Ice Castles Returning to Lake Geneva with a New Name and Twist

The Ice Castles will return to the Geneva National Resort in Lake Geneva in 2024 but with a new ice making technique and a new name: Winter Realms. Created by the same company who brought us the Ice Castles at Geneva National for the past five seasons, they are unveiling a new more weather-resistant experience that will include their award-winning towers, caverns, ice throne, and crawlspaces constructed from ice as before, and will also include light displays, a Polar Pub ice bar, horse drawn carriage rides, a tubing hill and more.

After experiencing a warmer than normal winter in 2023 and being forced to close the experience after just three days, Ice Castles CEO Kyle Standifird announced they have improved upon their ice making technique to create more durable formations that can withstand our unpredictable midwest winters. According to Ice Castles' Maren Timmerman, the ice-making process has been improved upon to help make the formations more durable in case of warm weather. Timmerman explains "By utilizing newer snowmaking technology, we can create snow at much warmer temperatures that we can make ice, allowing us to stockpile the snow and create snow structures. By spraying water on top of the structure, we create ice.  Each layer of snow acts as an insulating blanket that helps to protect the snow and ice underneath it."  While the Ice Castles will open again this year in Midway, Utah; Cripple Creek, Colorado; Maple Grove, Minnesota; and North Woodstock, New Hampshire, Lake Geneva and New York’s Lake George will be built using the new ice making technique.

The experience is expected to open on January 26, 2024. Tickets are avaiable on the Winter Realms website. Ticket prices are $26 off peak and $30 peak season. Save 15% off ticket prices using the special Best of Lake Geneva code: BestofLG24

For a list of all the fun happening in the area, visit the Best of Lake Geneva Events Calendar.