Evergreen's Holidays Start at the Lake House Weeks Before the Ice Is Ready

"In the five years I've been here, it's usually open the last week of December; I think the latest was Jan. 1," Lake House manager Krista Emrich told the Canyon Courier last winter. She was explaining an exception. Skating on Evergreen Lake had opened on Jan. 23, 2026, the latest opening she could remember.

That quote explains how Evergreen's early winter works. The town's holiday events are set by date, and they start at the Lake House on Friday, Dec. 4. The skating on the lake out front starts when the ice is thick enough. In a typical year the dated events fill roughly three weeks before the rinks open. Last winter that wait lasted seven weeks.

Eight Inches, Then Sixteen

Evergreen Park & Recreation District runs skating on Evergreen Lake by measurement. Rocky Mountain PBS reported in January 2026 that the ice must be eight inches thick before the public can skate and 16 inches before crews can drive the Zamboni on it. On Jan. 16 last season, the ice was six inches.

The two numbers do different jobs. Eight inches is enough to let skaters on. Sixteen is the depth for the smooth, groomed ice that events like the pond hockey tournament depend on. When the lake opened on Jan. 23, it had about 12 inches of ice. That was enough for skaters but too thin for the Zamboni, so crews used other equipment and watered the surface at night to build it up. According to RMPBS, the lake sits at 7,200 feet and is the largest outdoor Zamboni-groomed rink in North America. CBS Colorado describes the 40-acre lake as seven hockey rinks plus one large public rink.

EPRD's public skating page, updated Oct. 28, 2026, says details for the 2026/27 season will be posted once an opening day is set. Every holiday on its hours table, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day included, still reads "TBD."

Here's what the last few seasons looked like, from local reporting.

"There have been years we've been able to open Dec. 22, and years where the first time we skated was Dec. 31, but never anything like this," Emrich told the Canyon Courier when the lake closed in February.

Dec. 4 Begins at the Lake House Regardless

The 34th Annual Holiday Walk doesn't wait for the ice. Downtown Evergreen has it on Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 9 p.m. It opens with the traditional tree lighting at Evergreen Lake House with Santa and Mrs. Claus, then moves back downtown. Main Street closes to cars and turns into a walking mall with fire pits, s'mores, holiday shopping and performances by local music and dance groups. Downtown Evergreen calls it the official kickoff of the town's holiday season and says the detailed schedule is coming soon.

So the season starts under the lights at the Lake House, which is also EPRD's skating center in winter. The lake in front of it will be partly frozen or still freezing that night, depending on the year. Going by the opening window Emrich described, it won't be ready for skaters.

The Weeks the Calendar Covers

The events between the tree lighting and the likely first skate are set in advance, and almost all of them are indoors. A few start this month.

The first weekend of December is the busiest stretch. The Holiday Walk on Friday is followed by Center for the Arts Evergreen's Winterfest on Saturday, with an artisan market, Santa, crafts, food trucks, cocoa and live music, all free. On Sunday the Evergreen Chamber's Santa Breakfast is at Hiwan Barn. Its second date, Dec. 19 at The Wild Game, lands in the week before Christmas, when in a good year the rinks might just be opening. The Evergreen Players run A Christmas Carol at Center Stage the same weekend. If you're hosting family over the holidays, these dates are fixed. The skating day isn't yet.

Why the Opening Date Matters Downtown

Ice is a line item for EPRD. Executive director Cory Vander Veen told RMPBS that skating brings in roughly $300,000 a year and that keeping the lake open costs about the same. He said more than 150,000 people visited the lake during the previous winter season. The Canyon Courier reported that part of the district's budget comes from skate rentals.

When the ice came late last winter, much of the season went with it. EPRD canceled the 15th annual Pond Hockey Championship and the New Year's Eve Icefest, moved the New Year's Day Evergreen Lake Plunge to March 1, and dropped Winterfest's Mushies Cup tubing races. Park operations manager Jared Lilyhorn told RMPBS that the tournament cancellation alone cost $30,000 in registration fees. "Not only are we feeling the impacts of it from a budgetary standpoint, but downtown businesses are too," he said.

Emrich described the same link to the Canyon Courier: "People often come up, skate and go to lunch. But it's been quiet." The Holiday Walk brings Main Street its December crowd on a set night. The steady weekend traffic from metro visitors in January and February waits on the lake.

She also described what makes the ice hard to keep. "Once you get into February, you start getting erratic temperatures. You'll have a 60 degree day and then a really cold day," she told RMPBS. Snow can insulate soft ice and make grooming harder even when the ice is thick. The last two seasons both ended in February.

EPRD has already scheduled the next big ice event. The 2027 Pond Hockey Championship is set for Jan. 30–31, 2027, on multiple Evergreen Lake rinks, and team registration opened Oct. 1. Like everything else on the lake, it depends on the ice.

When the Hotline Says Yes

When skating does open, these details from EPRD's public skating page will matter.

1. Call before you drive. Hours change with weather and ice conditions, and EPRD posts updates on its hotline at 720-880-1391.
2. Admission is all day. It's $15 a person, or $20 with skate rental. Rentals alone are $10 a pair, and the fee table lists children 4 and under as free. Open skating takes no reservations.
3. Passes are sold online only. The 2026/27 season pass is $200 and includes admission and rentals. A 10-punch pass is $120. Neither had gone on sale as of EPRD's Oct. 28 update, and EPRD says it can't guarantee opening days or ice quality and won't refund unused passes.
4. Park at Stagecoach on weekends. The Lake House lot fills fast on weekends and holidays. When it does, EPRD closes it and sends drivers to the free shuttle from Stagecoach Park, 3229 El Pinal Dr.
5. Leave the dog home. Dogs aren't allowed on the maintained rinks or in the warming hut.
6. Hockey stays on rinks 1 through 5. Sticks are for rent, pucks are for sale, and goals are first come, first served.

For the lunch Emrich mentioned, The Frame Shop Lounge is one of this year's newer options. It opened in 2026 with a menu of shareable bites, in the same building as Evergreen Brewery, which shares its ownership, at 2962 Evergreen Pkwy. At the Taste of Evergreen on Sept. 15, its butterscotch-style pudding with berries and pistachios took first place in the "sweet bites" category from both the judges and the popular vote, according to the Canyon Courier.

If you're planning December around family visits, a dog that has to stay home on skating days, or a first winter at altitude, Trish Kelly is glad to share what she knows about Evergreen's seasons, from Holiday Walk night to when the hotline finally says the lake is open. Schedule a free consultation, and she'll help you plan your time in Evergreen around the weather as well as the calendar.