New Hampshire ice castle draws winter enthusiasts

Visitors explore multli-color illuminated ice structures at the Ice Castles attraction in North Woodstock, New Hampshire in the United States, playing in the snow and enjoying horse-drawn sleigh rides. An annual architectural celebration of ice is up and running again in New Hampshire and several other states.

Ice Castles, which are both temporary art installations and tourist attractions, feature towers, tunnels, archways and caves, all created by growing, harvesting and arranging thousands of icicles and then blasting them with sprinklers.

The company behind the displays has expanded since its first installation in 2011. This year it has operations in Utah, Minnesota, two locations in Colorado and New Hampshire, where the site includes a snow tubing hill and ice bar. After a mild winter last year, officials were thrilled that temperatures were cold enough to open earlier this season.