It's a Game of Frozen Thrones at the New Hampshire Ice Castles

If you haven't visited the Ice Castles in Lincoln, New Hampshire yet, you really, really have to! The 25 million-pound Ice Castles opened last week, welcoming visitors to a winter wonderland of icy slides, frozen thrones, fountains, tunnels, and LED lights that twinkle to music. But if you had visited this same spot in Lincoln just over two months ago, you simply would have found a field.

The making of the castles is a six-month process that begins with the drawing up of blueprints, paving the way for a crew of about 40 artisans to handcraft the attractions using hundreds of thousands of icicles. Any Ice Castles visitor (or Instagram admirer) knows that guests walk between walls of ice that reach 20 to 30 feet into the sky. The building of those walls begins with the installation of LED lights and a sprinkler system painstakingly spread across an acre — sprinkler heads linked to a fire hydrant and aimed just so — and with a temporary metal structure that’s sprayed with water so that the water freezes into icicles. Artisans then harvest those icicles and use them to build the castles, which is all done by hand.

In fact, the crew grows and harvests between 5,000 and 12,000 icicles per day, sticking the harvested icicles to an icy base created by the sprinkler system and carefully arranging the icicles so that they eventually grow into the LED-filled sculptures, arches, and tunnels with which visitors are familiar. There just is nothing like this on Earth. To go through a structure of this size that’s all made of ice with the whole thing at night glowing and changing colors, it’s just absolutely beautiful.

Adult admission in Lincoln is $13.95-$21, and admission for kids ages 4-11 is $9.95-$16, depending on the day of the week and whether the ticket is booked online or purchased at the door. Door tickets may be unavailable if online tickets are sold out. Check online here before you make the drive!

The castles typically close for the season in March, but the end date will depend on the weather. Don't miss your chance to channel your inner Khalessi and sit on a frozen throne for an epic Instagram pic! Head to Lincoln, NH and devour the details of a wicked cool time at the Ice Castles!