Bringing your shovel and pail to the beach this summer? The competition has gotten mighty stiff.
01. World’s Tallest Sand Castle – New Jersey
On October 29, 2013, Ed Jarrett broke the Guinness World Record for the Tallest Sandcastle for the fourth time. The sculpture stood 38 feet, 2 inches tall on Jenkinson’s Beach in Point Pleasant.
02. Humpty Dumpty – Australia
03. Hotel
04. Geometric Sand Castles
These castles by Calvin Seibert look simpler than others on the list, but I love that they’re made in a natural setting, and without all the fancy equipment and special sand.
05. Rapunzel’s Tower
Can you spot her ‘letting her hair down’?
06. Here Is the Church…
Bonus points if you can finish the nursery rhyme this sculpture represents!
07. Valencia, Spain
08. Fairy Tale Castle – Zandsculpturen Festival, Belgium
09. Palace of the Queen of Hearts – Zandsculpturen Festival, Belgium
10. Palace and Grounds – Netherlands
11. Atlantis
12. Stubborn Turnip – Bulgaria
13. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
Can you spot Maleficent standing guard?
14. Illuminated Castle
15. Princess and Her Castle
16. Castle with Many Roofs
17. Nativity Scene – Venice
18. Castle with Arches
Love the detail of the “boulders” out front, and how the archways seem to defy gravity!
19. Unearthed Man – Harrison Hot Springs, BC
Sculptures don’t have to be tall to be mind-blowing.
20. Castle in a Forest
Something about those trees is too adorable!
21. Dragon Eats Castle Builder
Sweet revenge.
22. Dragon Dwellers – Harrison Hot Springs, BC
Built by Walter McDonald and William Lloyd for the 2008 Tournament of Champions in British Columbia, Canada.
23. Praying Monk – Texas
Another masterpiece by Walter McDonald and William Lloyd, built for the Sandfest Competition at Port Aransas, Texas.
24. Mechanical Mind – Federal Way, Washington
This epic sand being was built for the International Sand Sculpture championships in Federal Way, Washington.
25. Winnie the Pooh & Friends
26. Castle on a Mountaintop
The waterfalls are what make this one epic.
27. Tall Castle with Road
An entry into the 2010 International Sand Sculpture Competition in Portugal.
28. Sheikh Zayed Mosque
29. Brick Castle – St. Helier, New Jersey
I can’t imagine how long it took to carve each individual stone.
30. Giant Sand Castle – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
31. Sand City – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Another example of impressive archways.
32. On the Road to Oz – Portugal
33. Simpson Family – Fiesa Sand Sculpture Festival, Portugal
34. Ganesha
Created by renowned sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik, this sculpture of Lord Ganesh encourages attendees of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival to care about the environment.
35. Fairy Palace – NYC
Not every sand castle lives at the beach! Professional sand castle modeler Matt Long earns up to $70k for his magnificent creations.
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