It's been about a month since the town of Dillon opened its Ice Castles and the effect on the economy has been anything but a big chill.
For a quiet place like Dillon, it can be tough to get people to take your exit - unless they're headed to the slopes.
Just ask Kerstin Anderson, she tries to spark interest in the town for a living.
"This takes up pretty much our whole town park and it’s a lot bigger than I thought," said Kerstin as she showed us around the winter attraction.
She thinks the Ice Castles has really solidified the game here.
"When there’s something magical like this bringing people to town, it’s a huge advantage," she said. A huge advantage for the town, with all the added foot traffic.
Ice Castles
“Oh my gosh, it’s been such a success! People are so excited and it has created such a fun buzz in town," she said.
The town is investing about $50,000 and the payback is already trickling down to local businesses.
Kerstin says the bowling alley and all six restaurants in Dillon have reported an uptick in business.
"We've been making more tiramisu and cannoli's than ever before," Danilo Ottoborgo, bartender at Adriano's Bistro, said.
He hears a lot of chatter about the Ice Castles from his customers, "I've definitely asked them, 'are you guys going to the Ice Castles?' Almost every time they say, 'yes, yes we are!'"
The icy wonderland has warmed up the economy in this mountain town.
The town attributes a big part of their success to social media. When someone shares a pretty picture of the castles, Kerstin thinks it makes others want to come too.
If the weather cooperates, the Ice Castles will be open through March.
