Steamboat Springs’ Winter Carnival is an event steeped in tradition. The Winter Carnival began in 1914, 29 years after Steamboat Springs was founded,  to alleviate the pressures of enduring the cold and sometimes too lengthy winters in Routt County. The event is historically held every year in the second week in February no matter what weather conditions are bestowed upon us by “Mother Nature.” This years events will be held February 3rd – 7th.

Sponsored by the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club to assist athletic programs, the Winter Carnival is produced by volunteer efforts. As is true with so many events in Steamboat Springs, the volunteers facilitate and coordinate the Winter Carnival solely as a service to the community.

In its early years, a handful of events included ski jumping and cross country ski races. The street events were added in the 2nd Annual Winter Carnival. The event has come quite a long way since its inception in 1914 when the first Winter Carnival was held on Wood Chuck Hill (the current location of the Colorado Mountain College campus). Today hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators take part in a variety of alpine, Nordic, freestyle, snowboarding and other unique events at venues throughout town.

Winter Carnival Schedule

On Saturday and Sunday hundreds of people line Lincoln Avenue to witness the Street Events. The Street Events are a wildly popular and entertaining show featuring children on skis (or a snowboard) being pulled behind horses down a snow-covered Lincoln Avenue. Horse Events include: Street Slalom, Ski Joring, the Ring & Spear, the Ring & Box, and the famous Donkey Jump. Horse Events are for children ages 6 to 14 years old, while Non-Horse Events are for children ranging in age from infants to 14 years old.

* Pre-Registration is REQUIRED for all Horse Events. The will be NO DAY-OF REGISTRATION for the Horse Events this year. Registration opens on January 29th at 7:30 A.M. in the Steamboat Visitor Center lobby. Absolutely no registrations will be accepted prior to January 29th. Sorry.

Check out www.steamboat-chamber.com for updates on scheduled daily events.

Need Directions to the Winter Carnival Activities