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MIDWAY — After six successful seasons, the iconic Midway Ice Castle is back and scheduled to open Friday. However, due to the unseasonably warm winter, the castle may not be open long.
Midway Ice Castle owner Ryan Davis said the business started in 2009 after Brent Christensen tried to build an ice cave in his backyard with his daughter. Christensen developed the method of freezing the water layer by layer that is now used to build the ice castles. Christensen teamed up with Davis, and now the ice castles are created each winter in four states and have received more than 500,000 visitors, Davis said.
The Midway Ice Castle was first created at the Zermatt & Homestead Resort and was moved to the Midway town square in 2014. Due to the growing number of visitors, the attraction was again moved and can now be visited at Soldier Hollow.
“We had a huge turnout last year. It was amazing,” Davis said. “We didn’t have enough parking and the streets got clogged... Soldier Hollow turned out being a great location for us. It’s a really good venue and (has) good synergy with the tubing and the sleigh rides down in that part of Midway.”
The ice castles typically take a month to construct, but due to the warm weather this winter, the Midway castle took almost two months to finish, Davis said. This year’s acre-sized model includes five waterfalls and a built-in light show.
“When you go up on a clear night and you have the light show going and you can see the stars, it is amazing,” Davis said. “The view of the ice and the lights and the stars looking over the Heber Valley is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. It’s breathtaking.”
The ice castle will open to visitors Friday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. The ice castle is currently scheduled to only be open Saturday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Monday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. due to the warm weather. However, if the weather permits, the ice castle will remain open for as long as possible, Davis said.
Tickets are only available online and are limited.
