Top 20 Amazing Sandcastles

1. Kathryn - February 8th, 2008 at 12:28 pm

Sand castle 6 is very boring. Basically looks like the ones I see 10 year olds and their parents make all the time at the shore.

2. jfrater - February 8th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Kathryn: geez - it is shitloads better than anything I ever made! You must live in a town full of artists! Thanks for the comment anyway.

3. islanderbst - February 8th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

very nice list- this is why i love listverse

kathryn- recheck #6, its not my fave, but look at the detail in the bricks, very impressive methinks

4. Mystern - February 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

All I could ever make is a hole . . . But I will say that it was a damn fine hole!

JF: Hehe - I just noticed the message you added right before the middle ad.

5. SubliminalDeath666 - February 8th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

I would say that number 4 was THE most detailed!! I mean look at the tree!! And the cliffs!!

6. toolnut - February 8th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

I think #8 is my favorite, it looks so flowy and surreal, I would love to relax in a place like that

7. toolnut - February 8th, 2008 at 12:45 pm

I love the detail in #20, the screaming face coming through the fence is insane. Reminds me of a frightening dream I once had

8. magnolia_snooze - February 8th, 2008 at 12:57 pm

i was there at the making of castle 13!!!

i was visiting my aunt and there was a massive commotion and my aunt said that someone’s makind a sandcastle but i never saw the aftermath until now!!!

it has an amazing and stunning detail :O

9. SocialButterfly - February 8th, 2008 at 1:04 pm

Mystern: At least you can make a hole! Mine always cave in… I have no idea why… I use wet sand for support…

10. Kathryn - February 8th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

Hah I just go down to ocean city, NJ. People live there obviously so they must just have lots of practice. But yeah, I have seen some pretty need sandcastles like number 6 fairly often while on vacation. My favourite is number 17.

11. Cathysferret - February 8th, 2008 at 1:08 pm

I wish I were a hermit crab so I could live in one of those!

That is definitely talent… I could never get the right consistency and the sand would fall apart…

Mystern: Holes are darn fun to dig!! LOL

12. TMo - February 8th, 2008 at 1:09 pm

as i was going through these, i was like “what the hell could be #1?”

then i saw #1. woah.

13. Rob - February 8th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

I can do that but I don’t wanna…

14. Joni - February 8th, 2008 at 1:13 pm

I’d kick them over…

15. jfrater - February 8th, 2008 at 1:19 pm

Joni: bully!

16. Gracie - February 8th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

Its so nice to see such fabolous manmade sandcastles!

17. Lorcs - February 8th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

whoa sandcastle 4 is my fav i think

18. SocialButterfly - February 8th, 2008 at 1:28 pm

LOL @ Joni! This is why we repress our rage…hahaha

19. Shabab - February 8th, 2008 at 1:28 pm

not related to the list
just curious…whatever happened to Juggz, Cyn n Ravyn….are they alive?

20. ElleMNOP - February 8th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

Number 4 is pretty dope! Simple but look at that tree!!

21. Csimmons - February 8th, 2008 at 1:44 pm

Can you imagine how pissed someone is when a kid knocks these down, id kill that kid, not really, but id beat the shit out of him.

22. riledupone - February 8th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

I quite like #6. It was the one that caught my eye as I looked through them all.I could never make sandcastles. Instead we used to find some poor kid (not a stranger though) and we’d bury them up to their necks in sand and pack the sand down so that they couldn’t get out on their own. We wouldn’t leave them that way for long, but I guess we were pretty mean kids!

23. macabresoren - February 8th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

Wooooow… I heart art.

24. cparker - February 8th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

2 and 1 rival professional mason jobs

25. CK - February 8th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

These are awesome! I wonder if #17 used a mold for the trees, because otherwise it just looks painstaking…

26. FINSFAN - February 8th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

It would be funny if it started raining cats and dogs as soon as they finished these. hahaha

27. Blogball - February 8th, 2008 at 2:27 pm

You gotta love the fist comment.

Can you imagine if you were in a sand castle contest and you worked your butt off on # 6 and you were anxiously waiting for Judge Kathryn to get to your castle and you heard “It’s very boring and basically looks like the ones I see 10 year olds and their parents make all the time at the shore.

28. satori - February 8th, 2008 at 2:30 pm

I have to say, #2 is by far my favorite! Great list Jamie!

29. Moriarti - February 8th, 2008 at 2:39 pm

I really liked the list, interesting to see how much free time people have. If I didn’t have school, I would probably be able to spend hours on end making sandcastles. I doubt they’d look even half as good but you get the point. Number 5 is fenced off, but what if it rains?

30. Cambrex101 - February 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Very nice!
But see…..sand doesn’t do that!
How do they do that?
It blows my mind!

31. downhighway61 - February 8th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

damn. i wish i had some talent like that. i can’t even walk across sand without burning my feet and complaining that i hate the ocean.

32. downhighway61 - February 8th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

come to think of it…
i’d bet it’s pretty easy. it’s probably just one huuuuge mold. cheaters.

