Meltdown: Season ends for Lake George 'Ice Castles'

LAKE GEORGE | The sprawling glacial wonderland titled "Lake George Ice Castles" —that drew tens of thousands of visitors this winter to the village — has closed for the season. The episodes of warm weather and rain two weeks ago melted much of the structure, Ice Castles Event Manager Brad Buehlhorn said Feb. 25. 'Ice Castles' managers inspected the ice caverns and towers, and decided it wasn't appropriate to keep the attraction open, he said. "We took a look at the castle yesterday morning, and decided that it didn't meet our standards for the best guest experience," he said, noting that the attraction's final day open to the public was Feb. 20. All those who purchased tickets for entry during the final scheduled weekend will be automatically refunded, attraction spokesperson Melissa Smuzynski announced. Tens of thousands of people from all over the northeast U.S. were drawn to the Ice Castles attraction at the Lake Geroge Festival Commons because it was an innovative and intriguing outdoor experience, Buehlhorn said. "Lake George gave us a phenomenal first year — visitors say they had a fantastic experience — and we hope to come back to the village next winter with an expanded concept," he said. DECONSTRUCTING THE GLACIAL STRUCTURES Soon after the last day the frozen fortress was open to the public, Ice Castles' "build team" started deconstructing the caverns, giant ice archways, towers and sculptures that were illuminated by colored LED lights embedded in the ice. For about a week, workers have been dousing the ice caverns and archways with warm water to retrieve the LED lights and the network of plastic tubing that sprayed water on the structures during the construction phase in December, Ice Castles site manager Joe Weiler said. Subsequently, they began knocking down the taller ice pillars with an excavator, leaving them on the ground to melt. Weiler said the deconstruction effort should be concluded by May. "We will be completely offsite by end of April, and it could be sooner if there's warm weather," he said. Buehlhorn said Ice Castles' management appreciated their close working relationship with local government representatives in establishing the Ice Castle attraction in Lake George. "At this point, we expect to be working with town, village and county officials later this year to bring next winter's Lake George Ice Castles to life," he said. "We're happy to add to the outstanding winter experience in Lake George — There's a lot of great stuff already happening up here and we're happy to be a part of it."

Signup for our newsletter

Meltdown: Season ends for Lake George 'Ice Castles'

COMPANY

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

SUBMISSION FORMS

BEYOND THE NEWS