The Midway Ice Castles 2016

The Midway ice castles are truly one of the coolest things I have ever seen. We went a few years ago and I just felt like a kid, I was so awestruck it was amazing! So we definitely wanted to return. Last time we went on the last day, after a viral video posted and it was super crowded so we specifically planned on doing it on a weekday to hope the crowd would be a bit smaller and it definitely was. Last time we waited over an hour, this time we went right in.

Quick Details:

Length: Well it depends on how much you want to explore, but it is pretty big!
Difficulty: While generally flat, it is slushy and icy and hard to tromp around sometimes. Plus there are definitely slick spots.
Elevation Gain: n/a
Restroom: This year it was porta-pottys in the parking lot.
Dogs? No. They had a problem with yellow snow.
Extra Info: As mentioned it is slushy and icy. Good boots are definitely recommended.

To get here, well it depends on the year. This year it was in Soldier Hollow.

On to the adventure!

Heading in through the entrance.

The main courtyard.

Last year we made the mistake of going to the right or counter clockwise and learned most room exits came before the entrance, so we figured we should have gone the other way. This year we went to the left, clockwise and the rule did stay true for all of the rooms but one.

I love the various ice structures.

Small narrow section near the slide entrance.

More of the cool walls.

Back to the courtyard and the fountain.

A little slide.

Entering the back section.

A bunch of icicles hanging from an archway.

Another wall.

The maze didn’t seem as neat this time, but there was some cool stuff.

More icicles.

Somewhere in the back section.

Waiting to go into The Dome. There was a line, so I thought it must be neat!

Orion above.

Entering The Dome.. or the death trap as I see it. o.O

This room is a bunch of large icicles hanging over your head with a skylight. According to the pamphlet icicles hanging off a roof fall because the surface they are hanging from warms up, but icicles hanging off other icicles melt from the bottom up, so they are unlikely to fall on you. However… it is still a little nerve-wracking.

And yet, really freaking awesome looking at the same time.

The exit heading back towards The Maze. The Dome is one of the rooms with the entrance on the wrong side.

After The Dome, we found we had missed The Slot Canyon so we decided to check that out, it was a favorite last time.

They really are narrow!

Fun texture.

The exit.

We found ourselves back in The Maze and saw some neat wall details.

The Ice Castles are for lovers. Honestly I was taking a picture of the walls, and didn’t notice them until going through my photos. I generally try to avoid getting people in my pictures, although that is hard for popular attractions such as this. Then again, this is kind of a cute shot.

Back in the courtyard and the fountain.

Looking back into the back section.

We found a throne! I had heard there was a throne this year and seeing it I am a little disappointed. Considering the nature of the castles, I thought it would be more.. well, Game Of Thrones looking, but with ice structures. Oh well, it was neat.

The fountain again.

Ice structures.

We found a really bright alcove.

With a short tunnel to crawl through. Didn’t go on my hands and knees to avoid getting wet, and kind of crouch crawled… which was a bit rough on the knees, but it was neat.

More pointy stabeys.

Wall details.

More stabeys.

We decided to go through the castle again searching for other things we might have missed.

Back area, Dome entrance on the right.

Inside The Dome (of dooooom)!

Stabeys!

I found this structure that reminded me of The Heart Of Timpanogos.

Image from our adventure in Timpanogos Cave for comparison. Both formations carved from the same force of nature, water. In fact that is one of the things I like most about the Ice Castles. It’s not a bunch of blocks, the formations are natural looking. In fact a lot of the formations you see here are similar to formations you see in caves.

More stabeys.

The top of The Dome. Not sure what shape the skylight was going for.

Purple!

Back into The Maze.

I love all of the fun ice structures.

Another fun archway.

And back into The Slot Canyon.

More wall formations.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the slide because I didn’t want to have a cold wet butt, however I did notice the line seemed to put you on top of the ice castle and I wanted to check out the view. Not to mention, the line had died down considerably so we decided to go for it.

More walls.

Getting up there.

Starting to see the lights of The Heber Valley below.

People milling about in the courtyard below.

The line, and the lights below.

Better shot of the courtyard.

Fun formation up here.

Courtyard again.

The slide! Like I said I didn’t want a cold butt, but my coat was long enough that it wasn’t an issue, actually it was pretty fun.

The fountain again.

And heading towards the exit.

The outer walls.

The glowing heart.

With Heber Valley below.

With Orion.

Well that was a great adventure again, and I am really happy we came out to see it again. Definitely less crowded than last time, although it did seem a little smaller. No matter, it was still neat and fun to wander around this amazing giant artwork. Definitely worth the visit! 10 out of 10 squirrels!

As for difficulty, as mentioned the ground is mostly snow and slush but there are definitely icy spots. Wear good boots, and tread carefully. Otherwise it is not too bad.

Dogs are not welcome. Too much yellow snow became a problem so they were banned.