Head North for an Adventure as Gigantic Ice Castles Return to New Hampshire

Ice Castles attraction in North Woodstock, New Hampshire by Joseph Prezioso/Getty Images

The secret to bearing New England winters? Lean into them. We realize that’s easier said than done, but having a list of local winter activities on hand helps. And as far as winter activities go, it may warm your chilly heart to learn that one of the more unusual annual attractions has returned—the Ice Castles in North Woodstock, New Hampshire.

Hundreds of thousands of icicles make up this frozen kingdom of LED-lit sculptures, slides, thrones, fountains, and tunnels. This year, professional artists carved into 20 million pounds of ice to create the winter wonderland, which now includes a new ice sculpture garden and illuminated Winter Fairy village. Visitors can also stroll through the Mystic Forest, slide down a tubing hill, or catch a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the illuminated wooden trails on this multi-acre site.

So where did this fantastical attraction begin? Believe it or not, it started as a project in a Utah yard. Cool dad Brent Christensen was looking for a way to get his kids outside in the dead of winter. Naturally, the solution was to create ice castles at home. Throughout the years his project grew more elaborate to include slides, caves, and towers. Now Ice Castles is a yearly winter attraction in five locations across the U.S. and Canada. This is the ninth season Ice Castles has returned to New Hampshire.

Photo by Joseph Prezioso/Getty Images

$15 Mon.-Thurs. and $22 Fri.-Sun. for kids (age 4-11), $20 Mon.-Thurs. and $27 Fri.-Sun. for adults, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. weekends, 24 Clark Farm Road, North Woodstock, NH, icecastles.com.