Ice carving is big in Colorado, but it’s getting even bigger this weekend as Ice Castles opens in a newly expanded pair of locations — with about 40 million pounds of ice in tow.
The installation, which is also setting up this year in Utah, Minnesota and New Hampshire, presents “frozen attractions” built with hundreds of thousands of icicles “hand-placed by professional ice artists,” according to its website. That comes out to about 20 million pounds per location. “The castles include breathtaking LED-lit sculptures, frozen thrones, ice-carved tunnels, slides, fountains and much more.”
This year, Ice Castles is returning for its second event in Cripple Creek, with a new location popping up in Eagle. Each installation covers about an acre, the company said, and takes weeks to prepare.
And they’re not waiting too long, given how close we are to Christmas: Cripple Creek opens first — at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19 — followed by Eagle, at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20. The events run through Feb. 23, 2025, which happens to be the closing date of Cripple Creek’s annual Ice Festival (Feb. 15-23, 2025).
Tickets for the all-ages attractions are $23-$29 for peak pricing, and $16-$21 for off-peak. Reserve a spot on their calendar at icecastles.com.