You may have to find something else for your kids to do this winter break. The St. Joseph County Parks have postponed winter activities like sledding and cross-country skiing because we didn't get enough snow.
Innertubing and cross country skiing were supposed to begin the day after Christmas at St. Patrick's County Park in South Bend, but they were pushed back. The same thing happened with innertubing and snow shoeing at Ferrettie-Baugo Creek County Park in Osceola... And now all park officials can do is patiently wait for a winter wonderland.
Fierce winds and cold temperatures certainly make it feel like winter, but if you look on the ground, you'll see blades of grass are poking through the thin layer of snow.
"Unfortunately at this time, we're just watching the forecast like everybody else and we're crossing our fingers and we're hoping that we can still get open here soon," said Brook Artley with the St. Joseph County Parks Department.
Until eight to ten inches of snow coat the ground, the winter sports season won't start at St. Patrick's County Park. So for now, the cross country skiis are staying in the barn along with dozens of innertubes neatly stacked on top of one another. The St. Joseph County Parks Department does have a snow machine, but it has to be 20 degrees or below for one week before they can use it. Right now it's only 30 degrees.
"The winter holiday break from school is typically our busiest time of year. We could see thousands of people a day at our parks so it's really sad for us that we're not going to be able to serve those folks as we'd like to," said Artley.
On this cold, bitter day, those folks chose to stay inside where it was nice and warm, but one brave soul ventured to St. Patrick's with her dog. Actually it's not as nasty as I thought it might be and I may not be able to get out in the next few days or whatever so I thought I'd take this opportunity to get some fresh air and some exercise," said park visitor Debra Durall.
Durall used to go cross country skiing at the park. "It's a lot of fun. It's just a cool environment one of the few places that you can go that's actually quiet," she said. Now she just hikes and walks her dog and you don't need snow on the ground for that.
The Swiss Valley Ski Area in Jones, Michigan is closed due to the lack of snow. It's unknown when they'll be able to open. You can check their website: www.skiswissvalley.com for the latest information.
