Ice comes in three tiers in Minecraft, regular ice, packed ice, and blue ice, and each is slipperier and more useful than the last. Blue ice is the fastest surface in the game for boat travel. This guide covers how to get regular ice, how to craft it up into packed and blue ice, and the one enchantment you need to collect it.
Everything here is confirmed in the current 2026 version of Minecraft (26.2).
Quick answer: collect regular ice with a Silk Touch pickaxe (or freeze water in a cold biome). Craft 9 ice into 1 packed ice, then 9 packed ice into 1 blue ice, the slipperiest, fastest ice of all.
Ice Types at a Glance
| Type | How to make | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ice | Freeze water / Silk Touch mine | Melts near light |
| Packed ice | 9 ice in a crafting grid | Does not melt |
| Blue ice | 9 packed ice in a crafting grid | Slipperiest, does not melt |
Getting Regular Ice
Regular ice forms naturally when water freezes in snowy and frozen biomes (and on exposed water at night in cold areas). To pick it up, you need a pickaxe enchanted with Silk Touch, because breaking ice without it just turns the block back into water and drops nothing.
If you do not have a snowy biome nearby, a wandering trader will sometimes sell ice or packed ice for a few emeralds, which is a handy shortcut.
Crafting Packed Ice
Packed ice is the middle tier. Fill a 3×3 crafting grid with 9 regular ice to get 1 packed ice. Unlike regular ice, packed ice does not melt near torches or other light, and it is slightly more slippery, which makes it great for ice paths that will not disappear. You can also find it naturally in ice spikes and frozen ocean biomes (again, mine it with Silk Touch).
Crafting Blue Ice
Blue ice is the top tier and the real prize. Fill a 3×3 crafting grid with 9 packed ice to get 1 blue ice. That means one blue ice is worth 81 regular ice blocks, so it takes some farming, but it is worth it.
Blue ice is the slipperiest block in the game and the fastest surface for boat travel, a boat on a straight, flat blue ice track moves around 70+ blocks per second. That is why players build blue ice boat highways to cross huge distances in seconds. Like packed ice, it never melts.
A Note on Silk Touch
Silk Touch matters for collecting ice, not for crafting it. You need it to pick up any placed ice block (regular, packed, or blue). But once you have regular ice, crafting it into packed and blue ice needs no enchantment at all, just a crafting table. An Efficiency pickaxe also helps you mine ice quickly for farming.
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular ice forms when water freezes in snowy biomes, and you collect it with a Silk Touch pickaxe. To make packed ice, craft 9 ice together; to make blue ice, craft 9 packed ice together.
Yes, to collect it. Breaking any placed ice without Silk Touch drops nothing (regular ice just turns back into water). Crafting packed and blue ice does not need Silk Touch.
Place 9 packed ice in a 3×3 crafting grid. Since each packed ice is 9 regular ice, one blue ice equals 81 regular ice blocks.
Regular ice melts near light; packed ice and blue ice do not. Blue ice is the slipperiest and fastest for boats, followed by packed ice, then regular ice.
Blue ice is the slipperiest solid block, so boats slide across it extremely fast (over 70 blocks per second on a flat track). Players build blue ice highways for near-instant long-distance travel.
Sometimes. Wandering traders occasionally sell ice or packed ice for a few emeralds, which saves you a trip to a snowy biome.
Making ice is really about stacking it up: harvest regular ice with Silk Touch, craft nine into packed ice, and nine of those into blue ice. Keep a stock of blue ice and you can build the fastest travel routes in the game.
