Spicer Ice Castle Then & Now

Have you ever wondered how the Spicer Ice Castle got it’s start? Well, thanks to the Kandiyohi County Historical Society, the original stories printed in the local paper will be forever preserved.

The story goes way back to January of 1987. Gideon Doty and his friend, Mike Lint, were inspired by the record-setting 127-foot-tall St. Paul Winter Carnical ice palace that they had visited the year before. They thought it would be neat if they could build an ice castle out of ice blocks from Green Lake. The original design consisted of a square-based structure with the walls being about 36-feet-long on each side and four 25-foot-high corner pillars with connecting walls and an archway. It would require some 2,000 blocks of ice weighing nearly 250 pounds each.

In order to start such a unique project, they had to resurrect ancient ice-cutting equipment owned by Doty’s uncle, Carl Engwall of Spicer. The 40-year-old tools were last used in 1971 and were sitting outside ever since. Doty and Mike were able to modify the equipment and get it working again. With over a dozen volunteers, the castle was constructed on the shore of Green Lake near Saulsbury Beach. Each block was 14 inches thick and was 2 feet by 2 feet. The first pillar was set with the help of masonry worker Bruce Barber of Spicer. The ice castle was built on the Safari South restaurant property owned by Charles deCathelineau, who also donated the use of the ice block-lifting crane from deCathelineau Construction Co.

After the ice castle was completed, they added colored flood lights inside the structure. They illuminated the castle every night until the structure became unsafe and had to be torn down. It was said that the lights could be seen glowing from across the lake at night. In the end, they ended up using 1,350 blocks of ice to build the 10-ton castle. The warm weather and lack of snow that year was ideal for them to build the structure and the ice was in perfect condition.

Due to this unique project, Spicer’s visitor count grew enourmously that winter. The ice castle was the subject of much media attention including several television stations and newspapers. At that time, they had no idea that the ice castle would become a major winter tourist attraction that would continue for the next 38 years.

Throughout the past 38 years, volunteers have built a variety of unique designs and sizes of ice castles. Some have even included a sledding hill along side of them. And when the ice wasn’t thick enough to build a castle, they built ice chairs for visitors to take photos on. Spicer Winterfest is an annual event that usually runs from mid-January through mid-February. And although there are a wide variety of fun activities and events taking place during that time, the ice castle still remains the highlight of most visits. Click here for a full schedule of events for Spicer WinterFest.

To mark the 40th annual Spicer WinterFest event this year, volunteers decided to create a replica of the ice castle that was built in 1987. The ice castle continues to be built near Saulsbury Beach and although the restaurant has changed names and owners throughout the years, the tradition of building the ice castle remains the same. Whether you’re able to stop by and see the castle during the day or at night when it’s all lit up, you’re sure to get some amazing photos. Just keep in mind that the fence around the structure is for your safety. As always, the amount of days that the ice castle stays up depends on weather conditions and the stability of the ice. If it becomes a hazard, it will need to be knocked down. So don’t wait! Plan your visit to Spicer today!

We’d love if you would share your Spicer WinterFest photos with us using #WillmarLakesArea! You might even get your photo featured on our website!

Credit: J.D. Horning, Shelley Hedlund, & Michael Smith from the West Central Tribune

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