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I learned about Snowcat Ridge, a snow park in Florida on Instagram, sometime in 2021 if I remember correctly. Living in Florida and not taking many winter vacations, my daughters have never seen real snow. The idea of a snow park in Florida immediately had me eager to take my family.
I finally mustered the courage to contact Snowcat Ridge to see if they would be interested in working with us, and they agreed! So, we drove to Dade City (near Tampa) and finally experienced all that Snowcat Ridge has to offer.
As a content creator, I think it’s incredibly important that I’m always very honest with my readers. So this is our feedback on the park — the good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to thank Snowcat Ridge for their hospitality and for allowing us to be VIP guests for the night. We appreciate it so much.
Arctic Igloo
We started with the Artic Igloo. According to the Snowcat Ridge website, the Arctic Igloo features an indoor snow play area (great for building the perfect snowman), a snowball target area, and a Bunny Slope for riders under 42″ tall, designed especially for children three years old and younger.
Our family had the best time in this part of the park. We were able to make and throw snowballs and snow angels. There were non-stop smiles and laughter from the moment we walked in until I finally convinced them to walk out because we had so much more of the park to see.
TIP: It’s both cold and super slippery in the Arctic Igloo, so dress accordingly. We recommend gloves/mittens for anyone planning on playing in the snow and close toed shoes with non-slip soles.
Snowy Slopes
Next, it was off to the snowy slopes. The Snowy Slopes is a 60-foot tall, 400-foot long snow tubing hill featuring single, tandem, and 10-person snow tubing. Snowy Slopes also features a nightly music and light show visible throughout the park.
One thing I love about Snowcat Ridge is that they only allow a certain number of families to access the Snowy Slopes during specific times. So when you enter the park, they give you a wristband with your timeslot on it. The lines for the single and tandem tubing were much longer than the 10 person tubes.
We were excited to see that they offered a pair of moving sidewalk conveyor lifts. Unfortunately, neither worked while we were there, so we had to make the hike. Even my youngest was a bit out of breath by the time we reached the top the second time. The path was also slippery in many spots, so we had to walk carefully while dodging those pulling their tubes behind them. We wound up only walking up twice in our two hour time slot because we were just too tired to go again.
We opted for the 10-person snow tubes which means unless you are a party of 10, you are riding down with strangers.
TIP: Make sure to hold on to both handles as instructed. The ride is bumpy and spins a bit. My glasses almost fell off when we hit one of the bumps, so make sure to secure all of your belongings. I bought a chest strap for my phone so that I could record reactions handsfree.
Crystal Ribbon Ice Skating
The Crystal Ribbon is an outdoor ice skating ribbon and beginner oval. Lace up your skates and get ready to glide across the ice under Florida’s sunny skies during the day and under a magical music and light show at night!
There is a charge for ice skate rental. It’s a one time fee for the entire day. They also offer helmet and trainer rentals (although trainer rentals are on a one-time basis, and won’t cover your cost for the entire day). The lines are incredibly long, so be prepared to wait to both get your skates and return them. If you rent a helmet, they will ask you to leave your driver’s license there until you bring it back.
My daughters are at a very beginner level when it comes to ice skating. There were a lot of people, my daughters included), forced to hold on to the sides when skating, which often caused a traffic jam of sorts. We found that there were people who know how to skate well and were zooming past everyone. A few times I witnessed them accidentally trip someone who was gliding along the wall. As a Mom, of course, I was nervous for my girls, but they were very careful and wound up skating around a few times.
TIP: If you can bring your own ice skates from home, you might want to do that. It will save you time and money. You can always rent a locker if you don’t want to carry them around.
Alpine Village Food Court
Snowcat Ridge offers a variety of food trucks that offer food for just about everyone. The line will take you to one of six or so screens, where you can order everything. It’s ready for pick up at each food truck, shortly after.
We ordered two orders of chicken tenders and fries, two quesadillas, a cheeseburger and four drinks. Our total was over $100. When we picked up the food, we were shocked at the size. We could have easily shared two or three dishes. It was so much food, we wound up wrapping most of it up and taking it home with us.
Snowcat Ridge gave us a token to redeem a free s’mores kit. They offer a spot for you to make the smores, but we wound up taking ours home since it was late.
TIP: Eat before you get there! We were told that they allow you to bring food/drinks in as long as they are in disposable containers.
Snowcat Ridge Admission
If you’ve read this far, I bet you’re wondering what the prices are like. Get out your calculator, because this is where it gets interesting.
Price of admission varies, depending on the day and time you visit and whether or not you want VIP passes or unlimited snow tubing. We went on a Saturday night, and the cost would have started at $46.95 per person if you pre-order the tickets and $5 more per person at the box office. That doesn’t include parking, skate rental or food.
Although we really did have fun, I wouldn’t personally spend almost $250 + $20 parking just to get in the door. If you are interested in checking out Snowcat Ridge, I recommend checking their website for pricing information. There appears to be a day toward the end of February that starts at $19.95 per person. That is more affordable for most families.
I'm so honored that you've found us! I'm Heather, a Mom of 3 who blogs about parenting, food, occasional travel and how I overcame my daily struggle with anxiety. I miss sleeping and rely on coffee and laughter to get me through the day. I hope you enjoy and visit often!
