Americas 10 Best Winter Destinations To See Stunning Ice Sculptures

Ice sculptures draw a host of admirers who flock to their icy façades for different reasons. The artistic ones usually visit to watch the sculpting process as much as the final creation. Excitement chasers love the interactivity of immersing themselves in larger sculptures like castles and palaces. And the well-to-do appreciate the luxurious look of a transparent, icy piece of art. The popularity of ice sculptures isn't new. Many cultures have sculpted ice, either for practical purposes or beauty.

Four thousand years ago, the Inuit people of Alaska began sculpting buildings from snow. In the 1700s, there are records of a Russian empress, called Anna Ivanovna, commissioning the creation of the first ice palace. And in the 1600s, the Chinese started transforming ice into lantern shapes, then putting candles inside them. Incidentally,  the Chinese village where this practice began now exhibits intricate ice sculptures in the world's largest ice festival.  Like China, the U.S. has many destinations where winter celebrations showcase ice sculptures as part of the festivities. 

Many of these destinations are in snowy ski resort areas, picturesque small towns in cold regions, and wintry lakeside towns. We searched through travel boards, Reddit forums, and travel review sites to find some of the best ice sculptures in the U.S., ensuring they were in wintry destinations you could spend a whole vacation enjoying if you wanted.

The story behind this historic St. Paul Winter Carnival explains its fame. In 1886, the celebration began as an answer to news reporters who had visited Minnesota and called it "as uninhabitable as Siberia" (via St. Paul Winter Carnival). Naturally, the business interests in the state could not have that reputation circulating. Their response was to organize a larger-than-life festival with an unheard-of 106-foot-high ice palace to attract visitors. Today, the festival is still going strong, and ice sculptures remain a big part of the festivities.

Lucky visitors may visit in a year when one of St. Paul's ornate ice palaces is on display. There have only been 37 of these ice palaces since 1886, as they only appear in significant years, such as important anniversaries of the festival. Other sculptures include special installations, like in 2024 when artists sculpted ice pieces from children's drawings; figures sculpted only from snow; and gorgeous sculptures carved live during an ice sculpting competition.

The festival comes with a packed schedule of yearly rituals. There's the spectacular King Boreas Grande Parade with its unbelievable floats, a traditional crowning of a royal family to represent the carnival, and a torchlight parade featuring the Vulcans from the legend around the Carnival. With all these events, visitors could easily plan a full vacation and never get bored. One visitor explained the attractions in the vast festival on Reddit, "Basically there are two main parts. One is the fairgrounds with snow sculptures, the second is Rice Park with carved ice, music, and food. There is also a parade at Rice Park for one night (second Saturday I think). The rest of the activities are called part of the carnival (i.e. festival), but they're not the main event."

The interactive sculptures at Ice Castles' locations in Colorado and New Hampshire are nothing short of breathtaking. Life-size sculpted structures with stalactite-like icicles hanging from the top and tunnels and rooms that can be explored make the experience popular with thousands of visitors who flock to the destinations for day trips and extended vacations (per Springs Magazine). In Colorado, the icy sculptures can be found in the towns of Cripple Creek and Silverthorne. In New Hampshire, Ice Castles' sculptures are located in North Woodstock.

Cripple Creek's attractions include an ice slide and an icy maze that will challenge even the most attentive visitor. Kids will love the slides and tunnels. But adults who visit will also have fun, as there's an ice bar serving booze-filled concoctions like an alcohol-infused hot chocolate. After a visit, Cripple Creek is filled with small museums and numerous casinos to round off the day. Like Cripple Creek, Silverthorne's Ice Castles' exhibit has ice slides, ice tunnels, and a bar sculpted from ice. Day trippers who love winter sports will find the rest of Silverthorne dreamy. Skiing, snowshoeing, and even ice fishing can be enjoyed around town.

New Hampshire's Ice Castles' sculptures are more extensive, providing hours of family fun in its Fairytale Village. In addition to a 30-foot-high castle complete with tunnels, throne rooms, and other nooks, there's a Winter Fairy Village with a garden of picturesque ice sculptures, and a forest with trees sparkling with lights. One visitor was all praise on Tripadvisor, "As a repeat visitor to the amazing ice castles, the experience of the horse-drawn sleigh ride is what is the most memorable part of the adventure. The beautiful castles and the individual ice sculptures certainly are the mainstay of the attraction."

This stupefyingly large Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Winter Festival happens from late February to early March in one of the coldest states in the U.S., so it isn't surprising that ice sculpture is part of the festivities. These aren't regular ice sculptures, though. The sculptures are made from compressed snow and are a big part of Fur Rondy, as the festival is locally called.

