Just Announced: Minnesota Ice Castles Unveil This Winter’s Plans

If you love the magic wintertime in Minnesota brings each year, you'll love this news! The Minnesota Ice Castles have announced their plans for the upcoming 2025-2026 winter season, so you can start looking forward to the frosty fun and icy wonder the attraction has to offer.

Here's what we know so far about this upcoming winter's Minnesota Ice Castles:

Where will the 2026 Minnesota Ice Castles be?

In years past, the attraction has moved around to various places in the Twin Cities area. It's been in places like Stillwater, Eden Prairie, New Brighton, and the Mall of America in Bloomington since it first came to Minnesota.

For this upcoming winter, it will be hosted in the same destination as it was last winter, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The Minnesota Ice Castles moved to the fairgrounds for last season and decided to head back for a second year in a row.

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Like last year, the 2026 Minnesota Ice Castles will be hosted near the Grandstand. The attraction's website pinpoints 3818 Randall Ave, Falcon Heights, MN, as the location. Parking will be available for free in the Robin lot. They recommend entering the fairgrounds off Hoyt Avenue into Gate 3.

What will be at the 2026 Minnesota Ice Castles?

While many of the features are weather-dependent, the plans for this winter include things like ice slides, caverns, and archways, along with crawl tunnels and ice sculptures to explore. All of these are fun for the entire family!

If you've never been to an Ice Castles attraction before, the ice has color-changing lights embedded inside, which give everything a magical look as the ice glows at night.

Also planned for this winter is what organizers are calling the "Frozen Tap", an ice bar with winter-themed alcoholic beverages for interested adults to enjoy.

When will this winter's Minnesota Ice Castles open?

As I'm sure you guessed, it really depends on the weather. Organizers need enough time and cold weather to construct the various features you can enjoy on your visit.

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Tickets for this winter go on sale via the Ice Castles website on December 2. Generally, the attraction opens sometime in January based on recent history. Again, it all depends on the weather.

We'll keep you updated as we get closer!