WISCONSIN TRAVEL

Ice Castles returning to Lake Geneva at a new location in 2019

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The dazzling Ice Castles will return to Lake Geneva for the second winter in a row, but at the Geneva National Resort & Club, according to the resort's website.

The castles, which feature 30-foot ice towers, slides, thrones and other formations that are lighted at night, are created by Ice Castles LLC, a Utah-based entertainment company that was founded in 2011.

The company first brought its ice creations to Wisconsin in the Dells in 2017. The castles returned to the state along Lake Geneva's lakefront last winter, when there were also castles in Stillwater, Minnesota; Dillon, Colorado; Midway, Utah; Lincoln, New Hampshire; and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

LED lights illuminate the ice formations at the Ice Castles display in Lake Geneva. The Ice Castles, which opened up last week in Lake Geneva, are among six cities across North America where a Utah-based company has built ice castles after growing 5,000 to 12,000 icicles harvested by hand and individually sculpted into ice formations. Newly placed icicles are then drenched with water. Each castle is around one acre in size and takes around two months to construct by 20 to 40 ice artisans.

The castles are built by crews that "grow" up to 10,000 icicles every day, then place the icicles by hand and spray them with water.

Because building the castles depends on the weather, an opening date has not been set yet. The Lake Geneva castles opened Jan. 23 last winter, and the Wisconsin Dells castles opened Jan. 13, 2018. A late December or January open date is expected for this winter, and the castles will remain open as long as the weather allows, most likely through early March.

The castles are popular and tickets usually sell out in advance. Tickets are not available yet, but last year they cost $15.95 for adults and $10.95 for kids over age 3. If tickets are not sold out, at the door they were $20 for adults and $15 for kids on weekdays and $25 for adults and $20 for kids on weekends.

The walking paths in the castle are made of crushed ice, so you won't need snowshoes or crampons to walk around, but boots are advised. The pathways are not stroller- or wheelchair-friendly, and even though ticket sales are limited, the pathways can be crowded. Pets are not permitted.

For more information, see icecastles.com or facebook.com/IceCastlesWI.