If you’re looking for a family-friendly adventure, or just an excuse to get outside this winter and take some epic adventure photos then I have the perfect daycation idea for you - the Ice Castles.
The Ice Castles come every year to Colorado, Utah, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Basically this company came up with an idea to visit places that were cold in the winter, drip a lot of water over some structures and create ice castles. During the day they glow blue and they light them up with various colors at night. I’ve been at night with the glowing lights, which were amazing but not as great for photos, and during the day which I thought had better lighting. Regardless, you can buy tickets for this one-of-a-kind yearly event and experience it for yourself before they melt!
Tickets haven’t gone on sale yet for 2021, but I recommend you buy them online when they do, because they sell out quick. On the website they say that they’ll let walk-ins buy tickets if people don’t show up for their time slot, but it’s rare people no-show and you don’t want to drive all the way to the Ice Castles and be turned away. I started following the Ice Castle instagram page so I knew when tickets would go live and snagged ours for a 1pm time slot on a Saturday in January. I recommend going earlier in the year as once the temps start to heat up they close the Ice Castles down for the season.
Here’s my recommendations for your adventure so you can get your money’s worth out of your day.
Wear proper footwear: the floor of the castles is snow/sand mix and it’s slippery and slushy. Leave the cute shoes at home.
Don’t bring your stroller - imagine pushing it along a wet sandy beach that’s narrow on all sides. Leave it at home.
Don’t bring in coffee - they don’t want outside beverages brought in because they don’t want people leaving their trash all over the place or spilling on the ice.
Don’t worry about the 30 min time slot. Once you’re in you can stay as long as you want (or at least you could in last season).
Do get there earlier than your time slot. Everyone has to wait in line prior to going in so plan on at least a 15 minute wait prior to entering for your time slot.
Be patient! It is possible to get photos without people in them you just have to wait out the crowds and snap quick. Most everyone there is doing the same thing so everyone’s respectful.
Have fun, take photos, walk around, enjoy the moment.
Dress warm, because it’s snow and ice!
Bring your mask! Face coverings will be required this year. Tripods and drones are not permitted.
Since the Ice Castles were in Dillion, Colorado last year, as a side trip after our time at the castles we went and visited the Troll of Breckenridge. The trail is not maintained in the winter so prepare for it to be ice packed, but as long as you wear the same proper footwear as you wore for the Ice Castles you’ll be fine. The directions linked from the town of Breckenridge has several options to reach Isak the troll, but we found the easiest was to park in the same lot as the town Steven C. West Ice Arena. As a bonus, there was a bathroom in the ice arena we were able to use since there is none at the trailhead for the troll.
Add in lunch or dinner in Breckenridge and you have yourself a nice little daycation for yourself and friends or family. Last year we went around the 5th of January and it was a nice day trip to look forward to after Christmas. Also note that the prices for admission are slightly cheaper in Utah and pricing is more on the weekends and holiday weekends over weekdays. I’m sure week days are less crowded as well.
Pray for snow so we can all have a safe and adventurous winter season!
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