33. Cyn - February 8th, 2008 at 4:21 pm

19. Shabab

I LIVE! and lurk in the shadows doing things best not done in sunlight.
or admin this site a teensy bit. and forums.
and praise His Holy Name, HISSELF on most High ..JAMIE! our God in Listverse heaven. Hallowed be His name. amen.

so glad you asked. i’m remembered. *sigh* tis a good thing. ty.

34. courtney - February 8th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

Sandcastle 14 is a KICK ASS sandcastle…

35. Lori - February 8th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

Definately 4. The tree alone takes the cake.

36. jocsboss - February 8th, 2008 at 4:43 pm

#2 is definitely my favourite. I can’t believe that her head doesn’t just fall off.

37. RS - February 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm

Look very carefully at #’s 18 and 7. 7 is essentially a close up of 19, but it has a few toys placed in it.

Not that they aren’t absolutely beautiful. I’d still keep the photos up, they’re just essentially the same thing.

38. PinoyXPat - February 8th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

Great list…

Thanks for including a sandcastle from Boracay Island (#13 and quite possibly #14). Folks in that island paradise create awesome sand sculptures daily starting in the mid-late afternoon. You can walk along the beach and view the day’s sculptures lit by oil lamps every night…Must be the time of day or angle of the shot but the sand in Boracay is powdery white…

39. Joss - February 8th, 2008 at 5:08 pm

Number 20 is my favorite. The face is freaking sweet.

40. Yondofan12 - February 8th, 2008 at 5:18 pm

Do they add anything to these besides water or is it just the natural stuff.

#4 with the craggy rocks and those trees is awesome.

41. goof_ball - February 8th, 2008 at 5:25 pm

These are pretty cool. I like seeing the different colors of the sand. I wouldn’t have the patience for this. It would be so fun destroying these.

42. bedhead - February 8th, 2008 at 5:35 pm

I really like 3, 8, 14, and 17 probably from the great photography. Thanks for this list. It’s very creative and the beach photos are a nice change in the middle of winter!

Reminds me of the song,Castles Made of Sand by Jimi Hendrix.

Have a great weekend! Time to party!

43. math_wiz1359 - February 8th, 2008 at 5:54 pm

#1 is awesome

44. Jimbo78934 - February 8th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

Legitimate sandcastles are made on a beach. Some of these should not count

45. Shellhell - February 8th, 2008 at 6:10 pm

I think #20 is awesome! How did they get that face to look like it was coming thru the grate?

46. Crimanon - February 8th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

the best I could ever do is bury a foot in wet sand and very carefully pull it out. Made a crapload of cities by doing it over and over. Rudimentary, but I could get them up to about three feet (almost a meter…ahem).

47. Spence425 - February 8th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

Jimbo…i think by definition, a legitimate sandcastle is just made of sand.

number 20 is my favorite.

48. teacherman - February 8th, 2008 at 7:58 pm

jfrater-
please send me your email so i can submit my beer list. thanks!

49. Harsha - February 8th, 2008 at 9:01 pm

Now I wanna see a list of Top 20 fights arising due to kicking over a sand castle!!

50. Rachel Graham - February 8th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

#18 and #13 are the only ones that tell us where they are from. Can you post where they are from?

51. Cyn - February 8th, 2008 at 10:02 pm

48. teacherman

check the ‘about’ page (see tab on navbar top of page) for details re: contact and list submission

52. Ravyn - February 8th, 2008 at 10:39 pm

I love sandcastles. they are so awesome. I remember when I was in high school, there was a sand castle built in the middle of the mall. I was so huge. I would put it in lines with the size of #1. It had so much detail and local lore added to it. (Such as South Bay Bessie and Wally Walleye and Snoopy). It was excellent.

53. Rey - February 8th, 2008 at 11:00 pm

3 cheers for the Boracay sandcastle!

54. Mom424 - February 9th, 2008 at 12:31 am

Oh to have the patience of Job….

55. stormy617 - February 9th, 2008 at 1:26 am

Wow I am always so amazed when I see how talented some people can be, that is because I don’t have a lick of artistic talent. I would soooooo love to have a tenth of what these people have!!!

I like them all but I really like #12 and would love to live in a place like that, :} with all the walkways and stairways connecting the different parts of the town with the little church at the top. It is just wonderful!!

The detail is so amazing. How smooth it is in parts like the roofs of the turrets and the walkways and then the detail of the brick and the gate guarding the entrance to the little town.

AMAZING!!

P.S. I laughed out really really loudly when I saw the paying the bills comment. you have a great sense of humor JFrater.

56. jfrater - February 9th, 2008 at 4:03 am

teacherman: jamie@frater.com

stormy: thanks

57. Shadow - February 9th, 2008 at 4:10 am

I absolutely LOVE number 20, definitely my favorite. I kept scrolling through the list looking and thinking there had to have been a mistake because number 20 should rank much higher; then I saw the top five and had to admit that my bias bit me in the butt this time. Number one is just awesome. I mean really, I didn’t know that stuff like THIS is possible. Great list. It’s stuff like this that keeps me coming back.

