aren’t here to kick off the 2026 winter season doesn’t mean they won’t be back next year. If Colorado has a real winter this year, that will go a long way toward bringing the castles back. Until then, the 32nd Annual Ouray Ice Festival is scheduled for late January, and the Breckenridge Snow Sculpture Championships return January 23 through February 2, with enormous sculptures created by teams from around the world.