We saw sand castles on Cannon Beach as we were walking to the tide pools, so we snapped pictures of some of them. I have always loved sand castles! The best ones have a specific method for why they hold together so well. Here are some tips to building a sand castle, followed by a fun video showing each of these steps.
How to Build a Sand Castle
Step 1: Carve a circle, build a trench, and dump the sand in the middle of the circle.
Carve a circle with a shovel in the sand, the area where you want to build your sand castle. (You could make a square or rectangle instead if you want, like the picture above.) Then start digging a trench at the circle line, piling the sand in the middle of the circle in a big heap.
Step 2: Get buckets of water, and dump them into the middle of the sand pile.
You need lots and lots of water, so go back and forth from the water to the sand circle, dumping the water in the middle.
Step 3: Build the castle mountain, from which you will carve the castle.
The woman in the video used a large bottomless bucket to build the main part of her castle, but most of us don’t have that. Instead, you can just build up a mountain of wet sand, packing it down tight as you go, because you will want to carve it next.
Step 4: Carve the castle.
Carve the shape of the castle little by little, starting at the top and moving down. You can add stairs, windows, castle turrets, and other details. Use a simple table knife if you don’t have sand sculpting supplies. You can also use buckets filled with wet sand, turned upside-down.
Step 5: Add the final details.
Add bridges and carve the shape of bricks into the walls of the castle. You can get as elaborate as you want. Then stand back and admire your work.
Here is a fantastic video I found on how to build a sand castle, using each of these steps:
We saw a Lord of the Rings sand castle as we were walking along. My husband and sons thought the Mountains of Mordor were super cool!
Here is a closer picture from above the Lord of the Rings sand castle, showing more of the terrain:
We thoroughly enjoyed these sand castles! Every June there is a sand castle contest where even more spectacular sand castles are built!
Related product: The Wonderful World of Sand and Dirt
Tags: Cannon Beach, castles, sand, summer
Good heavens! We’ve never done a castle that magnificent! Hmm, now I’m craving a trip to the beach…
All of my sand castles have never been this large. I was inspired by seeing all these gorgeous sand castles!
Wow Susan! Those castles are amazing. We have a sand castle festival near us every June and it really is incredible what people can do with just water and sand! Maybe we’ll have to try our hand at a more elaborate castle on of these days 🙂
I’ve always loved sand castles!