PLYMOUTH, Minn. — The sounds of winter at French Regional Park are being heard much more frequently this year compared to winters past, and the weather is playing a huge role.
Jill Castle, park operations supervisor at French Regional, says so far, this is the ideal winter for skiing and sledding:
"One of the nicest things that we've seen this winter is the consistency, as opposed to being open/closed, open/closed with the snow conditions. We've just had more snow, so we've been open every day since mid-November. In my six years at French, this is the first time the sliding hill has been open every single day since November."
Which means the closed for business sign isn't getting a lot of use.
The biggest thing helping out is the snow depth. This time last year, we only had 3" on the ground and it wasn't consistent, considering the first two-thirds of the month had none. This year is the exact opposite. The lowest we've had is 3" and we made it all the way to 9" after the last winter storm in mid-January.
All that snow has led to ideal snow conditions across area trails and hills, giving people more opportunities to get out and enjoy what winter has to offer.
But it's not just the snow depth that's helping out at French Regional Park. It's the milder temperatures. In fact, up to this point in January, it's the warmest January since 2012.
That combination is what's driving people like Lucas Landgrebee and his friends to hit the sledding hill on a Monday afternoon. His friends are visiting from Colorado and Lucas says the great snow conditions and milder temperatures are allowing him to show them how awesome Minnesota is.