Exploring the Dillon Ice Castle

This winter we checked out the Dillon Ice Castle in Dillon, CO. It was so neat and we highly recommend it for folks in the area next year.

What is the Dillon Ice Castle?

The Dillon Ice Castle is a man-made winter wonderland. There are walls, spires, towers, domes, columns, icicles that shimmer in the sun and are alternately bright white or a deep blue as you gaze around at them. At night they are lit with lights that cycle in color. You can go down slides, crawl through tunnels, and explore mazes. It’s impressive to view and fun to explore for the whole family! More info is available at http://icecastles.com/dillon/.

What to know about visiting the Dillon Ice Castle

We purchased tickets online in advance. When you buy a ticket you buy it for a specific day and time. Don’t wait too long because popular day and time slots fill up fast. We ended up going on a Sunday night because by the time I went to purchase them mid-week Friday & Saturday were unavailable.

The castle will look totally different in both the day and the night, and both are beautiful, so my recommendation is to get the best of both and book a time in the afternoon and stay until it gets dark and the ice is illuminated with all of the beautiful lighting. For us this was 4:00 pm. Since we went with kids we didn’t want to have to wait too long for nightfall in case they started melting down. Do know that you might have to wait in line a bit at the front despite having your ticket in hand as they balance people leaving with those entering if it’s especially busy.

Dress warmly! We had lots of layers and wore boots and snow pants. This kept us warm and dry and we had the option to add and remove layers if needed. We didn’t though – it was cold!

Our adventure at the Dillon Ice Castle

We didn’t very far into the ice castle before our jaws were hanging open and we were snapping pictures left and right.

Once we got over our initial awe we were excited to check out what else was in store. We spent a lot of time in the kids slide area. K slid down with me a few times and then was eager to try it on her own. We skipped the big slide because the line was pretty long. We did jump on the ice throne for a family photo.

There were some tunnels that K crawled through, encouraged toward the end by our friend Michele from Life Like Retirement waiting for her on the other side and me following along behind.

We wandered through the maze for awhile as well. At the entrance to the maze there were some polished ice areas that were like windows, through which we could see each other but distorted.

The fountain in the center of the ice castle held our attention for awhile as the water jumped and arched.

I was especially entranced at the view looking up in the dome room. I just hoped no icicles would fall while we were standing underneath them!

It’s a completely different place from day to night, and we made the rounds a second time to see the sites again all lit up.

Definitely plan to add this place to your must-do list next winter!