Winter Park runs a genuinely good winter calendar, and a lot of the best of it is free. Torchlight skiers coming down the mountain on Christmas Eve, drone shows over the base at dusk, live reindeer in the Village, moonlit dinners on the mountain, and pond skimming to close out the season.
Here is the full 2026/2027 winter calendar, month by month.
A note on dates. Organizers publish most exact dates a few weeks out, so events are listed by month with typical timing. Confirmed 2026/2027 dates are marked as such. Check our events page and the resort calendar closer to your trip. For a season-by-season look at the whole year including summer festivals, see our annual events guide.
Season Anchors: What Is Confirmed
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Opening day | As soon as conditions allow, no fixed date |
| 8:00am weekend lift openings | December 5, 2026 to April 4, 2027 |
| Mary Jane opens | Typically January |
| Torchlight Parade | Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24, 2026 |
| New Year's Eve | Thursday December 31, 2026 |
| Ikon blackout: holiday week | December 26 to 30, 2026 |
| Ikon blackout: MLK weekend | January 16 and 17, 2027 |
| Ikon blackout: Presidents Day | February 13 and 14, 2027 |
Read the blackout rows before you book. The full Ikon Pass has no blackout days. The Ikon Base and Session passes are blacked out on those dates, and those windows are also the busiest and priciest of the season. Granby Ranch is a good alternative on those days.
Running All Season Long
These are not one-off dates. They repeat weekly, which makes them the easiest things to build a trip around.
Mountaintop Apres at The Lodge at Sunspot
Typically Thursday to Saturday, 4:00pm to 8:00pm, mid-December through early April. Daily during the holiday week.
The best free thing on this calendar. Ride the Gondola above the treeline for live music, food and drink specials and a view across the Fraser Valley at golden hour. No lift ticket needed after 4:00pm, which makes it perfect for non-skiers and rest days. Last ride down is usually 8:00pm.
Glow Night Tubing
Typically Thursday to Saturday, 5:00pm to 7:00pm, plus holiday dates.
Banked lanes under the lights at the Coca-Cola Tube Hill, with a lift back to the top. Book ahead, it sells out.
Glow Night Ice Skating
Typically December through March, select evenings.
Cosmic-style night skating with music and neon at the Village Pond. Skate rentals available.
Sunset Snowshoe Tour
Typically Thursday to Saturday plus holiday dates, 4:30pm to 6:30pm.
Up the Gondola, out onto a forest trail at twilight, complimentary drink in the lodge when you return. No skill required. Space is limited.
Snowcat and S'mores Tour
Typically Thursday to Saturday plus holiday dates, 4:30pm to 6:30pm.
Snowcat up to watch the sun set over the valley, then to Lunch Rock for s'mores and drinks. Includes tour, s'mores and a beverage.
November 2026
Fraser Artisan Bazaar
November, dates TBA. Fraser.
A cozy local market where Fraser Valley artists bring handmade gifts and treats. Warm drinks, good smells, and the kind of crafts your suitcase suddenly has room for. The easiest way to take something genuinely local home.
Holiday Tree Lighting
Typically Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving 2026 falls Thursday November 26, so expect the weekend of November 27 to 29. Free. Winter Park Village.
Music, cocoa, cookies and Santa, then the tree lights up and so does everyone watching. The official start of the holiday season here, and reliably charming.
Deck the Slopes Begins
Late November through late December. Free.
The resort's umbrella programme for the holidays. Lights across the base, weekend activities, drone shows and live reindeer. Everything in the December section below sits under this banner.
December 2026
Reindeer in the Village
Select December weekend days, typically 11:00am to 5:00pm. Free. Winter Park Village.
Santa's reindeer set up in the Village alongside his sleigh, so you can meet them between ski laps and get a photo. If anyone in your group is under eight, plan a break around this.
Holiday Drone Shows
Select December weekend evenings at dusk, typically around 5:45pm. Free.
