Magical Photos of Ice Castles Starting to Take Shape in Upstate New York

The Ice Castles are starting to take shape in Lake George, New York.

Crews are creating the cool winter attraction coming to New York for the first time this winter. Water lines were laid down in Festival Commons to begin building the magical Ice Castles in December.

Once the water lines were in, the ice-making began.

It'll take several weeks and 25 million pounds of ice to build the hundreds of thousands of icicles that will turn Festival Commons from an open field into a winter wonderland of LED-lit sculptures, frozen thrones, ice-carved tunnels, caverns, slides, and fountains.

And the icicles have started to form...

What Ice Castles Will Look Like When Built

By day, the frozen fortress will glimmer a natural glacial blue. By night, color-changing lights embedded inside the ice will twinkle and dance to whimsical music.

The Ice Castles were expected to be open in Lake George by January 22. But Mother Nature doesn't seem to be cooperating. The date has been changed to simply late January at Icecastles.com/new-york.

When the Ice Castles do finally open, here's what you can expect.

Crawl Tunnels

Squeeze through passageways just large enough for children and adults who are adventurous enough to crawl.

Ice Maze

Get lost in a maze of ice tunnels.

Ice Caverns

Immerse yourself in icy caverns and walk beneath archways of massive icicles dangling overhead like a winter chandelier.

Ice Slides

Glide down one of the ice slides.

Arctic Alcove

Book a VIP experience in a private alcove within the castle, perfect for proposals or other special occasions.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $27 on the weekends, $15 for children, and $22 on the weekends. For more information on timetables and ticket sales, go to Icecastles.com/newyork.