Utah's Most Magical And Popular Winter Experience Won't Be Returning In 2025

Some Utahns may have to rethink their winter celebration plans with the news that the beloved Ice Castles art installation isn't going to be making an appearance in 2025. 

Midway, Utah, known as "Little Switzerland," has been the home to the Ice Castles for years. A typical Ice Castle was 25 million pounds of ice built up across 1 acre in Midway with dangling icicles, tunnels, arches, thrones, slides, and more all lit up with LED lighting. But this year, the company announced on Instagram that it wouldn't be building this year. The Instagram notice reads: "As we shift into a new chapter, we're pausing our Utah location this season to thoughtfully rework our build process and better adapt for future weather conditions."

Last winter, the organization had to close the attraction in the first week of February. This might have been a few weeks earlier than expected, and there had apparently been doubts starting in 2024 over the feasibility of the installation. It would seem that last year's early closure could have had an impact on this year's decision. And it is not a permanent closure; the company emphasized that it was just a "pause" on their social media post about what must have been a difficult choice. Fingers crossed that it'll be back in Utah next year.

If the Instagram comments are any indication, the Ice Castles in Midway, Utah will definitely be missed this year. About 30 minutes from Park City, another pretty and beloved Utah mountain town, Midway has been trending towards warmer and drier winters, which makes building such an elaborate structure out of ice into quite the challenge. There are plans in place to determine how to craft the installation so that it doesn't melt as quickly.

Ice Castles has its roots in Utah. Brent Christensen, the company's co-founder, first built an ice cave for his kids in 2011 in their yard at home in Alpine, Utah. That grew into a massive and magical winter wonderland built by dozens of people. Ice Castles in Midway have attracted thousands of visitors each year it's been active.

If you can't imagine winter without an Ice Castles fix, Utah isn't the only place where it does its magic. Ice Castles also makes winter playgrounds in Woodstock, New Hampshire; in Cripple Creek and Silverthorne in Colorado; Edmonton in Alberta, Canada; and near Minneapolis, Minnesota.