The popular festival is a celebration of the rugged resilience of the Alaskan people, with challenging sporting competitions filling most of the days. The sculptures themselves are created by competing teams. Winners of the competition go on to represent Alaska in national championships. Visitors interested in the more intricate details of ice sculpting can watch as the competitors carve the pieces. The final vote for the winners is up to onlookers, so get ready to make your voice heard if you do visit. Fur Rondy's other competitions — an ice-breaking contest, dog sled races, and a wacky blanket toss — provide even more entertainment. But there are dozens more events.

Visitors could easily fill their days with the festivities at Fur Rondy, but it would be a shame to miss out on the breathtaking scenery around Anchorage. Gorgeous glaciers and stark, snowy landscapes showcase Alaska's wild side. And the wildlife around the city is an animal lover's dream. Bears, docile-looking moose, wolves, and reindeer are a few of the creatures visitors can see on one of Anchorage's popular wildlife cruises. As one of Alaska's main cities, Anchorage is also home to a large selection of breweries and restaurants to satisfy every palate. Visitors with more time can visit nearby towns with interesting mountain hikes to see more of Alaska.

At its inception, the McCall Winter Carnival had only one goal — to bring color and fun into the dreariness of winter. The carnival is now the place to go for entertaining events like a Mardi Gras-style parade, colorful fireworks, and torchlight parades (per Big Country News). Also included in the festivities are creative displays of amazing snow sculptures.

The stunning sculptures are placed all around downtown McCall, showcasing the artistry of their creators. Like the best exhibits, McCall's features ice castles that stand tall over the thousands of visitors who flock to the town every winter to admire their details. Some years also see sculptures of animals, creatures that look like they should belong in a fairy tale, and more. The Winter Carnival happens over a two-day weekend, making it a good destination for a weekend escape. 

Visitors wanting to experience the surrounding area will be happy to know that McCall is a good town from which to plan a day trip to the outdoorsy attractions of Boise, which is around two hours away. The lakeside town is itself a delightful destination, so a trip could very well center around the town alone.

There are only two warm events at the Knickerbocker Ice Festival —  the chili and hot dog eating competitions. Everything else is hyper-focused on ice. Past events have included ice golf, where golf is played on a frozen lake, ice-cold kickball, and ice bowling. Among these icy events, the live ice sculpting displays scattered around the town of Lake Mills are where ice sculpture lovers will want to find themselves.

From late January to February, visitors can watch while experts cut and carve into blocks of ice until a creative piece emerges. After the live sculpting, dozens of sculptures are placed in front of businesses all over the town, making them perfect to enjoy on a leisurely walk through Lake Mills' streets. During the holidays, these streets are draped in Christmas finery with a twinkling Christmas tree in the town square and a huge holiday market. One reviewer on Reddit raved: "In February there's an ice festival in Lake Mills where they have ice sculptures throughout town and other events. My wife said it was as close to a Hallmark Christmas movie as it comes."

After seeing the ice sculptures, Lake Mills has enough attractions to make it a good day-trip destination from Madison or Milwaukee, which is under an hour away. In town, visitors can sample local sips from a winery or the Tyranena Brewing Company's brewery and tasting room. For more local finds, Ephraim Pottery has locally made pottery in the American Art tradition, and Lake Milled Crafts has hand-crafted finds that are perfect to keep or give as gifts.

As a destination, the prestigious Aspen resort area in Colorado's Rocky Mountains is all about snow and skiing slopes. Needless to say, these aren't your typical neighborhood slopes. In Aspen, everything is painted with luxury. From million-dollar chalets to being home to the U.S.'s most expensive vacation destination, visitors can expect everything to be premium. That is also true of Winterskol — except for the ice sculptures. The snowy creations are made by teams of local students, not seasoned professionals. The result is homey sculptures that add charm to the poshness all around.

Visitors can watch while the sculptures are made, or simply admire the finished products before or after skiing. Skiing is Aspen's main draw, with five different ski resorts offering slopes for varying abilities. The wintery destination is also perfect for snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and snowboarding. After a day on the mountains, Aspen's après-ski is unmatched. Visitors can relive their wins on the slopes over fine wine at The Wine Bar at Little Nell, with live music and cocktails at Limelight Lounge, or at dozens of other eateries.

When the outdoors is off the menu, Aspen has everything a visitor could need to enjoy a vacation. Comedy and live music venues, amazing retail shops and brands, and soothing spas await. Meal times get the royal treatment with Bosq, the town's Michelin-starred restaurant, and numerous other fine dining establishments.

