The 47th University of Okoboji Winter Games run Thursday, January 28 through Sunday, January 31, 2027. They’re always the last full weekend in January. It’s a four-day festival spread across Arnolds Park, Okoboji, Spirit Lake, Milford and West Okoboji: tournaments on the ice, a kite festival, live music, a chili cook-off, fireworks and the Polar Plunge. Arnolds Park is the center of it.
The Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, which runs the games, counts more than 40,000 visitors from over 22 states. You don’t need to compete to enjoy it. Plan on January highs in the mid-20s, a cab or a designated driver between venues, and early registration if you want to play in a tournament.
Key Takeaways
- The 2027 games run January 28 to 31, the 47th year.
- Arnolds Park is the hub, but events reach five towns, so plan your rides.
- Most tournaments want pre-registration and many fill weeks ahead. Watching takes none.
- The games have never been cancelled for lack of ice, and no ice is ever 100 percent safe.
- Blue Water Bungalows is about 2.4 miles by road from the Arnolds Park waterfront.
What exactly are the Winter Games?
Start with the name, because it trips up every first-timer. There is no University of Okoboji. It’s a local joke that the Richter brothers of The Three Sons clothing store in Milford started in the early 1970s by printing an official-looking crest on T-shirts, as KCAU’s profile of the store recounts. People around the lakes claim to be alumni with a perfectly straight face. If you want the sweatshirt, start at The Three Sons in Milford, where the whole thing began.
The games began in 1981 as a small broomball tournament on the ice at the Fish Hatchery. Today it’s dozens of events over four days. Finding something to do is easy. Knowing which events are worth driving to in the cold, and where to sleep so getting there is simple, takes more planning.
Where does everything happen?
Arnolds Park is the center of gravity. In 2026 the on-ice tournaments and the kite festival ran off the Arnolds Park waterfront, the fireworks and the Burning of the Greens bonfire were at Preservation Plaza, and the Polar Plunge went off next to the Queen II at Arnolds Park Amusement Park. The bonfire tradition goes back to 1986, when the first opening-ceremony fire on Smith’s Bay burned 600 Christmas trees.
The rest of the weekend scatters. Last year events also landed at The Okoboji Store, Parks Marina and the Barefoot Bar, Oak Hill Outdoor in Milford, the Dickinson County Fairgrounds in Spirit Lake, and Iowa Lakeside Laboratory on the west side of West Lake.
Times and venues change every year. Treat the 2026 details in this post as the shape of the weekend, then check the official 2027 Winter Games schedule before you plan your Saturday.
How far is everything from Blue Water Bungalows?
These are road distances from our driveway, measured with OpenStreetMap routing. Without traffic, none of them is more than about 15 minutes away. With 40,000 extra people around the lakes, give yourself more time than the map suggests.
- West O Beer: about 0.7 miles
- Sunshine Foods in Milford, for groceries: about 1.6 miles
- Arnolds Park waterfront and amusement park: about 2.4 miles
- The Okoboji Store: about 3.6 miles
- Iowa Lakeside Laboratory: about 4.1 miles
- Parks Marina: about 5.9 miles
That first one deserves a word. West O Beer is the games’ presenting sponsor, brews and cans on site in West Okoboji, and makes CōZY, the official beer of the Winter Games, sold in December and January. It’s the closest Winter Games stop to your door. Winter hours shift, so call ahead before you walk over.
How do you get around without fighting for parking?
The organizers’ own transportation page opens with a question: “Don’t want to worry about parking?” Take the hint. Their list includes Lakes Taxi of Okoboji, Okoboji Cab Services, Golden Mullet Cabs, Lyft and Uber, and they’re blunt about the rest: don’t drink and drive. In 2026 a free shuttle bus also ran from Parks Marina and the Barefoot Bar during parts of the weekend (some runs required a Parks wristband).
Here’s what I’d do. Pick one hub per day. Get to Arnolds Park early, leave the car, and stay on foot. You’ll see more and spend less of the day looking for a spot. Save the cab numbers in your phone before you leave the bungalow, not at 10 pm in a parking lot with frozen fingers.
Bringing a snowmobile or ATV? Snowmobiles need an Iowa user permit, and nonresidents need one for ATVs and UTVs as well. There are eight separate city and county jurisdictions around the lakes, each with its own ordinance, and the official site links every one. If you book Bungalow 4, 5 or 6, trailer parking is included. Tell us your trailer’s size ahead of time so we can make sure it fits.
What’s worth seeing on your first Winter Games?
If you only have one afternoon, make it Saturday in Arnolds Park. In 2026 the on-ice games, the Polar Plunge, the bonfire and the fireworks all happened within a short walk of each other, so you can wander from one to the next without touching the car. Saturday is the one day not to split up.
