CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo. — After two winters away, a magical frozen attraction is coming back to Colorado this week.
Ice Castles will open in Cripple Creek at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets for the exhibition are on sale now.
The Ice Castles exhibition is made up ice-carved tunnels, caverns, fountains, slides, frozen thrones, towers and crawl spaces. The acre-sized winter playgrounds are illuminated at night by color-changing LED lights embedded inside the ice.
Ice Castles began building its immersive winter attraction in Cripple Creek in late October. Ice Castles typically remains open until early March, depending on weather conditions.
It takes a team of about 20 ice artisans about eight weeks to build the winter wonderland. Each day, ice artists grow up to 10,000 icicles. Those icicles are then fused together and sprayed with water over and over until the castle reaches heights of around 20 feet.
Cripple Creek is known for its annual Ice Festival, which is scheduled for Feb. 17 to Feb. 25, 2024.
“Cripple Creek is ecstatic to host Ice Castles this year,” said Cripple Creek Mayor Milford Ashworth. “We are the perfect frozen destination during wintertime and are looking forward to a beautiful season with Ice Castles at the forefront.”
“We are excited to be back in Colorado this winter,” said Ice Castles' CEO Kyle Standifird. "Our team is dedicated to creating an unforgettable experience in Cripple Creek that complements the natural beauty of the area while providing a unique and immersive experience for guests."
From 2017 to 2020, the Ice Castles set up in Dillon over the winter. In 2021, organizers announced that a planned move from Dillon to Silverthorne was unsuccessful. The attraction was not held in Colorado over the winters of 2021-22 or 2022-23.
This winter, the Utah-based Ice Castles team will also set up in Utah, Minnesota and New Hampshire. The company has also planned a new attraction, Winter Realm, in New York and Wisconsin.
Ice Castles
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Snow in Colorado
9NEWS+
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.