Fat Bike Worlds is heading back to Leadville, Colorado on January 23–25, 2026, with Cloud City Wheelers hosting the weekend in Colorado’s highest city. If you like your winter bike trips with groomed singletrack, thin air, and a finish-line party vibe, this one checks a lot of boxes.
A big new twist for 2026 is Sauna Fest, a new add-on event built around mobile saunas, cold plunges, and music. Yes, this is exactly the kind of “race hard, recover harder” energy that belongs at a winter fat-bike weekend.
Quick background: the “Worlds” roadshow is rolling back to Leadville
Fat Bike Worlds has moved around over the years, including stops like Crested Butte, Pinedale (Wyoming), New Richmond (Wisconsin), and Leadville. More recently, it returned to Leadville for 2024, went back to Crested Butte for 2025, and now it’s coming back to Leadville for 2026.
If Leadville’s been on your winter riding bucket list, this is a pretty good excuse to make it happen.
What you need to know
- Dates: January 23–25, 2026
- Where: Leadville, Colorado
- Host: Cloud City Wheelers
- New for 2026: Sauna Fest (saunas, cold plunges, music)
- Info / registration: fatbikeworlds.org
Why Leadville works (especially for out-of-towners)
Cloud City Wheelers is leaning into what Leadville does best: winter riding on a big network of groomed trails. The organization highlights the area’s winter terrain and trail work, which is a big reason the event feels like a festival instead of just a race weekend.
New for 2026: Sauna Fest
Sauna Fest is being promoted as a first-year add-on in partnership with Sunshine Saunas (and Visit Leadville per the event site), with mobile saunas, cold plunges, and music built into the post-race scene. The Sauna Fest page also notes live music, including an afternoon performance from Leadville Americana band Stablehand.
From the press release (edited for length)
Fat Bike Worlds returns to Leadville January 23–25, 2026, hosted by Cloud City Wheelers. New for 2026, the weekend will debut Sauna Fest, bringing mobile saunas, cold plunges, and live music to the finish-line scene.
“Leadville’s winter trails and our welcoming community make this the perfect home for Fat Bike Worlds,” said Sterling Mudge, Executive Director of Cloud City Wheelers.
Racers receive complimentary access to sauna offerings, and the public can join by purchasing an unlimited-use wristband.
Our take
If you’ve never done a destination fat-bike event, this is the kind that’s easy to recommend because it blends racing, riding, and hanging out. Also, “sauna festival at a winter fat-bike race” is either the best idea ever or the best kind of ridiculous. Probably both.
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