Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

*The information below is based on the 2026 festivals. Details for the 2027 festivals will be updated as they become available.*Held in Hwacheon, Gangwon-do, the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is a one-of-a-kind winter event that was named one of CNN's “Seven Wonders of Winter” in 2011. The festival takes place every January, when the famously pristine waters of Hwacheoncheon Stream freeze solid. Visitors can catch sancheoneo, mountain trout often called the "Queen of the Valley", through ice fishing or even with their bare hands. The freshly caught fish can be enjoyed immediately as raw slices or grilled on the spot. Beyond fishing, the festival features a wide range of winter attractions, including ice sledding, snow sledding, and bobsledding, drawing more than one million visitors each year.

Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is a rare chance to walk out onto a frozen stream and fish for sancheoneo (mountain trout) through the ice, either with a rod or bare-handed — a format distinctive enough that CNN named it one of its 'Seven Wonders of Winter' in 2011. Beyond fishing, the site has snow and ice sledding and bobsledding, making it a full day out rather than a single activity, and it draws over a million visitors each winter.

Hwacheon-gun has no train station of its own, so the common route is the ITX-Cheongchun train from Yongsan or Cheongnyangni to Chuncheon, then a local bus or taxi on to Hwacheon-eup. Alternatively, intercity/express buses run from Seoul bus terminals toward Hwacheon or Chuncheon, with a local connection for the final stretch to the festival site on Sancheoneo-gil.

Ice Fishing (On-site/Reservation), Bare-Handed Catching, Lure Fishing, Snow Sledding, Ice Sledding