I’ve been wanting to go to the Ice Castles for years, and this year I finally had the opportunity. Located in North Woodstock (right outside of Lincoln, New Hampshire) the Ice Castles are open for the month of February every winter – sometimes earlier or later if weather allows.  

While the Ice Castles have been in New Hampshire since 2011, the concept was created in the front yard of founder Brent Christensen’s Utah home back in 2006. Since then the concept has expanded to five locations in four states, New Hampshire being the only eastern one.  

Each year the Ice Castles’ design is different, and it takes over two months for the crew to build the walls from the ground up. There are no internal structures that the ice is built upon; it is built with layers and layers of hand placed icicles.  Each day, 5,000 to 12,000 icicles are created and attached by water.  LED lights are built into the ice formations so that the ice literally glows at night. 

The architects design the castle to include tunnels, caves, crevasses, and slides.  One of the aspects that I loved about the experience was the exploration of the castle. So many tourist destinations create a specific path for guests to walk through; however, the Ice Castles don’t. Instead, guests decide how much or how little to walk through, up, and around the castle.  I enjoyed looking down on the main atrium where there was a fire spinner from one of the elevated paths, looking up at the ice stalactites hanging down from the ceilings, finding solitude in caves off to the side of the castle, watching the ice transform as the LED lights changed color, and sliding through the tunnels on the ice slides. 

I could tell which groups had been here before as they came decked out in their snow gear with their own sleds. I would suggest following their lead with the snow attire. While only one slide required me to slide without anything underneath me, the extra layers of snow pants would’ve kept me warm in the winter night air. 

After exploring the castle and sliding down a few ice slides, I made my way over to the mystic forest walk. As this required a little walking – I think the path was about 1/4 mile with some mild elevation – and was set behind the ice castle, it was a chance to get away from the crowds. The forest walk meandered through a collection of varied light displays. From lit up animals to fairy houses adorning the tree trunks, I enjoyed immersing myself in each unique atmosphere. 

The Ice Castles offers some food and drink options, but I opted to check out downtown North Woodstock for a warmer and more relaxed experience.  At almost 7pm, I was surprised to find that many of the stores along main street were still open, so I was able to check out a few cute tourist shops before heading over to Twin Barns Brewery for  some live music and BBQ. The vibe of North Woodstock seems low key and local. People were social, cars slowed to let people cross, and even with the snow, parking was easy.

Another day I headed around the corner to Lincoln hoping to find more of the same; however, Lincoln is a much more commercial town. Built at the base of Loon mountain, the main road is a busy thoroughfare which requires driving from place to place.  One highlight of the town was the Village Shops: the old mill building has an interesting two level atrium near the One Love Brewery, a few clothing and tourist shops, and the Moon Cafe and Bakery. They also display the history of the building along the hallways. While there are only a few shops in residence at the moment, I think this space has the potential to be a lot more popular down the road. 

Besides Loon Mountain, Franconia Notch State Park draws tourists to the area. While most people visit here in the warmer months, I still enjoyed some beautiful scenery and walks during my winter visit.  I can imagine that during the summer Echo Lake is a popular swimming destination for hikers in the area.  In the winter, it was a peaceful frozen expanse that gave me views of skiers descending Cannon mountain and the surrounding White Mountains. 

I was hoping to stop by the Old Man in the Mountain historic sight, but sadly during the winter months the road to the site is not plowed.

My main adventure in Franconia Notch during this visit was a winter hike to the Flume Gorge. Because I didn’t have as much time as I originally planned, I only had time to hike to the gorge and back, but even this short hike was worth it.  At the bottom of the first downhill sat a picturesque red covered bridge spanning the Pemigewasset River. Built in 1886, the Flume Gorge bridge is one of the oldest in the state.  The fresh snow sparkled as it drifted down from the trees into the river bed below, and the river peaked out around the snow covered rocks below. The contrast between the red wood of the covered bridge and the bright white of the snowy surround made for a serene winter viewscape.

Soon after the covered bridge is Table Rock.  Much of the large smooth was covered with snow, but sections peaked out, and I enjoyed watching the water flow over the rock and back under the snow layers.  

From here it was a short distance to the gorge. While the boardwalk is removed and hiking prohibited in the winter, the path does go far enough into the gorge to take in the frozen waterfalls of ice. The gorge does allow for ice climbers, and I enjoyed watching a couple navigate the ice flow to the top of the cliff ledge. 

Because of the snow and ice, the hike requires micro spikes, but with those it was a perfect winter hike.