{Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Competition, photo by Robot Brainz} Winter in Colorado isn’t just about skiing or snowboarding, it’s also a beautiful time of year offering unique festivals and events that celebrate all things winter in the Centennial State. One of the more special ways is with a visit to one of these snow or ice sculpture events.
Feel the chill this winter with a visit to see these snow and ice sculptures in Colorado.
Berthoud SNOWFEST
The Berthoud SNOWFEST, held annually in December, is a sanctioned Colorado snow sculpting competition, known as the Colorado State Snow Sculpting Competition. The state-wide event brings in competitors from all over to be crowned top snow-sculptor of Colorado. It’s now in its 3rd year.
But it’s not just about snow sculpting, visitors will also enjoy a holiday market, the parade of lights with the lighting of the tree, and a kids’ fun snow sculpting contest. The event is held at the New Freedom Outreach Center in Berthoud.
December 11-14, 2019
Dillon Ice Castle
The award-winning frozen attraction, Ice Castles, will be returning to Dillon this 2019-2020 winter season. As one of the more Instagrammable displays Colorado offers every year, the ice castles allow visitors the opportunity to walk inside and around 25 million pounds of ice with an ever-changing colored display of twinkling LED lights embedded into the ice itself.
The display features ice-carved tunnels, flowing fountains, and even what they call frozen thrones. Ice Castles sets up ice castles in six locations across North America including Alberta, Canada, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Utah, and Wisconsin. The ice castles experience is built using hundreds of thousands of icicles, all of which are hand-placed by professional ice artists.
The ice sculptures are located at 120 Buffalo Street, at Dillon Town Park. A large parking lot is available along Buffalo Street, right in front of the ice castles. Plus, an additional parking lot is found at the Town Hall, all within walking distance from Lake Dillon Drive.
Throughout Winter 2019-2020, weather pending
Winterskol in Aspen
Held in beautiful Aspen, Colorado, Wintersköl is an annual event in January that celebrates all that is winter. The entire weekend is filled with plenty of activities for the entire family to enjoy including fireworks, an ice-skating rink, an evening torchlight parade, face painting, and a fat-bike race. But its biggest event is the snow sculpting competition.
Participants of this competition have 48 hours to sculpt an artful snow piece for display. The four-day event in its 69th is held every January at the Snowmass Village and various other locations throughout the town of Aspen.
January 9-12, 2020
Ouray Ice Park
While the Ouray Ice Park may not be a true sculpture, it is truly a work of art. The Ouray Ice Park is a man-made ice climbing venue for those who seek to scale new heights, all on ice! The ice park is located inside a beautiful natural gorge, all within walking distance from the town of Ouray. Home to more than 100 identified ice and mixed climbs; ice climbers will have their pick of routes and challenges at this popular park.
The biggest draw to the ice park happens in January when the town hosts the annual Ouray Ice Festival. 2020 will be their 25th year and will prove to be even bigger and better than last year’s event. The entire weekend is a host to a variety of events including climbing clinics, gear demonstrations, an elite climbing competition, and more.
January 23-26, 2020
Breckenridge Snow Sculptures
Join the town of Breckenridge every January for the International Snow Sculpture Championships. Watch all week long as 16 teams from around the world battle it out for the top snow sculpture in downtown Breckenridge. The challenge: to hand-carve 20-ton blocks of snow into gigantic, intricate works of art. So, what’s the catch?
Only hand tools can create their masterpieces; no power tools are allowed! Each team slowly chips away to bring their vision to life over a five-day period, where at the week’s end visitors can see the complete display of this temporary outdoor art gallery in downtown Breckenridge. The sculptures aren’t around for long, as they are taken down the last day of the event.
The event is FREE and open to the general public. The sculptures are located at 150 West Adams Avenue, in the area around the Riverwalk Center. Free parking is available along Airport Road with free town shuttles running every 15 minutes (via the Yellow Route).
Competition/ Sculpting Days: January 20-24, 2020 | Viewing Days: January 24-29, 2020
Rio Frio Ice Fest
Enjoy the best of winter in the San Luis Valley at the Rio Frio Ice Fest in Alamosa. Winter activities include cross-country skiing, ice carving, and sculptures, an Icy Bonfire – a chimney made of ice with a fire burning inside, the Polar Plunge, an ice carousel, and its most popular and well-known event, the Rio Frio 5K.
What makes this 5K run so popular? Well instead of running on the road, the Rio Frio 5K race is run entirely on the frozen-over Rio Grande River. A small layer of snow offers enough traction along the frozen waters for a safe run. Take in the beautiful scenery of the San Juan mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east. The various events are held throughout the town of Alamosa, so be sure to check their website for details regarding the schedule.
January 24-26, 2020
Cripple Creek Ice Festival
The Cripple Creek Ice Festival is an annual event showcasing the work of ice sculptures who carve ice into stunning works of art. The festival lasts two weekends and offers other fun events throughout including the Ice & Art Fest at the Heritage Center, a chance to meet the artists themselves, live music, beer tent, plus local art and craft vendors. Kids will also enjoy the interactive sculptures where they can climb to grab that perfect photo!
2020 will mark the 13th year for this town-favorite event. The event is a different theme every year with past themes being Under the Sea, Rocky Mountain Wonderland, and the Old West. The ice sculptures are located on Bennett Avenue in Cripple Creek and will remain until the end of the month after the festival ends (cold weather permitting).
February 8-9 and 15-16, 2020
One last place, not mentioned above, to be mesmerized by frozen ice is in little, secluded Lake City. Expert ice climbers practice their craft daily during the winter at the Lake City Ice Park. And like Ouray, they host a winter ice climbing festival, but a month later in February.
Thanks for checking out some of the best places to witness spectacular displays of snow and ice. These amazing sculptures are sure to dazzle and delight visitors of any age.
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