Midway’s Ice Castles — the popular and Instagram-friendly walk-through frozen sculpture garden — is set to open to the public on Friday, Jan. 14.
“Mild temperatures this winter” set back the opening by a week, according to a news release.
Tickets are on sale now. This year’s castle is located at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, 200 Olympic Drive, just south of Midway — about a 55-minute drive from Salt Lake City, east on Interstate 80, then south on US-189.
The castles are built by ice artists who grow between 5,000 to 12,000 sculpted icicles and then place them by hand into the larger work. Each of the castles weighs more than 25 million pounds, and include such features as thrones and colorful LED lights. This year’s version includes a horse-drawn carriage.
All of the castle locations are near natural water sources and melt each spring.
The winter attraction was conceptualized in 2011 by founder and lead ice artist Brett Christensen, who patented the building process when he made an ice cave in his own front yard for his children. Now, the icy endeavor has expanded to five locations in Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Wisconsin and Utah.
