Chilling Delights: Annual Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Turns Creepy in 2024

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival may be several months away but the theme for 2024 has been chosen.

Halloween isn't just in October. At least not in Saranac Lake anyway where the annual festival is being turned into a Creepy Carnival for 2024.

The 2024 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival will be held February 2 -11. Get all the details on the upcoming carnival when they are released at Saranacklakewintercarnival.com.

Winter Carnival History

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival began in 1897. It wasn't always an annual event though. There were years in the 20s, 30s, and early 40s when it wasn't held. The carnival was brought back to life in the winter of 1947-48 and has been held every year since.

The Ice Palace disappeared for 35 years before making a comeback too. It stopped being built in 1920 but returned by 1955.

National Recognition

The 2022 Winter Carnival in the Adirondacks was named among the best in the U.S. according to Thrillist.

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival has everything: a Royal Court complete with coronation celebrations and courtly robes, arctic golf, an arctic BBQ, downhill ski races, snowshoe races, curling exhibitions, woodsman exhibitions, a ladies fry pan toss (why not!), themed parades, fireworks, and more.

The 2022 Winter Carnival went back to the 80s for a totally tubular event.

Volunteers Brave Winter

Volunteers gather every January, braving the snow and cold to put together the centerpiece of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival - the Ice Castle.

Business owners, teachers, construction workers, elected officials, parents, and friends, make up the International Palace Workers (IPW Local-101), who cut ice and carry buckets of water and snow to pack between the blocks.

Take a look at the work put into creating the 2023 Castle.