Oh, and yeah, I’ve been seeing that comment for a bit now, about paying the bills. It never ceases to put a smile on my face. Keep them coming man!

58. DiscHuker - February 9th, 2008 at 5:11 am

holy crap. that is amazing. artists are amazing with how they can visualize what can be made out of raw material.

59. DiscHuker - February 9th, 2008 at 5:12 am

although, i imagine they would be a raging lunatic if some random frisbee took out a parapet or something.

60. ylekiot - February 9th, 2008 at 5:41 am

#4 Not the biggest but the detail is astounding. When I was a kid, I always had the special pail that made it look acceptable. I was a failure a sad castles but I loved to try.

61. Drogo - February 9th, 2008 at 6:46 am

Oh NO! Here comes some guy in an out of control dune buggy yelling, “No Brakes, NO BRAKES!!!”

62. jfrater - February 9th, 2008 at 6:52 am

Drogo: hahaha

63. byrneman - February 9th, 2008 at 7:10 am

some people spend waaaaaay too much time at the beach hahaha

64. t_man - February 9th, 2008 at 8:47 am

These sandcastles are amazing! I wish you would have included at least one from the NY State Fair though. Every time i go there they have a different sandcastle and they are all a sight to behold. You might be able to find some pics on the NY State Fair web-site. http://www.nysfair.org/expo/

65. JwJwBean - February 9th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

#17 is my fave I think because it looks like they used wine bottles for the mold for the towers.

66. amanda - February 9th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

When I saw the title of this list I thought that I should submit a pic I have of a castle that I watched some guy do in Carmel, but as I started looking at these I was blown away! The Carmel hippie has nothing on these people!

67. caro - February 10th, 2008 at 1:55 am

did anyone else notice that castle 20 is the boogyman from the night before xmas without its plaster strips-like markings? that ones my fave along wit the really gothic one, iforgot the number and im too lazy to scrool up.

68. stormy617 - February 10th, 2008 at 4:16 am

JFrater: You are welcome

69. Steven - February 10th, 2008 at 4:20 am

I used to go down to the beach with my mom for the annual sandcastle building contest. I have about 50 or so pictures from the last time we went. I personally wouldn’t have the patience to do something like that, unless I was REALLY stoned.

As for how they do it, I believe an additive is mixed in with the water. I think that’s what one sand castle builder dude told me a while back.

Anyhow, nice list, brought back some memories

70. anglictina - February 10th, 2008 at 7:28 am

WOW, there are amazing

71. Matt - February 11th, 2008 at 6:14 pm

They really are amazing i wonder how long #1 took?

72. Diogenes - February 11th, 2008 at 8:52 pm

I once buried a dolphin in the sand and drank it’s daiquiri..,while I kicked sand in its face.
naw, thats wrong, I didn’t do that. horrible.

These are pretty good sand castles. See what guys do for your attention ladies?!
bikinis.
sand castles.

73. tami - February 12th, 2008 at 3:11 pm

Yondofan12: there’s a special biodegradable glue they spray on the sandcastles as they build them. and i think it might even be mixed into the sand when they’re creating the original starting block of sand to build from.

74. Ghidoran - March 3rd, 2008 at 4:04 pm

No.7 is awesome!

75. vaski - March 5th, 2008 at 2:34 pm

Really nice page….. I´m an spanish guy who loves sandcastles.
I also have some good pics, how to send it?????

76. potpot and puchang - March 6th, 2008 at 10:44 pm

the place of number 14 and 13 is the island of paradise in boracay philippines!the island is really really really gooooooooooodddddddd!!!!!!!!1111white and powdery sand ….

i help some of the sandcastles builder to build the amazing and grass sandcastles.it was a relieving feeling when its all done,specially when you see the real beauty of it!at night…its really awesome.but!dont forget to put donation on the shell,,,,or else i will grab your digi cam!hehehehehehe….

for your information…..building sandcastle is not that fucking (sorry for the word) easy….it was 7 to 8 hours men….like jezzzz!

77. MPW - May 19th, 2008 at 4:33 pm

magnificient!

78. ChaoticPython - May 27th, 2008 at 2:13 pm

So…tempting…to knock…down…
I’d probably get arrested…^_^

79. sammy G - May 28th, 2008 at 7:16 am

I thought #20 should have been switched with #12 because i thought #20 looked awesome and #12 was dull and small!!!!!!
I loved #1 even thouh iv’e seen better.

80. Vera Lynn - June 19th, 2008 at 8:41 pm

Awesome! I have nothing but respect for artists. I still draw stick figures. Although I can do a pretty good profile. Spent enough time in lecture halls perfecting my technique. I do visualize very well however, and can write, in cursive, backwards, upside down, and upside down and backwards together. Take from that what you will.

81. gman - June 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am

wow all those sandcastles sucked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ive done better try again didn’t impress me =(

82. easytiger - July 5th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

well if only i cud do sumthing like that….i dont just think one or two are good i think there all really awesome…..great stuff to whoever did these pieces of fine art