Ice Castles at Loon Mountain...a Winter Wonderland Date Night

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of winter. I think snow is beautiful in pictures, but the multiple layers of warm clothing, the treacherous driving and walking, and the perpetual snow clean-up has me pining for more temperate places to call home. 

Nevertheless, I try to find something fun to do in the long New England winter, and this fit the bill. Ice Castles, at Loon Mountain in New Hampshire's White Mountains, was the setting for a very fun weekend away with friends. 

Between the picturesque main street  and the onset of another snowy evening, Mother Nature helped to set the scene for a New England winter wonderland. 

Dinner and laughs first. 

Ice Castles are a collection of ice caves, sculptures, archways and tunnels made of snow and ice. Colored lights are embedded within each piece and flicker on and off, set to music, such as songs popular from movies, like Frozen. 

The idea for Ice Castles was born from the mind of a dad who built an ice rink in his back yard, after moving his family from sunny California to snowy Utah. The rink evolved to include a slide, cave and tower that his children called the Ice Castle. Ice Castles have two New England locations at Loon and Stratton Mountains, as well as one in Minnesota and one in Utah.  

The displays are built by fusing icicles together. There is no internal sub structure within the ice. They create a lattice and spray it with water to solidify, thicken, and grow each piece. 

My throne...

Wait...are we taking a selfie or is someone else taking it? Who knows?

For this weekend anyway, winter wasn't so bad. We shared plenty of laughs, good drinks and good food. And we took in the sites of the White Mountains' version of a winter wonderland. 

The view from our hotel room.

We made our fair share of memories with great friends...memories that will last long after the ice of these castles melts away. 

Have you been to Ice Castles, or something similar? If you live in a place where you experience a cold, snowy winter, how do you pass the time?