The Ouray Ice Park occupies a kilometer-long section of the Uncompahgre Gorge just south of town, where pipes installed in the canyon walls spray water that freezes into climbing routes from mid-December through early March. The result is the world's largest artificially created ice climbing venue — more than 200 individual routes at all difficulty levels, all within a 15-minute walk of downtown Ouray.
Admission to the park is free. Guided instruction and equipment rental are available in town from several outfitters. The Ouray Ice Festival, held annually in late January, brings elite climbers for competitions and clinics, and the gorge fills with spectators watching from the rim trail. Even if you have no intention of climbing, walking the rim trail above the gorge in winter — looking down at climbers ascending frozen waterfalls in the blue-white ice — is a striking sight.