Seeking Snow (crazy right!)

[Mystic1906]

So for three years I have been promising the wife and monster child that I will take them to see snow. I have had the luxury (or misfortune depending on your viewpoint) of seeing more than one snow storm while visiting my grandparents and mom in Maine so I am good. Wife was born and raised in Jamaica and has never seen it. Son was born here but spent his first few years in the Cayman Islands where I am from.

Annnyyywaay, to make a long story shorter than my intro, I got called on my promise so I have 4 days to find a place we can drive to from Orlando so that they can have a snowball fight and make snow angels. We are on a budget so flying to the frozen tundra up north is out. I know a bunch of you live here in the south and may have snow adjacent to you. Any advice/direction would be appreciated and save me from another year of whining. I honestly don't get it cause I was planning to go south to get more boating in for the long weekend but those plans got the "we always go on the boat. When are we gonna see snow" argument and I felt like the guy getting a WWF tag team beat down with no one to tag in.

 

[synackattack]

I’ve not been, but I’ve heard some good things about the ski areas in NC. It’s about a 9-10 hour drive from the Orlando area. Not exactly close but you should be able to do it in the 4 day span.

Snow tubing at the resorts is often reasonable (under $30), so if you are on a budget that may be an option for the “monster child” . My kids love it.

Here’s an example: https://www.beechmountainresort.com/

 

[Mainah]

The North Carolina ski resorts have been making snow like crazy with the sustained cold temps they have had. While man made it is still snow. You can find fairly accurate ski reports here. https://www.onthesnow.com/north-carolina/skireport.html

Good luck with the trip.

 

[haknslash]

You don't have to go to Aspen, CO for snow. There are man-made snow mountain parks in the south. We have one in Mentone, AL. As long as temps are low they usually have the parks open. Check out AL, GA, TN, SC, NC states. Y'all should have come up a month or so ago when he had a big snow storm. I had around 7" at my house and it was awesome!

 

[biglar155]

Head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The city you want is Houghton.

http://www.mtu.edu/webcams/


(No affiliation with the hotel that popped up on the pic - that was just google)

 

[Mystic1906]

@biglar155 It looks nice there and def would better our chances of seeing snow but we are planning on driving. Trying to keep in within 10 hours of where I live.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

Here's another good website for up to date snow reports at the various southeast ski resorts
http://www.skisoutheast.com/

 

[biglar155]

@biglar155 It looks nice there and def would better our chances of seeing snow but we are planning on driving. Trying to keep in within 10 hours of where I live.

Yeah, I figured as much. Still thought I'd toss it out there if you wanted a real adventure. (ONLY 25 hours or so one-way depending on the weather...)

For those a little closer, Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival will be taking place Feb 8th through Feb 11th this year (https://www.mtu.edu/carnival/). It really should be on your bucket list if you like snow. The snow statues have to be seen in-person to be believed. (But LORD don't call them "ice sculptures" - you'll drive me to drink!)

For skiing, check out Mount Ripley (http://www.mtu.edu/mont-ripley/). That's the local ski hill run by MTU for "normal" folks.

For the "extreme" skiers, check out Mount Bohemia (http://www.mtbohemia.com/). I've only driven by it in the summer time. Years ago, my Dad and I drove past it to check it out. We decided that it looks like it's not so much skiing down a hill as it is launching yourself off of a cliff and hoping for the best. So, as they say, if that's the sort of thing you like, I suppose you'd like that sort of thing. (Be sure to wave at my Mom's house as you drive through the little town of Hubbell.)

If snowmobiling is more your speed, there are a ton of rental places up there and hundreds of miles of well groomed trails (http://www.upsnowmobiling.com/). Just PLEASE be careful. The trails are mostly old RR grades so they are straight as a whip for miles and you can really get up some speed. The first problem is that there are almost as many deer on the trails as there are on the roads. The second problem is that the original Railroad companies sold some of the land to private owners before the state came through and bought it up for ORV/Snowmobile trails. This means that some of those 5-10 mile straight stretches terminate in a sudden 90-degree turn to avoid a chunk of private property. Most of these turns have large-diameter trees at the end. Most of these trees have bits of fiberglass, windshield, and teeth embedded in them. During the "busy time" we usually have out-of-towners killing themselves on snowmobiles at a rate of 3-5 per week. (The locals are hunkered down safely in the local bars while this is all going on - but they drove their snowmobiles to get there.)

Yes, this is a little shameless advertising for the area I grew up. It's an economically repressed area and they live and die by tourism so I guarantee you that they'll be happy to see you. Yes, it's a long way out of the way, but I promise that there is no place like it in the world.

 

[djetok]

The North Carolina ski resorts have been making snow like crazy with the sustained cold temps they have had. While man made it is still snow. You can find fairly accurate ski reports here. https://www.onthesnow.com/north-carolina/skireport.html

Good luck with the trip.

I use this app everyday during this time of year. I also use opensnow but its pretty rocky mountain centric. The NC resorts have bigger bases than I have skied so far this year.

https://www.onthesnow.com/tennessee/ober-gatlinburg-ski-resort/driving-directions.html Tennessee would be another @Mystic1906

 

[JTC1016]

Yeah, I figured as much. Still thought I'd toss it out there if you wanted a real adventure. (ONLY 25 hours or so one-way depending on the weather...)

For those a little closer, Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival will be taking place Feb 8th through Feb 11th this year (https://www.mtu.edu/carnival/). It really should be on your bucket list if you like snow. The snow statues have to be seen in-person to be believed. (But LORD don't call them "ice sculptures" - you'll drive me to drink!)

I would love to go up for this sometime. Maybe when the kids are a little older. But it is almost a 10 hour drive for me, and I live in Michigan!