The Best Winter Episodes of ‘Gilmore Girls’: A Guide to the Snow Episodes

Lorelai Gilmore once said, “Everything is magical when it snows,” and all that Gilmore Girls fan has his favorite winter episodes.

Yes, Gilmore Girls is known as an autumn show, which may be due to the autumnal atmosphere of the opening credits. However, Lorelai (Lauren Graham) always made it clear that winter is her favorite season, and the show would definitely feature winter elements every year in its original run from 2000 to 2007, as well as in the 2016 revival, A year in the life.

Whether you stick your head out the window to say “I smell snow” or a winter forecast makes you say, “Oh yeah, with the poodles already,” it’s always a good time to curl up with the best winter episodes of Gilmore Girls. Scroll down for a guide to our favorites:

“Love and War and Snow” (“Gilmore Girls” Season 1, Episode 8)

Welcome to the very first snow episode. Lorelai wakes up in the middle of the night to open a window and breathe in the air – because she can smell the coming snow. She accidentally wakes Rory (Alexis Bledel) as she giddily listens to a recent answering machine message from Max (Scott Cohen).

Once the snow falls, Rory spends the night at her grandparents’ house, which gives Lorelai the chance to spend the night with Max. However, an unexpected visitor interrupts what could have been a romantic evening.

“The Bracebridge Dinner” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 2, Episode 10)

This Gilmore Girls episode has everything: snow, a Stars Hollow tradition, Richard (Edward Hermann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop) in Stars Hollow and Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) to be naughty. The first snowfall has already fallen and now it is time for the annual snowman building competition.

However, the snow ruined travel plans, leaving the Independence Inn with a full-fledged Victorian themed dinner and no guests. Lorelai decides to invite the town (and Rory invites her grandparents) to enjoy the lavish dinner and horse and buggy rides. Lorelai and Luke (Scott Patterson) gets to enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride and Jess invites herself along for Rory’s ride.

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“That’ll Do, Pig” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 3, Episode 9)

Lorelai finds a way to actually bond with Emily when Gran (Marion Ross) comes to town, and Rory also works on building bridges. She wants to be friends with Dean (Jared Padalecki), despite recently dumping him for Jess. When Dean’s little sister wants Rory to go to the Winter Carnival with them, Jess suddenly changes his mind about attending “stupid city stuff” and is eager to take his girlfriend to the event.

“Women of Questionable Morals” (“Gilmore Girls” Season 5, Episode 11)

Lorelai smells the first snow of the season and drags Luke out of bed to smell it. However, it quickly turns into a terrible day after her car is snowed in and a dozen other minor inconveniences. She’s ready to end her long relationship with snow after such a bad day, so Luke builds an ice skating rink in her front yard to make her feel better. Talk about a romantic gesture!

“Merry Fisticuffs” (‘Gilmore Girls’ Season 7, Episode 10)

The list of things to love in the seventh season of Gilmore Girls is very short. However, this episode makes the list because it delivers exactly what the title implies. It’s the holidays, and Christopher (David Sutcliffe) and Luke finally get to have a real fight. After Chris sees Lorelai cooing over Luke’s newborn niece, he becomes concerned again about Lorelai’s feelings for her ex. Chris and Luke spot each other across the town square and attack each other, knocking down the town’s Christmas decorations along the way.

“Winter” (Episode 1 of ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’)

Ten years after the series finale, Gilmore Girls returned via a four-episode Netflix revival. The first episode takes place in – you guessed it – winter and shows Rory and Lorelai getting back together after some time. As much as viewers know where all their favorite characters are now, the episode also opens with so many callbacks to the moments fans love, including Lorelai’s long love affair with the snow.