Synchronized drones fill the sky above the base with holiday shapes and colour. Genuinely impressive, completely free, and short enough to hold a toddler's attention.
Local's tip: the base village restaurant decks give the best view. Grab a table before dusk rather than standing in the plaza.
Winter Wonderland + Drone Show
December, dates TBA. Free.
A full afternoon of cocoa, crafts, Santa photos and cozy activities, ending with a drone display.
Winter Park Resort Holiday Party
Mid-December afternoon, typically 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Free.
Photos with Santa, hot cocoa and live holiday music, then everyone shifts outside for the drone show. Locals turn out for this as much as visitors.
Run Like a Reindeer 5K
December, date TBA. Fraser River Trail.
A festive 5K where most participants are dressed as cheerful woodland creatures. Pure seasonal joy, even if you walk the whole thing.
Tommelfest at Devil's Thumb Ranch
December, date TBA. Tabernash.
A Nordic kickoff to winter with ski clinics, Swedish food and a Viking-approved keg toss. The quirkiest and most charming tradition in the valley. Devil's Thumb Ranch events.
Rocky Mountain Yule Celebration
December, date TBA.
An elegant evening with dinner, live music, dancing and a silent auction, supporting local conservation work. The valley's sparkliest holiday fundraiser, and worth dressing up for.
Torchlight Parade and Fireworks
Christmas Eve, Thursday December 24, 2026. Typically 5:30pm. Free.
The most beloved night on the Winter Park calendar. Cocoa around the fire while a river of torch-carrying skiers descends the mountain, capped with fireworks. Expect a full afternoon of base-area festivities beforehand, typically including Santa photos and hot cocoa near the Gondola.
Get outside early. This is the busiest evening of the Winter Park year and the good vantage points fill well before the start.
Christmas Day
Friday December 25, 2026.
Lifts run, and the morning is one of the quieter ones of the holiday week because plenty of people are opening presents. Most restaurants are closed or on limited hours, so plan Christmas Day meals at home and shop before the 25th.
Holiday Apres Week
Typically December 26 through January 3. Free.
Mountaintop Apres at Sunspot extends beyond its usual Thursday-to-Saturday run and goes daily. Gondola up, live music, food and drink specials, no lift ticket needed after 4:00pm. Glow Night Tubing and the guided evening tours typically run extra dates through the same week.
New Year's Eve Celebration
Thursday December 31, 2026. Free and open to the public. Rendezvous Event Center, 78821 US Highway 40, Winter Park.
The town throws its own party, separate from the resort. Recent years have run a sledding and tubing hill plus a silent disco. Family friendly, free, and a far better night than paying holiday prices for a mediocre dinner reservation.
Local's tip: sleds and tubes are provided first come, first served. Arrive early.
January 2027
Mary Jane Opens
Typically January, date depends on conditions.
Winter Park's famous bump-and-tree mountain opens weeks after the main hill and closes earlier in spring. If the Jane is why you are coming, target mid-January through mid-March.
Skills Clinics Begin
January through early April, typically 9:15am to 3:15pm on select dates.
Full-day clinics for skiers who want to actually get better rather than just get tired:
- Breakthrough Women's Clinic, taught entirely by expert female instructors. Consistently the most oversubscribed clinic on the calendar.
- Trees & Steeps, for skiing Mary Jane's glades and the Cirque with confidence.
- Bump Clinic, because Mary Jane's moguls are famous for a reason.
- Freestyle Clinic in the Railyard terrain park.
- Telemark Clinic. Bring your own gear, the resort does not rent telemark equipment.
Space is limited on every one. Book early.
Moonlit Uphill and Dinner
Typically one date each in January, February and March, 4:30pm to 7:00pm. Meet at Adventure Concierge, 115 Parry Peak Way.
Bring boots, snowshoes or uphill gear and climb to Snoasis for an on-mountain dinner, with guides along the route, then ski down under the moonlight. One of the more memorable evenings available anywhere in Colorado, and offered only a handful of times a season.
