Flagstaff, Arizona (AZ Family) — For many people, it’s a tradition to head north to spend Christmas and New Years in the snow and on the slopes. However, with high temperatures expected to reach nearly 60 degrees in Flagstaff, a white Christmas is unlikely this year.

We may not get much snow here in Flagstaff, but there are plenty of winter activities to do, including: Flagstaff Snow Parkhas become a staple of urban snow play since 2016.

Jonathan Allen, the park’s director, said many people come from the Valley to experience the snow.

“Have a fun experience with your friends and family, get a little exposure to the outdoors, experience winter, and just have a good time,” Allen said.

However, due to the lack of snow this year, snow machines are working hard to open the runways.

“Things were definitely difficult,” Allen said. Tubing runs make snow, but general snow play areas rely on natural snow. As a result, typical snow playgrounds are currently quite dry. ”

According to a survey from Northern Arizona Universitysnow activities such as parks and snow bowls will have an estimated fee $19.7 million to the economy.

“This is the busiest time of the year, but that also plays into the fact that we don’t get as much snow in a year like this,” said Allen, who has noticed fewer people this year.

Despite the lack of snow, the park was still busy Monday afternoon, filled with families having fun, including Scott McRoberts and his son Jack.

“We just wanted him to see snow,” McRoberts said. “He’s never been there, so we decided to check out the snow. We were expecting more snow, but we had to look into the snow parks here to spend some time in fake snow. It didn’t happen.”

While in the city, the family went on an arctic experience and also visited a snow park.

For Jack, just seeing the snow was worth the trip.

“It was amazing because it was my first time doing this and I didn’t even know how to make snowballs,” he said.

So from shopping downtown to skiing at Snowbowl and sledding at Snowpark, there’s plenty to do this holiday season, snow or no snow.

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