Record February Heat Cuts Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival Short

Unseasonably warm temperatures brought an early end to one of the Bow Valley’s signature winter attractions, as organizers cancelled the Ice Magic sculpture showcase at Lake Louise after rapid deterioration of the works.

Ice Magic 2026, staged along the shoreline at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise as part of SnowDays, had been scheduled to begin public viewing Feb. 5, with six large-scale ice sculptures transforming the lakefront into a temporary outdoor gallery. But after several days of record-setting February warmth across the region, organizers said the sculptures could not be maintained and closed the exhibit as of Feb. 6.

“Ice sculptures are temporary by nature, but Ice Magic came to an end earlier than we had hoped,” organizers said in a public update. Ticket holders were contacted directly.

The closure followed a broader warm spell that broke long-standing February temperature records across the Bow Valley and surrounding mountain parks, with some records dating back more than 80 years. While short winter warm-ups are not uncommon, the scale and duration of the heat accelerated melting in the installations.