Winter Outdoor Fun Guide in the Madison Area

Upcoming winter festivals and places to play, hike, and explore with your family

Winter Fun in the Madison Area.

With snow, cold, and school closures we know winter has arrived in the Madison area. Below is a guide to upcoming winter festivals, along with free/low cost winter adventures outdoors, and a few events and activities indoors to look for as well. We'll keep updating this guide, so let us know what we've missed! Plus, see our cool-weather ideas and experience gift guide for more ideas.

Winter Festivals

Don't worry about getting dehydrated or sunburned, or eating too much fried food at any of these fun winter celebrations.

Sun Prairie Frozen Fest 1/26-2/2: A full week with carriage rides, ice carving, a cardboard sled race, pancake toss, arts and craft days, ice skating, culminating with their Groundhog Day celebration
Lake Geneva Winter Fest 1/31-2/4: Snow sculptures, beach bonfires, entertainment and other games by the lake
- Plus - check out the Winter Realms nearby (use code MacKid24 for 15% off)
Lake Mills Knickerbocker Ice Festival 2/2-4 with winter sports competitions and games, sculptures, and tons of food and drinks.
Oregon Winter Fest - 2/3 with a scavenger hunt, activities, a firetruck, free hot dogs - and other giveaways.
Mt. Horeb Scandihoovian Winter Festival 2/9-/11: fat tire biking, snow sculptures, frozen turkey bowling, kids games, baking demonstrations, a community spelling bee and more
Madison Frozen Assets Festival 2/3-4: Sky jumpers, kites, a 5-K on the lake, pond hockey, science demonstrations, and hot drinks, performances, and games at the Edgewater (main activities on Saturday, 2/3)
Madison Winter Carnival (UW), 2/7-10: The whole week is full of fun, including skate nights, games, crafts, and the special family fun day Saturday, 10 with more crafts, a scavenger hunt, Bucky, FIREWORKS and more

Outdoor Play/Adventures

Candlelight hikes. Enjoy the beauty of winter is at night, with others, and stay warm with a candlelight hike and fire - often with s'mores, hot drinks, and other treats. More likely to come, but for now check out:
- Sheehan Park, Sun Prairie 1/26
- Blue Mounds State Park 2/3
- Winter Fun on the Farm Waunakee 2/4
- Castle Creek, Waunakee 2/10
- Aldo Leopold Nature Center 2/17
- New Glarus Woods 2/24
Groove and glide, Fridays at a rotating list of Madison parks 1/19-2/16: Ice skate (with some free rentals), with music and games.
Ice skating - you can skate outdoors at Madison parks (Elver, Tenney, and Vilas are personal favorites) or at rinks with concessions at the Edgewater or Monona (and look out for themed nights and other specials).

Indoor Adventures/Outings

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day 2/3: The Chocolate Shoppe locations around Madison are open early for ice cream donuts and waffles, with all kinds of fun toppings. One of our kids favorite mornings of the year!
Amara's Valentine's day craft and cookie party 2/11: Amara has great Italian food, plus a kid-friendly party planned - with a drink for parents. And they have more specials including kids eat free for Saturday brunch, a date night, and their Sunday family dinners are huge!
Warner Park Family Night, the second Friday of each month. Arts, crafts, a movie, and lots of space and games to run around in their gym. Just $5 per family!
Kid Disco, every other Saturday: At the Great Dane Hilldale dance with a DJ, plus they'll have face painting, FREE kid snacks and drinks, and more games.
Indoor Ice Skating - too cold for outside? You can skate at indoor ice areans in Verona, Madison, on the UW campus,
Warm pool swim - stay summer ready and enjoy
- Lapham Open Swim - the warm pool is managed by MSCR, you can bring toys/floaties or use the ones they have on Fridays from 4-730 pm.
- Goldfish Family Swim in Fitchburg has family swims during the week and on Saturdays for $5/person up to $15 for a family.
Kid movie series at Marcus Movies. Sure we've got streaming at home, but they offer a cheap outing to relax and see something on a big screen!
Olbrich's Orchid Escape, through 3/3. Imagine yourself in a warmer season/location with more than 1,000 flowers blooming!