Incredible Ice Castles of Edmonton, Alberta

"When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels." (Anonymous)

OR.... Or you could make awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, majestic ice castles complete with towers, slides, and caves.

Well, if you are Edmonton, Alberta, that's what you would do. (More accurately, that's what they DID!) And last weekend, we went to explore this Narnia-esque wonder as a family.

I had been seeing advertisements about the Edmonton Ice Castle over and over again on Facebook. (Facebook must know how travel-obsessed I am.) I had been hinting repeatedly to my husband that we just had to go see it, and for about three weekends in a row we had made plans, and then everything would fall through. Last weekend, I announced that I was going no matter what.

That weekend, the weather was not the best for an afternoon outside of wandering in the cold among towers of ice. The day we went it dipped down to -18 degrees, with a bit of wind chill to make it around -20 at times. All week my weather app had been telling me it would only get as cold as -13, but unfortunately that didn't happen.

The Edmonton Ice Castle from the outside.

The Edmonton Ice Castle is located in Hawrelak Park in Edmonton's park areas, down by the riverbank. The address is officially 9330 Groat Road, but beware if you type this address into your Maps app. The app led us past the park entrance and told us to pull over on the side of the busy road in the middle of nowhere. So you might want to find Hawrelak Park using a different method.

Making and maintaining the Edmonton Ice Castle seems like a huge endeavour!

Once in the park, the castle is super easy to see. There is a large parking lot right outside, and when we visited, parking was plentiful.

I would highly, highly recommend buying your tickets in advance. Tickets allow you to enter quickly, without having to stand in line outside in the cold. We saw a few people who did not have tickets try to enter the castle, and they were told it would be about a 45 minute wait while the attendants made sure all of the ticket holders entered first. There are only a certain amount of people allowed inside the castle at a time, so tickets are sold in time slot packages.

Snow sculpture in the middle of being created.

We bought tickets for 4:30 p.m., which was the earliest the castle opened that day. Because I am such a keener, we got there early and found the gates locked up tight. There is a park just adjacent to the ice castle, so we took a little wander around. That weekend there was an outdoor festival planned, and the park was getting all set up for the event.

I enjoyed watching the snow sculptors make giant shapes from boulders of snow. My children did not express as much appreciation for the art, and decided they were already too cold and wanted to go home. My husband tied them over with some warm, fresh mini-donuts, which helped to curb the whining. Then it was time to enter the castle.

A finished snow sculpture in Hawrelak Park.

From this point on, it is going to be difficult to write this post. There are not many words that can describe how amazing this structure was.

The castle was a maze of pathways, open rooms, enclosed loops, and ramps made of ice and snow. In the areas that featured a crystalline roof, sharp daggers of dripping icicles, like frozen chandeliers, hung above our heads. A soft blue light filtered dreamily through the walls and ceilings of the castle.

Vibrant blues and teals are the main ice castle colors. 

We entered the castle through a high tunnel domed with icicles, brightened by a skylight shaved into the design of a snowflake. Past the first tunnel, we emerged into a giant courtyard, surrounded with massive walls built only of ice, shaded a vibrant teal blue from the setting sun. In the middle of the courtyard loomed a misshapen ice tower, where a slide for young children had been built.

An ice chandelier hovers above my head.

Off to the right of the courtyard was a circular room open to the sky. Peppered around the edges of the room were doorways leading off to other areas of the ice castle. In the middle of the open room was a working water fountain, bubbling happily away despite the freezing temperatures. The sound of burbling, running water seemed out of place in this silent, frozen world.

Parker stands in front of the bubbling fountain.

We were glad we had dressed warm. Being inside the castle and surrounded by the cold structure seemed to drop the outside temperature by a few degrees. It wasn't long until the kids were complaining about being cold (again) and begging to leave. Since we had paid about $45 for the whole family to enjoy the sight, I pushed them to stay a little longer.

Even all bundled up, the kids got cold quickly.

In an attempt to convince the kids that this place was worth being chilly for, we tried some of the ice slides. There were three slides located all around the ice castle: two built for children 42" or taller, and one built for younger kids. All three slides were completely carved from pure ice. Parker was only able to go down the little slide, and although Avy was tall enough to try all three, she opted to only participate on the medium-sized slide.

The ice slides were a way to make the kids stay longer at the castle.

The smallest slide was located in the lumpy courtyard ice tower, and curved around the tower slightly in a gentle slope. To access the middle-sized slide, you had to walk up a twisting ramp to the 'second story' of the ice castle, and were then able to slide in a straight line (like a traditional playground slide) down to the courtyard area.

The third slide was crazy! I don't blame Avy for being intimidated by it, and I could totally see why younger kids were not allowed to ride. This slide was also accessible from the second floor of the ice castle, and began with a steep drop that curved into a sharp twist, ending in the courtyard. To ride this slide, you had to sit on a Crazy Carpet for maximum speed. Narrow walls of ice bordered the slide to prevent riders from flying off the edge and getting injured.

Me flying down the third slide on my crazy carpet.

Joey and I got to ride the third slide exactly one time each. It was thrilling and I would have liked to try it a few more times, but by this point, the kids were legitimately cold. Even the thrill of ice slides couldn't beat the idea of our warm car and its toasty heaters blasting. We decided to head out after spending just over one hour in the ice castle.

One last family photo before we leave the Edmonton Ice Castle. 

The only thing I was a little sad about was that we were 30 minutes away from sunset and from the employees turning on the evening lights. From all of the pictures that I had seen of the ice castle at night, the evening illumination would have been pretty spectacular to see. Hopefully I can make it one more time, and make the visit at night!

When the sun began to set, the colors of the ice became surreal.

I would highly recommend a visit to the Edmonton Ice Castle. If you choose to see it after reading this post, please be aware that February 28, 2018 is the last day to visit this year. But if you are reading it past that date, make a mental note to check it out next season!

Towering walls of ice surround my little family!

Just a couple of quick observations about the ice castle to help with your visit: 

1. Dress warm! Even if the day is somewhat nice, just being inside the castle surrounded by the ice and frigid air makes it seem colder. You will appreciate being bundled up to the max!

2. This place isn't particularly wheelchair or stroller friendly. The ground is just packed snow, and the hundreds of feet walking around the area makes the packed snow a little mushy. Pushing a stroller or wheelchair through this loose snow would NOT be fun. Also, there are a couple of places where you can walk up a ramp to the second floor of the castle, but the passageways are narrow and I highly doubt they'd be wide enough for a stroller or wheelchair.

3. If you are visiting with young children or babies, I suggest wrapping them warmly into a little sled or toboggan in lieu of a stroller.

4. No food or drink is allowed within the ice castle. So if you are thinking of wandering around with a hot drink and snack, think again. Consume your treats before entering the grounds.

5. For a real experience, come in the evening when the ice castle is all lit up with spectacular lighting. We were SO CLOSE to being able to see this for ourselves. The attendant we talked to told us the typical time to see the nighttime lights is 6:00 p.m. If you can stand the cold long enough, come maybe around 5:00 p.m. to catch the ice castle in the day light, and then stay for the evening show!

This chair needs more credit - look at the carving!

In case my words didn't do the Edmonton Ice Castle justice, please watch the video below so you can really see what I am trying to convey. If you liked the video, I implore you to subscribe to my YouTube channel and help me regain my position in the YouTube Partner Program. Feel free to share this post or the video with friends and other travel lovers!

Have you ever been to the Edmonton Ice Castle, or an ice castle in your area? Leave your impressions in the comments below!