Ice Spikes

The Ice Spikes biome is a rare biome that can require travelling a long way to locate, generated in the Overworld dimension and classed as a cold biome. Its climate is freezing, so water turns to ice and rainfall falls as snow, so the Ice Spikes gets snowfall rather than rain. In technical terms the game tracks it with a temperature value of 0 and the biome ID minecraft:ice_spikes.

Its defining terrain features are massive packed ice pillars, flat packed ice ground and snow cover. Features dramatic packed ice spikes towering up to 50 blocks. Packed ice does not melt and is useful for fast travel ice roads.

The Ice Spikes biome was added to Minecraft in 1.7.2 and is still generated in version 1.21. Like all Overworld biomes it is shaped by the surrounding temperature and humidity, so the exact borders of any Ice Spikes you find will shift from world to world.

The Ice Spikes biome only generates in the Overworld. It commonly borders Snowy Plains and Snowy Taiga, so finding any of those is a good sign you are close.

It is rare and only borders snowy plains; the giant packed-ice pillars are visible from far away.

If cheats or operator permissions are available, the fastest method is the command “/locate biome minecraft:ice_spikes”, which points you to the nearest Ice Spikes and gives its coordinates. Without commands you have to explore for the Ice Spikes on foot: because it is rare, be prepared to cover a lot of ground in search of it, ideally with a fast mount, boat or elytra.

On the peaceful side, the Ice Spikes biome is home to Rabbit. The Rabbit, for example, drops rabbit hide, raw rabbit and occasionally a rabbit's foot.

On the dangerous side of the Ice Spikes biome, watch for Polar Bear and Stray. The Polar Bear is passive but defends its cubs aggressively if you stray too close, while the Stray is a frozen skeleton that fires Slowness-tipped arrows.

The blocks that give the Ice Spikes biome its character include Packed Ice, Ice and Snow Block. Within the Ice Spikes, Packed Ice, Ice and Snow Block are the most useful to gather early, whether for building, crafting or decoration.

No generated structures are tied to the Ice Spikes biome, so exploring it rewards you with its massive packed ice pillars and scenery rather than buildings to loot. Generation that ignores biome boundaries, such as mineshafts, dungeons and the occasional stronghold, can still be dug up beneath the Ice Spikes.