2026 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival | Saranac Lake
Celebration
Don't stay home this winter—come to Saranac Lake and party! Winter Carnival is a fun-filled 10-day event. Each carnival has a theme, showcased in ice palaces, costumes, and various activities. Carnival attendees can expect a variety of family-friendly activities, eclectic bands every night, a lively parade, and a variety of games, exhibits, and festivities for everyone. The 2026 Winter Carnival runs from Friday, February 6 to February 15, 2026.
The atmosphere gets even more lively with the Ice Palace light show. Bundle up and watch as fireworks light up the Adirondack Mountain sky before entering this massive palace constructed from ice straight from Lake Flora. No palace is complete without royalty, so look for signs of kings, queens, and royalty while admiring the palace's features!
Since 1897, our Winter Carnival has been a grassroots, volunteer-run event originally meant to celebrate the cold and wintry winter months. Later, our village's transformation from a vibrant logging community to a field tuberculosis research and treatment center gave our Winter Carnival a new impetus. Treatment at the time emphasized rest and minimal activity. But patients also needed a morale boost. Thus, the Winter Carnival was born.
Like many communities in the region, Saranac Lake was in the "ice trade," cutting blocks of ice to meet the cooling needs of turn-of-the-century cities. Therefore, the equipment and expertise needed to build the first ice tower were already in place. While heavy equipment was used now, the construction techniques remained the same over a hundred years ago. Over the years, enthusiasm for the ice tower grew, and what began as an ice tower has now grown into a magnificent palace constructed from the frozen waters of Lake Flora.