Winter fairylands in ice are under construction in six U.S. locations, including Lake Geneva in neighboring Wisconsin
Editor’s Note: Winter Realms will be taking the year off in 2024. We will update in 2025 if it will be returning once again.
Brush up on your songs from “Frozen,” keep your fingers crossed for consistently cold temperatures in Wisconsin, and get poised to snag your tickets for Lake Geneva’s Winter Realms, a re-envisioned version of the classic Ice Castles. Tickets for this year’s attraction are scheduled to go on sale on Dec. 6.
Has your family visited Ice Castles in previous years? Since 2011 it has been an award-winning frozen attraction, built annually in several northern U.S. locations using hundreds of thousands of hand-placed icicles to create a massive set of ice structures weighing more than 20 million pounds. Each castle included LED-lit sculptures, frozen thrones, ice-carved tunnels, slides, fountains and more.
However, last winter’s Ice Castles in Wisconsin was an unmitigated disaster — after all the hard work and expense of construction, it was open for exactly three days in February 2023 before an ill-timed warm spell melted it beyond repair.
This year both Lake Geneva, Wis., and Lake George, N.Y., will be home to Winter Realms, “a new attraction that is less weather dependent” than Ice Castles (which will continue much as before in Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Utah). Winter Realms will enable visitors to “explore sublime winter attractions including horse-drawn wagon rides, igloos, tubing activities, light walks, ice sculptures, ice slides, and an ice throne.” While it sounds like there still may be some ice caves or tunnels, the attraction’s focus has definitely moved away from “winter building” toward “winter activities” so as to last longer in our area’s increasingly warm winters.
Mild spells or other uncooperative winter weather can still affect the construction time and opening schedule of Winter Realms. To be informed of Lake Geneva’s 2024 opening date, subscribe to its newsletter or follow Winter Realms on social media.
Tickets and logistics
Tip: Castles or no castles, tickets will probably still sell fast! The link to purchase tickets online is here for sales starting Dec. 6.
Timing: Typically, the attraction will open in January and operate through late February or early March.
Prices: Ticket prices vary according to designated peak (holidays, weekends) or off-peak times. Tickets are timed-entry and come with a 30-minute arrival window (no limit on length of stay). Some activities, such as horse-drawn wagon rides, souvenir photos, and refreshments are an additional charge.
- General Admission (all ages): $26 off-peak, $30 peak
- Children 3 and under admitted free
Buy in advance: Tickets are nonrefundable. Standby tickets may be available on-site if Winter Realms is not sold out. When Winter Realms must close, refunds to ticket-holders will be issued or no-fee transfers may be possible. Other ticket transfers will incur a fee.
Overnight: The host to Winter Realms is the Geneva National Resort, which offers spiffy overnight accommodations and package deals of all kinds for your family, tied in to Winter Realms as well as to other winter activities, weather permitting (snowshoeing, ice skating, sledding). It even has Ice Princess Brunches in the Grand Ballroom and outdoor snow globes for dining! If you’re feeling spendy, make a weekend of it here.
If you can’t get enough winter, the city of Lake Geneva puts on an annual Winterfest, coming up on its 29th year. In 2024 it is scheduled for Jan. 31-Feb. 4 and includes a downtown ice sculpture tour, igloos and bonfires on the beach, live entertainment, and even the multi-day National Snow Sculpting Championship. Learn more about Lake Geneva tourism here.
Is your family planning a trip to Winter Realms in Lake Geneva this season? Email us and let us know how you liked it!