Evergreen's December 2026 calendar is already set, from the Holiday Walk tree lighting on December 4 to Icefest on New Year's Eve. Almost all of it happens at the Lake House, downtown, in a theater or in a church, so none of that depends on lake ice. Icefest does. It's the one marquee event that needs skateable ice on Evergreen Lake, and its date of December 31 falls right at the start of the window when the lake has usually opened. Last winter that window came and went with the rink still closed.
What last December looked like on the lake
The Evergreen Park & Recreation District keeps its holiday hours table on its public ice skating page, and the 2025/26 table is still posted. Every holiday date in it has the same note. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and Icefest, New Year's Day, and Martin Luther King Day were all "CLOSED- not enough ice."
The Canyon Courier reported that the lake finally opened for skating on January 23, 2026. Lake House Manager Krista Emrich told the paper it was the latest opening she could remember.
"In the five years I've been here, it's usually open the last week of December; I think the latest was Jan. 1."
That quote tells you where Icefest sits. In a normal year, December 31 lands a few days into skating season. In a late year, it comes before the ice is ready. Over Emrich's five years, the latest opening before last winter was January 1, one day after Icefest. Last winter the lake opened more than three weeks after it.
The late start had other effects too. EPRD canceled what would have been its 15th annual Pond Hockey Championship Tournament, which usually runs in late January and brings in teams from across the country. Emrich told the Courier the tournament "really needs Zamboni ice," and that it wouldn't be rescheduled because so many players travel for it. Rocky Mountain PBS reported that the New Year's Day lake plunge was pushed back to March 1.
Why the opening date moves around
Several inches of ice separate a closed lake from an open rink, and a full maintained rink takes even more. On January 16, 2026, the ice measured six inches, according to Rocky Mountain PBS. When the Courier reported the January 23 opening, the ice measured about 12 inches. That's still short of the 16 inches EPRD needs before it can put its Zamboni on the lake, so parks crews smoothed the surface with other equipment and watered it at night to build thickness.
News reports don't agree on how thick the ice has to be for public skating. Rocky Mountain PBS put EPRD's 2025/26 figure at eight inches. 9News and KOSI have reported 12 inches. Every report agrees on 16 inches for the Zamboni. EPRD's own ice safety page says the district monitors the depth and quality of its rink ice, that thickness varies across the lake, and that its guidance is no guarantee.
Getting the ice is only half of it. On February 6, 2026, two weeks after opening, warm temperatures and poor ice closed the lake again, the Canyon Courier reported. "I've never seen a year like this," Emrich told the paper, adding that crews were "losing ice." Warm weather has cut seasons short before, too. Colorado Community Media reported a season-ending closure on February 19 after warm weather made the ice rough and unsafe, about two weeks earlier than skating ended in 2023. That closure also canceled the Teen Skate planned for Chill Out Winterfest.
The opening date also matters to EPRD's budget. The district gets part of its budget from skate rentals.
The calendar that doesn't wait for the lake
The good news is that nearly every holiday tradition on Evergreen's 2026 calendar takes place on dry ground. Here they are in order:
- Thursday, November 26: EChO Thanksgiving Turkey Trot. Starts at 9 a.m. at Evergreen Christian Outreach, 27888 Meadow Drive, and proceeds support the EChO Food Pantry.
- Saturday, November 28: Santa Breakfast. Hosted by the Evergreen Chamber, 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Hiwan Golf Club, 30671 Clubhouse Lane. The event listing already says registration is closed and there are no door tickets, so this one is only for people who signed up early.
- Friday, December 4: Downtown Evergreen Holiday Walk. Free, 5 to 9 p.m. The Holiday Walk starts with the tree lighting at Evergreen Lake House and then moves downtown. It's the first big night of the season, and it uses the Lake House, not the ice.
- Saturday, December 5: Winterfest. Center for the Arts Evergreen's free artisan market and holiday festival runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Santa photos, crafts, food trucks, cocoa and live music.
- December 11 to 13 and 18 to 20: "Season's Readings: A Christmas Carol." Evergreen Players at Center Stage Theatre, 27608 Fireweed Drive. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees.
- Saturday, December 12: Frostival. EPRD's daytime holiday gathering, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The listing has the Lake House open, a bar serving festive drinks, crafts, live music and a holiday market. It's on the lakeshore, and none of the listed activities need ice.
- Saturday, December 19: Colorado Mountain Holiday Concert. The Evergreen Chamber Orchestra plays 3 to 5 p.m. at Evergreen Lutheran Church, 5980 County Hwy 73, with a Santa visit before the music.
So two of the biggest December gatherings take place at Evergreen Lake House, and both go ahead whether the lake is open water, slush or solid ice.
The two things that do need ice
The first is Icefest, set for Thursday, December 31, from noon to 6 p.m. at Evergreen Lake. The Chamber listing calls it a family skating day with a $25 ticket sold day-of only. Last year's Icefest is on EPRD's hours table as closed for lack of ice. Ice has spoiled New Year's Eve plans here before. In 2019, the Evergreen Chamber announced that its Skate the Lake celebration would become a street party because skating wasn't available.
The second is the skating season itself. As of its September 28, 2026 update, EPRD says information about the 2026/27 season will come out once there's an opening day. Last season's pass cost $200 and included skate admission and rentals. EPRD says it "can not guarantee opening days/times or ice quality," and passes carry no refunds, transfers or credits. The pass page says it will return for 2026/2027. In a winter like the last one, the pass would have covered skating from late January into early February before the warm-weather closure.
How to plan December around this
The most reliable plan is to treat the Lake House events as fixed and the skating as a bonus.
- Put the Holiday Walk on December 4 and Frostival on December 12 on the calendar. Both happen at the Lake House whether or not there's ice.
- Make your Icefest plans flexible. Day-of tickets help here, since you don't pay anything until the morning you know the ice is there.
- If you have holiday guests coming to skate, have a backup ready. Last year, the Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day skating sessions all closed.
- Before you drive down to the lake, call EPRD's skating hotline at 720-880-1391. The district says hours change with weather and ice conditions, and rinks can close on short notice.
Emrich hoped last winter's late opening would mean skating into March. "We typically skate in January and February, so maybe this year we can shift the season back a bit," she told the Canyon Courier. The February 6 closure showed that a late opening doesn't guarantee a late finish.
At Moxie Property Group, we keep track of Evergreen's seasons, from the Lake House tree lighting to the day the lake opens for skating. If you want to know how a foothills winter really goes before your first one, or you're already here and want to swap notes on the lake, get in touch. Start Your Colorado Search.