True ice sculpture enthusiasts who enjoy watching blocks of ice transform into art will want to head to Vail Winterfest for the opportunity to watch professional ice sculptors at work. For seven days before the official opening of the January festival, visitors can watch as the themed pieces come to life under the expert hands of the artists. For 2025, the theme was owls, and it was accentuated with immersive touches like owl hoots that emanate from the exhibits every evening. Since the sculptures are professionally carved, visitors can expect intricate masterpieces set amidst the snowy vistas of Vail. Come evening, each piece is illuminated until 10 p.m., adding romance and magic to the experience. 

Vail itself is a premier skiing destination with snow-capped mountains providing a picturesque backdrop to cobblestone streets. One of the town's major hubs of activity is Vail Village with its upscale shopping. Popular Patagonia has all the cold-weather gear visitors need, and shops like Vail Sports and Kid Sports have skiing equipment for adults and kids. There are also numerous restaurants serving cuisines of all types. And visitors wanting to book an extended stay will find plenty of accommodations, with one being a particularly elegant resort complete with its own private ski lounge.

Frankenmuth, Michigan, may be what you picture when you imagine the perfect Christmas town. The holidays are big in the popular town, with festivities like caroling, Christmas story retellings at a musical tree, and Santa activities for the kids. In January, Frankenmuth dresses itself in pretty snow sculptures for its Zehnder's Snowfest celebration. The snow sculptures are the end products of two major snow carving competitions — the World Class Snow Sculpting Competition and the State of Michigan Snow Sculpting Competition, which both happen during the festival. But it's not all snow. There is also a multi-block ice carving exhibition and a collegiate ice carving challenge.

In 2025, there were a total of 27 snow sculptures featuring cute gnomes, owls, and other animals. Visitors get to vote for the winners, adding to the fun of the festival. Other fun activities on the calendar include a petting zoo and fireworks. Those who want to spend a few extra days in Frankenmuth will find the town worthy of exploration. The Bavarian-style town offers up German eats like German-style chicken meals and genuine German cheeses, along with a Bavarian festival. 

ICE! is a popular event designed to entice the young and the young at heart with an animated character both groups hold dear. Kids won't care that the artists used 2 million pounds of ice to make the gorgeous creations. What they will care about are the many scenes from "Frosty the Snowman," brought to life through the fantastic ice sculptures scattered around the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, where the ice sculpture show is held.

The scenes immerse visitors in the story of Frosty with interactive elements. Other ways to enjoy the sculptures include ice slides that younger ones can slide down and a separate nativity scene with 19 ice-sculpted characters from the Christmas story. Visitors planning on seeing the stunning sculptures will want to arrange an extended stay, as San Antonio is home to some of Texas's best attractions.

The San Antonio River Walk is the city's crowning glory and one of the top attractions in Texas, thanks to a serene river flanked by eateries, shops, and attractions. The Alamo and the nearby missions offer an opportunity to experience important parts of Texas history. And San Antonio is part of where Tex-Mex cuisine had its beginnings, so lovers of the cuisine will have a ball. Visitors on a budget will find that San Antonio has more free activities than any other destination in the U.S., so they won't leave with empty pockets after enjoying the city.

Professional-grade ice sculptures are a sight to behold. If you enjoy intricate designs that show true craftsmanship, the International Snow Sculpture Championships is the place to see them. The competition happens over 11 days from January to February and draws professional sculptors from around the world to the popular ski resort town of Breckenridge. At the end of sculpting, the pieces stay up for visitors to enjoy temporarily. 

The first five days are exclusively for the sculptors. International and national teams are given 12-foot-high blocks of ice to carve their expert creations from. In 2026, teams will come from six European countries, including Italy and Germany. Argentina will also have a team, as will Vermont and Breckenridge.  At the end of the five days, the sculptures go on display in downtown Breckenridge for visitors to admire before they disappear.  

One attendee had this to say about the event on Tripadvisor, "This signature winter event has been going on every year for more than two decades. Teams come from across the globe come to carve snow into impossibly breathtaking sculptures fit for an ice cave in Xanadu, or right here, for thousands upon thousands of sightseers to enjoy!" After admiring the sculptures, visitors may want to explore the skiing paradise that is Breckenridge. The town benefits from being located along five peaks of the Rocky Mountains that offer different slopes for skiers of all skill levels. For art lovers, there is a rich arts scene with a theater, galleries, and a few opportunities for visitors to partake in hands-on arts.

We began our research by looking at niche blogs focused on winter celebrations and ice sculptures. Once we had a list of top events featuring ice sculptures, we ensured the places they were held were destinations where visitors could spend a few days enjoying other activities. Armed with this list of ice sculptures in travel-worthy destinations, we scoured travel review boards like Tripadvisor and Reddit to see which ones had the best reviews. The final list features only the best ice sculptures in wintry destinations across the U.S.