The Polar Plunge
It’s been part of the games since 1998. In 2026, registration ran 1:30 to 3 pm on Saturday at the amusement park, and people started jumping into West Lake at 3. Proceeds go to Arnolds Park Okoboji Fire & Rescue, the volunteers who stand by to pull plungers back out. Bungalow 4 is named for Grandpa Al’s old line, “go jump in the lake.” It’s the one afternoon a year a whole crowd takes him literally.
Chili and chocolate
The Chocolate Classic dates to 1997 and pits local bakers against each other. In the 2026 team judging, Painted Ladies took first, ahead of B&J’s Sweets and Crave Bakery. The chili cook-off hands out Best Overall, Best Non-Profit and Best Decorated Booth, and Goliath has taken the top chili prize in four of the last five years.
Playing instead of watching
Broomball, snow softball, flag football, human foosball and the bags tournament all take teams. According to the Winter Games FAQ, many events require pre-registration or fill up weeks ahead, so sign the team up before you book anything else. Spectators need no registration at all.
Is Winter Games weekend good for kids?
Yes, with a plan. A good share of the evening schedule is bars, live music and comedy, so families do best treating the games as a daytime event. The 2026 family lineup included a Family Fun Fest with inflatables, crafts and sledding at the Dickinson County Fairgrounds in Spirit Lake, a hunt for a golden snowball, a build-a-snowman event, the Zoomobile, a Soup N’ Slide at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory a few miles from us, and a kids’ musical playdate that needed pre-registration. Check the 2027 schedule for which ones return.
For small kids, the kite festival is the easy win. It’s big and colorful, it’s outdoors, and you can leave the minute somebody’s toes get cold.
What should you pack for late January?
Federal climate normals for 1991 to 2020 put Spirit Lake’s average January high around 24°F and the low around 7°F, and wind across open ice makes it feel colder. Dress for standing still, because that’s most of what spectating is: layers, a real hat, insulated boots with good grip, and hand warmers.
If you plan to walk out on the ice to watch, the Iowa DNR’s ice safety guidance also suggests ice cleats, and repeats the rule the organizers print on their own FAQ: no ice is 100 percent safe. Check current conditions with the DNR, and stay where the organizers set up.
No ice? The games happen anyway. They have never been cancelled, and in years like 2015 the events simply moved off the lake.
Inside, you need less than you think. Every bungalow has its own thermostat, and linens, bath towels and beach towels are already there. Stop at Sunshine Foods on the way in, and breakfast is handled before anyone leaves the bungalow. Bring charcoal only if you’re brave enough to grill in January.
Where should you stay for Winter Games?
Most of the Winter Games action is in Arnolds Park, and so is most of the noise. Boji Blue Water Bungalows sits on the quiet south end of West Lake, about 2.4 miles away by road. Close enough to make the plunge in minutes, far enough to actually sleep.
For teams and groups, this is where the setup earns its keep. Six bungalows on one property sleep 4 to 8 each, 35 people in all, so a broomball team or a few families can book side by side and share the yard and firepit. Bungalows 2 through 6 have full kitchens (Bungalow 1 has a kitchenette with no stove), so you can feed a crew without waiting for a table. Check-in is self-serve any time after 3 pm, with your door code sent 72 hours ahead, so a late Thursday arrival is no problem. Check-out is 10 am. Every bungalow comes with two parking spots, and Bungalows 4, 5 and 6 add trailer parking for a sled or ATV trailer.
The fine print, plainly: no pets, and each bungalow holds only the guests you booked. If your crew grows, add a bungalow instead of squeezing in. If you’re still weighing lake view against lakefront for a winter trip, our guide to where to stay on West Lake Okoboji lays out the trade-offs, and what stays open in Okoboji after Labor Day covers the restaurants and shops running outside the summer season.
One off-season guest, Wanetta, wrote that Traci “always answered any questions I had.” That holds in January too. Call before you come and ask anything, from trailer length to where the plunge registration is.
FAQ
When are the 2027 Okoboji Winter Games?
Thursday, January 28 through Sunday, January 31, 2027. It’s the 47th year, and the games are always held the last full weekend in January.
Do I need to register to attend?
No. Anyone can come and watch. If you want to compete, most tournaments ask for pre-registration and many fill up weeks before the weekend, so register through the official site as early as you can.
What happens if there’s no ice?
The games have never been cancelled. Events move off the ice when conditions require it. Either way, no ice is 100 percent safe, so check with the Iowa DNR and follow the organizers’ setup.
How far is Blue Water Bungalows from the Winter Games?
About 2.4 miles by road to the Arnolds Park waterfront, where most events cluster. West O Beer, the presenting sponsor, is about 0.7 miles away.
Can I bring my snowmobile?
Yes, if you book Bungalow 4, 5 or 6, which include trailer parking. Let us know your trailer’s size ahead of time, and make sure your sled carries a current Iowa user permit. Our FAQ page covers parking and check-in details.
Planning a team or family weekend at the games? Check your dates for January 28 to 31, or call Traci at 402-672-7816 with questions about groups and trailers.