These sell out. Watch the calendar and book the day they open.
MLK Weekend
January 16 to 18, 2027. MLK Day is Monday January 18.
A busy weekend and an Ikon Base and Session blackout on the 16th and 17th. Expect full lifts and full restaurants, and book anything you care about well ahead.
February 2027
The Best Snow of the Season
February has no single headline event, and that is rather the point. Deepest base of the year, most consistent storm cycles, and everything on the mountain open. This is the month to come if the skiing itself is the event.
Valentine's Day
Sunday February 14, 2027.
Sleigh ride dinners, horse-drawn rides under the stars, and small candlelit dining rooms. Book weeks ahead, and check restaurant closed days first, because six local restaurants shut at least one day a week. See our restaurant guide.
Presidents Day Weekend
February 13 to 15, 2027. Presidents Day is Monday February 15.
The other big blackout weekend, on the 13th and 14th, and one of the busiest of the season. The rest of February is excellent and considerably calmer.
March 2027
The Locals' Favourite Month
Still deep snow and real storms, but longer days and sun on your face. Ask a local for their favourite month and a lot of them say March. Mountaintop Apres at Sunspot is at its best now, when you can sit outside above the treeline with daylight to spare.
Spring Break
Varies by school district, spread across March.
It does not hit one single week, so check your own calendar and expect busier weekends throughout the month.
Clinics and Moonlit Uphill Continue
The final Moonlit Uphill date typically lands in March, and the skills clinics run into early April.
Mary Jane Closes
Typically late March.
She shuts before the main mountain, so if the bumps are the draw, do not leave it to April.
April 2027
Spring Bash + Splash
Typically late March into April, dates TBA.
Pond skimming, costumes, weekend themes and live music to close out the season. Watching people launch themselves across freezing water in fancy dress is the funniest, loosest event of the year.
8:00am Weekend Openings End
April 4, 2027.
The last weekend of the extra morning hour.
Spring Skiing
Soft snow, warm sun, quiet slopes and the cheapest lodging of the season. How to ski April well: get out early. Spring snow firms overnight and softens through the morning, so 10:00am to 1:00pm is the sweet spot. By late afternoon it turns heavy.
Planning Around the Calendar
- Check your pass blackout dates against your travel week before you book anything else.
- Reserve the sell-outs immediately: Moonlit Uphill dinners, snowshoe and snowcat tours, tubing times, clinics and sleigh ride dinners.
- Build in one free evening. The tree lighting, drone shows, Torchlight Parade and town New Year's Eve party all cost nothing.
- Use apres as a rest day. Mountaintop Apres needs no lift ticket after 4:00pm.
- Take the free town bus between Winter Park, the base and Fraser so nobody has to drive.
- Confirm dates close to your trip on our events page, since organizers finalise a few weeks out.
Where to Stay
Once your dates are set, staying near the events you care about makes the whole week easier.
- Torchlight Parade, drone shows and Sunspot apres: ski-in ski-out or Base Village rentals, so you can walk to the base and walk home in the dark.
- New Year's Eve at Rendezvous Event Center: Downtown Winter Park puts it in walking distance.
- Tommelfest and Nordic events: Tabernash rentals.
- Fraser Artisan Bazaar and the Run Like a Reindeer 5K: Fraser rentals.
- Blackout weekends: Granby rentals near Granby Ranch.
Browse by type: cabins, private homes, condos, townhomes, rentals with a hot tub, pet friendly or luxury properties. Holiday weeks have their own pages for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Traveling with a crowd? We handle ski groups and reunions and retreats.
Check current specials, browse all properties, or call our team at 800-215-6535. Tell us your dates and we will tell you what is on.
Events are subject to change, cancellation and weather. Dates marked TBA had not been published at the time of writing. Season dates depend on conditions. Always confirm with the organizer before building travel plans around a specific date.
