"Last year, we opened, but it was delayed by three and a half weeks, so they missed the Christmas season, which was devastating," Marie Rieger, Cripple Creek's director of marketing and events, told the Pikes Peak Courier.
On October 2, the City of Cripple Creek and Ice Castles announced that the attraction will skip the 2026–27 season. In a normal year, crews would be building the ice right about now. Ice Castles' "Ice Engineers" work through late October and November, and the castles open sometime between late December and March, depending on the weather.
The city didn't try to replace the castles with another big attraction. It moved its winter onto Bennett Avenue and into the evening, with events that go ahead whatever the overnight temperature. For anyone who lives here, this winter runs on the town's calendar, and you can plan around it now.
Why the Castles Paused
Ice Castles came to Cripple Creek in 2023. Over the years the site added a bar, snack sales and firepits, and the city's release, as published by KOAA, credits it with bringing "well needed positive economic impact to the area in what are typically difficult winter months." Building it takes overnight temperatures that stay below freezing. Last winter they didn't, and the castles were melting.
Mayor Annie Durham put it plainly to The Mountain Jackpot. "It really came down to the weather." She noted that the record-warm 2025 season pushed the opening back by several weeks and closed the castles an extra week early. That was a big change from the first season, when the cold let the Cripple Creek site stay open longer than the company's other locations.
Two other reasons came up. According to the city's release, Ice Castles is cutting back the number of sites it opens this season. The release also says that Cripple Creek has plenty of water, but other parts of Teller County are facing "significant water issues," and that weighed on both the Council and the company. Durham called a region-wide discussion of the water situation "a real eye-opener." The Mountain Jackpot also reported that no Colorado locations are listed for Ice Castles' 2026–2027 season.
Both sides left the door open. "We have loved our working relationship with the city and with the community," Ice Castles CEO Kyle Standifird said in the announcement KOAA published, and the city says it hopes to bring the castles back "when the conditions become more favorable."
That leaves the town to fill the season itself, and the gap is biggest around the holidays, the weeks Rieger said hurt most when the castles opened late.
Two Months of Evenings, in Order
The city's answer starts at Thanksgiving. Most of the new pieces are scheduled after dark, and every one is in town. For the first time in recent memory, the annual Christmas parade will be held on a Saturday evening, the format Woodland Park and Colorado Springs already use, The Mountain Jackpot reported.
Here is how the season lines up on the city's event calendar and the Butte Theater's season page:
- Through November 1: The Butte Theater wraps up Sweeney! Demon Barber of Cripple Creek.
- November 20 to December 27: Winter Wonderettes takes over the Butte stage. It's a PG holiday show about four friends singing at a hardware store's Christmas party after Santa goes missing.
- Thursday, November 26: Community of Caring Thanksgiving.
- Saturday, November 28: The new Christmas Tree Lighting, on the same day as Small Business Saturday.
- Friday, December 11: Winter Wonderland at the Aspen Mine Center.
- Saturday, December 12: The Cripple Creek Parade of Lights, now in the evening.
- New Year's Eve: A fireworks show at 7 p.m.
The city notes that all dates are subject to change. As of this writing, it hasn't posted start times for the tree lighting, Winter Wonderland or the parade, or a parade route. Rieger also said other events are in the works but still need City Council approval, so the list may grow. If you're planning on the Butte, the city's season pass includes four tickets per person at 25% off individual ticket prices.
Taken together, the calendar puts most of the holiday on two Saturdays. On November 28, shopping and the tree lighting share the day. Two weeks later, on December 12, the parade fills the evening.
Where Dinner Fits Before the Parade
Evening events mean dinner downtown, and Bennett Avenue's locally owned spots keep hours that work for an early parade or the 7 p.m. fireworks. Online hours change, so check before you go.
- The Rascally Rabbit, 329 E. Bennett Ave. The new cafe and bar in the former Gold Camp Cafe space serves craft coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Its ordering page lists 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
- The Creek Restaurant & Saloon, 317 E. Bennett Ave. The Creek lists restaurant hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The upstairs Prospector's Den opens at 3 p.m., and the bar stays open until midnight with last call at 11:30.
- The District Kitchen & Saloon, 367 E. Bennett Ave. The city's dining page describes it as locally owned, and its ordering page lists hours until 9:45 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Don Juan's Cocina, inside Bronco Billy's at 251 E. Bennett Ave. It opened in April. Chamonix's restaurant page and the Gazette's opening coverage list different schedules, so call ahead before a parade night.
On both big Saturdays, you can fill the daytime too. The Cripple Creek District Museum is open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from mid-October through May. A museum visit in the afternoon, dinner on Bennett, and then the tree lighting or parade makes a full day without leaving town.
What Has Already Closed for the Season
Several warm-weather attractions are already done for the year, which leaves the downtown calendar carrying even more of the winter. The Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad has closed for 2026 and expects to reopen in May 2027. Its season usually runs from mid-May through the first weekend in October. The Old Homestead House Museum at 353 Myers Ave. finished its season on October 3 and 4 and reopens in May. Groups can ask about private winter tours.
Our fall playbook for Cripple Creek after Labor Day covered the quieter weeks before these closures. From here until spring, the Butte, the museum's weekend hours and the city's event nights make up most of what's going on in town.
February Brings Back the One Ice Event That Stayed
The Ice Festival is the city's own winter event, and it's still on. Rieger told the Pikes Peak Courier it will run February 12 to 20 and promised it "will be bigger and better than ever." The Mountain Jackpot reported the same dates and noted the festival is often voted the region's best festival overall. The city's festival page still shows last year's festival, held February 14 to 22, so watch for the 2027 page before you plan around specific days.
Last year's page shows what the festival usually looks like. It was free and open to the public, with carving throughout the festival, Saturday speed-carving contests at 1:30 and 3 p.m., weekend vendors and food trucks, ice displays and a heated tent in Pocket Park. Bennett Avenue closed to cars and pedestrians on two days so the ice could be delivered. When the 2027 schedule comes out, look for those street closure dates.
There's also a longer-term effort. Cripple Creek was selected for the Colorado Tourism Office's year-long Destination Blueprint program, which includes a community planning workshop and 100 hours of free consulting from the state tourism office, the Pikes Peak Courier reported. That planning will run alongside the first winter in four years without the castles, so this season's turnout at the tree lighting, the evening parade and the Ice Festival is likely to inform what the town plans for next year.
For now, the parade is set for the evening of December 12 and the fireworks for 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and the Butte's holiday show opens November 20.
Jennifer has spent more than 25 years in the Pikes Peak region, and she follows Cripple Creek's calendar as closely as its market. If you're thinking about what a full year in a Teller County mountain town looks like, or how this season's changes could affect your plans to buy or sell here, JenSellsHomesCO can talk it through with you. Learn more on our Cripple Creek neighborhood page, or schedule a consultation whenever you're ready.
