Wisconsin’s 9 Most Magical Winter Festivals
Put on your mittens and head to a winter festival to enjoy Wisconsin’s coziest time of year.
Once the outdoor temperature drops, a new festival season emerges in Wisconsin: one that blends a classic, cozy Norman Rockwell aesthetic with family-friendly activities like cross-country skiing, watching ice sculptures being made, and sampling foods from local restaurants. For a new look at a town that may already feel familiar, make plans to attend these winter festivals around the state. This is also a great excuse to check out the shops and restaurants, as well as their cute streetscapes. Just be sure to bundle up for these outdoor festivals, because it can be, well, chilly during January and February, though there are plenty of indoor spots to warm up before heading back out. Many of these festivals are still updating their schedules, so stay tuned to their social media and websites in the weeks leading up to the event.
1. Cedarburg Winter Festival, Cedarburg
Always held the third full weekend in February, with a different theme each year, the 2026 dates are Feb. 21-22. The festival will sport an après-ski theme with Cedarburg adopting a chalet vibe. All day Saturday, attendees will find a Vendor Marketplace, ice-carving contest, and complimentary crafts for kids, plus “bed races” from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., where participants zip down the frozen creek on discarded bed frames. Then, on Sunday, a pancake breakfast and soup contest will keep everyone fed, a granny impersonator will host a bingo game, and the dog-sled pull will provide a slice of Alaskan culture from the Alaskan Malamute Club of Wisconsin.
2. Dark Sky, Star Bright, Bayfield
Inspired by the Northern Lights, as well as astronomy, this festival, which will be held Jan. 17-25, 2026, has a mantra to inspire festival-goers to “slow down, look up, and reconnect with themselves and nature.” Activities during the nine-day event take on an educational bent and fully embrace the outdoors, no matter how cold the weather, including photography instruction, sauna soaking, and guided stargazing with telescopes.
3. Iola Winter Carnival, Iola
This festival’s events are designed for those who want to be active—or witness others doing so—in the snow and on ice, such as cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and ice sculpting, as well as a fat-tire mountain-bike race on lighted trails. It’s always hosted during the first full weekend in February. Demonstrations of Nordic arts, such as rosemaling, are also included, and you can dine on Swedish meatballs, Norwegian pastries, and lutefisk.
4. Knickerbocker Ice Festival, Lake Mills
Hosted on Feb. 7 in 2026, the Knickerbocker Art Festival’s name is in honor of a company that used to harvest ice from Rock Lake, which is in Lake Mills. New twists on familiar sports include frozen ice golf and ice softball, as well as ice skating (in Commons Park). Enjoy live ice sculpting, where you can watch the pros excel at their craft as they chisel the ice using carving tools. You will also find food and drink vendors at the festival.
5. Lake Geneva Winterfest, Lake Geneva
A huge draw each year at Lake Geneva Winterfest (held next on Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2026) is the ice-sculpture contest (America’s Snow Sculpting Invitational) in Riviera Plaza and Flat Iron Park, with 15 teams traveling here from around the U.S. as well as two from outside the country. Kicking off at 11 a.m. on Jan. 28, the sculptors immediately get to work; you can vote on their designs between 10 a.m. on Jan. 31 and 3 p.m. on Feb. 1, with an awards ceremony immediately after voting ends. Other activities coinciding with the festival are bonfires on the beach, the Downtown Ice Sculpture Walk, and live entertainment.
6. Winter Fest, Wausau
Wausau’s Winter Fest isn’t just about playing in the snow—it’s also about sipping beer crafted by local breweries. Like past Winter Fests, the weekend kicks off on Friday night with Winter Brew Fest, a ticketed event on Jan. 23. Then, on Jan. 24, Winter Fest starts, featuring ice sculptures, sled-dog demonstrations, a petting zoo, and other activities just for the kids. This year’s location is in Marathon Park, and there’s no fee to participate
7. Winterfest, Fish Creek
Along the shores of Green Bay in Fish Creek, this Door County town features a lot of fun traditions at its Winterfest, held on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8. This includes the Stumpf Fiddle contest and cherry-pit spitting contest, as well as quirky games like bicycle toss and toilet-seat toss, a game of golf on ice, and ice bowling. While some events are hosted outside, there’s also a heated tent where you can warm up. Local food vendors and live music are also part of the fun.
8. Janboree, Waukesha
In 2026, Janboree will celebrate its 41st year, and this year’s festival dates are Jan. 16-25, spanning two entire weekends. There’s an activity for every interest, whether it’s an evening Galaxy Glow Walk, synchronized skating, scavenger hunt, or cookie decorating, and events are hosted both indoors and outdoors. Some activities require sign-up and a small fee, while others are at no cost.
9. Kickapoo Valley Reserve Winter Festival
Local cooks love to compete in the chili and bread-baking contests at the Kickapoo Valley Preserve Winter Festival. Adrenaline seekers will enjoy the 5K run, dogsled run, a candlelight snowshoe hike, fat-tire mountain biking in the snow, and cross-country skiing. There are also more chill activities like horse-drawn bobsled rides. This is hosted all in one day, on Jan. 10, 2026.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
