With the Castle Closed for the Season, Redstone's Holidays Happen on the Boulevard
If you were planning to bring holiday guests up Highway 133 to see Redstone Castle, have you checked its website lately? The Castle's homepage now reads, "Thank you for touring with us in 2026 See you next year." The building most visitors picture first when they think of Redstone has finished its season.
The rest of the village hasn't. Starting on Thanksgiving Day, Redstone's holidays happen in a ten-day run along Redstone Boulevard, from Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 26 to the Holiday Market on Dec. 5. Almost every event starts at the Redstone Inn, and the whole season fits on the one street between the Inn and Propaganda Pie.
According to the Aspen Times in late August, owner Stephane De Baets planned "light to moderate" construction once the Redstone Bridge project wrapped up, on a four-to-six-week schedule, with county engineers inspecting the work before winter. The same story said the Castle wasn't operating as a bed-and-breakfast or event venue. Its tours were what kept it open to the public: 57 historic tours across 2024 and 2025, above the minimum of 24 a year set in a 2024 county resolution.
Those tours have now ended for the year. That leaves Redstone's holiday season to the Boulevard, and the Boulevard has a full calendar.
The Redstone Inn's events page and the Redstone Art Foundation together lay out the sequence:
The schedule overlaps by design. You can come up for Thanksgiving dinner and take the first sleigh ride of the season the same afternoon. Two days later, Santa and the lights arrive in the same parking lot. The market a week after that starts at the Inn's front door.
The Inn's sleigh rides run from Thanksgiving Day through New Year's Day. Each ride takes about 45 minutes, going from the Redstone Inn to the North Bridge. Tickets are $50 per person for ages 11 and up, $25 for children ages 5 to 10, and free for ages 4 and under. For a private ride, call the Inn at 970-963-2526 or email [email protected].
That route matters more this year. While the South Bridge was closed for replacement, all traffic in and out of the village used the North Bridge. In April, the Sopris Sun reported that residents were worried about more traffic and speeding on Redstone Boulevard during the detour. Pitkin County reopened the South Bridge to vehicles after a ribbon-cutting on Aug. 12, 2026. The project finished more than three weeks early and under budget, and the new bridge connects better with the trail. The old span dated to 1947. The new one is designed to last 75 years.
So this is Redstone's first holiday season with the new South Bridge in place. With both bridges open, the North Bridge, where the sleigh rides turn around, no longer carries the whole village's traffic.
The Holiday Market is the biggest day of the season, and it takes up the whole Boulevard. More than 40 local artists sell their work from porches and from tents set up outside businesses, running from the Redstone Inn down to Propaganda Pie. The Art Foundation describes it as the area's only European-style outdoor market. Santa will be there, along with carolers and hot chocolate. The artist and vendor list is scheduled to come out in November.
What to know before you go:
The Art Foundation lists four places to eat and drink during the market: the Redstone Inn, Propaganda Pie, Joy and Wylde, and the Redstone General Store. They're worth knowing past Dec. 5, because the same four keep the Boulevard going for the rest of the winter.
The Redstone Inn is at the top of the street. It's the hub of the season and has a weekly routine in between the big events. Margs & Mexican Mondays run 5:30 to 8 p.m. with $5 margaritas. Wine Down Wednesday, from 3 to 8 p.m., takes half off select wines. Thirsty Thursday, from 3 to 9 p.m., takes $2 off select beers.
Joy & Wylde is a family-owned boutique, art gallery and café that sells curated handmade goods, jewelry and art. It has been on the Boulevard since 2023. The café menu covers coffee, tea, hot cocoa, baked goods, soup, sandwiches, salads, charcuterie, beer, wine and cocktails. For November and December 2026, it also takes inquiries for holiday gatherings.
The Redstone General Store is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. It sells groceries, ice cream, wine, beer and spirits, coffee and baked goods.
Propaganda Pie is at the other end of the market route. It serves Detroit-style deep-dish pizza, sandwiches, wings and more. On winter hours, it opens at 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. On market day, that means the doors open at 11, an hour after the artists set up.
The Redstone Inn is also home to the village's newest organization. On Nov. 3, Crystal Valley Echo editor Tucker Farris announced the Redstone Press Club in the Aspen Daily News. It started with 10 members from the Aspen Daily News, the Sopris Sun and the Crystal Valley Echo. The club is based at the Redstone Inn, plans to meet semi-regularly, and hopes to hold an opening induction ceremony. In its Nov. 5 Scuttlebutt column, the Sopris Sun said Farris plans to hold the first meeting at the Inn, and that journalists who want to join can contact the Echo's editor.
Our September post on what keeps running after Redstone's tourist season covers the rest of the village's off-season, and the Crystal River Valley neighborhood page has more on its history.
Karen is always happy to help friends and family plan a day in the village, whether that's Thanksgiving dinner at the Inn or the sleigh ride and lights on Illumination night. If the Crystal River Valley is on your mind this season, Karen Peirson would be glad to hear from you. Book a consultation.
Start your Aspen home search with a trusted local expert. Whether you're looking for a ski-in/ski-out retreat or a cozy home in the valley, Karen will guide you every step of the way.