By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app

ROCKFORD  — An unseasonably warm winter will force an early closure for Snow Park at Alpine Hills.

The Rockford Park District announced via Facebook on Wednesday that this will be the final weekend for the tubing and snowboard park at 4402 Larson Ave.

It will be closed this Thursday and Friday to preserve snow for the final three days of the season. It will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday with discounted $10 admission.

More news: Rockford Indie Bookstore Crawl growing beyond the bookshelves in its second year

Warm conditions have erased nearly all remnants of a mid-January snowstorm that hit the city.

There have been 16 straight days now with high temperatures at or above 37 degrees, and that includes four days with snow-melting temperatures above 50 degrees, according to National Weather Service data. High temperatures have been above 40 degrees for 14 of the last 16 days.

The Park District doesn’t need Mother Nature to provide the snow in order to keep Alpine Hills open, but it does need temperatures to stay cold enough. It must be about 27 degrees for snow-making machines to turn water into snowflakes.

Last week, the district said it used its last stockpile of snow to restock and regroom for the weekend.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas