Ice Castles in Midway open early for first time in history

MIDWAY, Utah — Early snow in the beehive state has made it possible for not only ski resorts to open early, but also the Midway Ice Castles. 

For the first time in the history of the attraction, the grand opening is taking place before Christmas. On December 21, the public can enjoy all the attraction has to offer. 

“Mother Nature has been good to us this season, and we’re excited to welcome guests to Ice Castles over the holiday break,” said Kyle Standifird, the Ice Castles CEO.

Located at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, the interactive ice attraction has a lot to offer. Aside from cascading towers of ice, professionals also created ice-carved tunnels, fountains, slides, and frozen thrones. 

Furthermore, embedded within the towers of ice are color-changing LED lights. 

Although with recent snowfall the attraction is opening early, it will close on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Ice artisans, people who specialize in ice carving, have worked around the clock for the grand opening, said a release from Ice Castles. 

History of the beloved Midway Ice Castles

Melissa Smuzynski, who works in public relations for the Ice Castles, said the founder of the attraction came up with the method to create them back in 2009.

“It’s really a relationship with mother nature and man,” said Smuzynski.

Using an ice and snow mixture, harvested icicles are glued together and sprayed with water to grow thick and tall. Eventually, the icicles grow to heights of twenty feet. 

Smuzynski said it more or less began as a science experiment. Back in 2009, the founder lived in Alpine, Utah, where he would grow icicle palaces in his front yard. 

“Our founder started it in his front yard, just building something fun for his children,” she told KSL NewsRadio. 

The frozen palace’s popularity with neighborhood kids grew, and from then on the Ice Castles were born. 

Ice Castles is a Utah-based company with four other locations in the U.S. In addition to Utah, there are locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and New York.

For more information on tickets, click here. 

Related reading: Construction begins on the Ice Castles one icicle at a time