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What to expect at the NH Ice Castle
The New Hampshire Ice Castle is open for a brief period of time every year. This February my husband and I decided to give it a try. I went ahead with tickets for the castle as well as tickets for the sleigh ride. I admit I was a little worried because both set of tickets were scheduled for the same time. I was also worried because tickets were sold for every half hour increment throughout the day. I wasn’t sure if that meant we could only visit for 30 minutes. If we were limited to 30 minutes, I had my doubts on the trip being worth the effort. But, like I said, the New Hampshire Ice Castle was cool –literally.
We actually spent about two hours exploring the grounds.
Timing was flexible once we entered the park. After signing the consent forms, we were given tickets to the sleigh ride. We were told we could get in the line for the sleigh ride anytime we wanted.
Ice Castle Pros and Cons
| Pros |
|---|
| Entrance to the park is relatively inexpensive. |
| The experience is unique, and the atmosphere is fun. |
| Lines for the children’s activities were long, but they seemed to move rather quickly. |
| The experience got us out of the house. |
| Driving there through the White Mountains was pretty. |
| Located in the White Mountains, it would be easy to turn the event into a weekend getaway. North Conway is about an hour way. |
| The Ice Castle is located near a small ski resort town (~10 minutes away), with shops and decent food options. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Expect lots of children. |
| Once you leave the park, you cannot go back in, so be sure to take all of your warm items in when you enter. |
| I don’t recommend paying extra for a sleigh ride. The ride was relatively short, and there was nothing exciting to see…at least during the day. This is a good option to save your money. |
| Other in-park purchases, such as snacks and photos taken by the ice castle staff, are expensive. |
| Tickets are non-refundable but are transferable for a fee. We paid an additional $15/ticket to reschedule from a dangerously cold day to the next day. |
Ice Castle Highlights
We found the New Hampshire Ice Castle is an enjoyable way to spend the day. We would recommend the experience for families, couples, or even a friend’s weekend. We found there was approximately 2-3 hours of stuff to do – less if very cold. We took advantage of the many photo opportunities. We meandered through the walking trail and checked out the ice and snow sculptures, while enjoying hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies from the snack bar. Activities for kids include tubing, castle mazes, and an ice slide. Overall, the ice castle is a fun experience to break up the long winter.
If you are a fair-weather winter fan, read my post on ways to enjoy winter indoors.
