Freeze your Minnetonkas off in Minnesota (but in a fun way)
Minnesota may have some of the coldest winters in the Lower 48, but they know how to make the most of it. The Sandstone Ice Fest (Jan 7–8) offers ice-climbing clinics in Sandstone, while Icebox Days (Jan 13–16) in International Falls gets wacky with frozen-turkey bowling, canoe racing on ice, and a “Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run.”
The inaugural World Snow Sculpting Championship (Jan 18–23) has 12 teams competing against the backdrop of the St. Croix River in Stillwater, while the St. Paul Winter Carnival (Jan 28–Feb 6) has shenanigans from a beard-growing competition to ice-fishing tournaments, ice palaces, ice golf, dog coronations (why not?), and parades. It’s part of the Great Northern Festival, an 11-day extravaganza in Minneapolis and St. Paul, with additional events including outdoor orienteering challenges, climate-focused lectures, art exhibits carved out of ice, and live podcast recordings like On Being with Krista Tippett. Plus snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and skijoring, where competitors are pulled along on skis by dogs, who hopefully get plenty of treats for doing all the work.
