Last winter it was really hard to do anything, well, wintery because of how warm it was. Many events were only able to happen for a short time or even canceled altogether. This winter, though, we're hoping for more normal weather for Minnesota so some of our favorite events can return!

One of those events is the Minnesota Ice Castles.

ALSO READ: Huge MN Holiday Festival is Back this Winter After a Year Off

Minnesota Ice Castles

The Ice Castles are put together by a Utah-based company. They have five different ice castles that they put on throughout the country.

They've been doing this since 2011 and have been providing families and friends with a fun, winter outing ever since.

Minnesota Ice Castles, AJ Mellor
Minnesota Ice Castles, AJ Mellor
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If you've never been to the Ice Castles, they'll feature caverns, archways, ice slides, and crawl tunnels. Even Oprah loves the Ice Castles! They quote her on their website saying "Magical...Twinkling and sense-defying and straight out of fairy tales."

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Professional ice artisans will come together in November to begin working on their creations in the one-acre area. They grow their own icicles that they then hand place to make their creations. It's amazing!

Minnesota Ice Castles, AJ Mellor
Minnesota Ice Castles, AJ Mellor
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They'll also put color-changing LED lights in the ice so everything will light up when it's dark out.

Minnesota Ice Castles, Viraj Nager
Minnesota Ice Castles, Viraj Nager
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Where is the Minnesota Ice Castles' New Location?

The Ice Castles have been in Maple Grove for a while but this winter they'll be at a new location, the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

The plan is to open to the public in early January, according to their press release. They'll stay open until late February or early March depending on the weather.

13 Ways Nature Predicts a Harsh Winter in Minnesota

Nature is pretty amazing and can do some strange stuff that sometimes we don't totally understand. Some of those crazy things are ways that nature can predict there will be a harsh winter for us in Minnesota. These are according to the Farmer's Alamanac.

Gallery Credit: Carly Ross

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