For Utah Valley, two of Utah's best-known Christmas nights are out of town in opposite directions: Ogden's Christmas Village to the north and the Ice Castles in Midway to the east. One is as reliable as the calendar. The other is on pause. This guide covers both, honestly.
Ogden's Christmas Village
Ogden's Christmas Village fills the city's Municipal Gardens on 25th Street each season, four blocks of displays and more than 50,000 lights, and it is free. USA Today's 2025 ranking put it second among public holiday lights displays in the country.
- The season: from the Saturday after Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. In 2025 it ran from November 29 to January 1.
- The hours: lights on from 5 p.m. each evening, until 10 p.m. most nights and midnight on weekends; in 2025 the lights also came on during the day on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
- Santa: in his castle on weekday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 5 to 9 p.m., through December 23.
- Opening night: a Santa Run, the Holiday Electric Light Parade down Washington Boulevard from 22nd to 27th Street, an opening gala at the Ogden Amphitheater and a drone show.
- Also there in 2025: one of Utah's Light the World Giving Machines; see Light the World in Utah Valley.
It is about 80 miles and an hour and a half from downtown Provo, so the practical plan is an early dinner in Ogden, the village after dark, and the drive home. Parking is on the street or in the Municipal Building lot.
The Midway Ice Castles: on pause
The Ice Castles began in Utah County: founder Brent Christensen built the first one in his yard in Alpine in 2011 for his children. The company grew into a national attraction, and its Utah castles moved to Midway, first at the Homestead and later at Soldier Hollow, where about 20 ice artists grew and placed icicles into towers, tunnels and slides, and a nightly fire show was added in 2025.
They were also always at the mercy of the weather. The Utah castles usually opened in late December or January and lasted four to six weeks; in the 2024-25 season they opened January 15 and closed early, in the first week of February, when a warm spell melted them. For 2025-26 the company paused its Utah location to rework its build process for warmer winters, and said the pause was "not a goodbye." It did not say where or when it would return, and we found no announcement of a return for 2026-27 when this was written.
If the castles come back, expect a short season that starts in the new year and sells out on weekends. Until then, Midway's winter still has Soldier Hollow's tubing lanes, 42 minutes from Provo; see Sledding and Tubing Across the Wasatch Front and Heber Valley and Midway From Provo.
Practical notes
- Go to Ogden on a weeknight. It is free every night, and the weekends are the busiest.
- Eat first. The drive is an hour and a half each way.
- Check the Ice Castles in the new year. If they return, their season is short.
- Try Soldier Hollow meanwhile. Its tubing is in Midway too.
Related Guides
- Light the World in Utah Valley
- Christmas in Salt Lake From Utah Valley
- Every Nutcracker on the Wasatch Front
- Sledding and Tubing Across the Wasatch Front
- Heber Valley and Midway From Provo
Frequently Asked Questions
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