Winter Realms, Lake Geneva's Ice Castles replacement, sets opening date
For the past five years, Ice Castles has been a Lake Geneva winter tradition. The castles are built out of hundreds of thousands of icicles that create walls, towers, tunnels and even slides for people to explore. At night the castles are illuminated with LED lights.
This year, the experience is a bit different. Winter Realms, created by the same artists that build Ice Castles, still has ice caverns, thrones, slides and tunnels, but the creations are said to be more "weather-resilient," according to a news release. That's good news, considering last winter's Ice Castles event in Lake Geneva lasted only three days before unseasonably warm weather melted the castles beyond repair.
Winter Realms is set to open to the public at 3 p.m. Jan. 26. But even with its greater weather resilience, the warm winter we've had so far could be a disruptive factor.
"It is no secret that the weather this year has provided unexpected challenges, but our team has powered through and we are excited to officially announce our grand opening," Ice Castles CEO Kyle Standifird said in a news release. "We do not know how long we will be able to remain open due to unpredictable weather forecasts, and we encourage guests to come as soon as possible and not wait."
Visitors to Winter Realms — which will be at Geneva National Resort & Club — also can look forward to a tubing hill, an ice volcano, horse-drawn sleigh rides and festive food and drink.
Tickets can be purchased on the Winter Realms website.
Tickets are sold in 30-minute time slot increments; once guests enter during their time slot, they are welcome to stay as long as they like.
The Utah-based company that creates Ice Castles and Winter Realms will have another Winter Realms location in Lake George, New York, and Ice Castles locations in Utah, Colorado, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Winter Realms, Lake Geneva's Ice Castles replacement, sets opening date
