A wintry winter is boosting cold-weather recreation in Michigan

So far this winter, Michigan has seen slightly cooler-than-normal temperatures and above-average snowfall
As people take advantage of the conditions, that could mean increased revenue for an industry that generated about $120 million in a previous season
While last winter was strong for outdoor recreation, the winters two and three years ago were warmer than average

In Boyne Falls, there’s a snow fort shaped like an igloo where you can sit on ice and order a glass of champagne or an Aperol spritz.

Boyne Mountain Resort opened the bar, called Iglu, on Jan. 3. The ski area hired the Austrian team Alpeniglu to build it.

“They have these big balloons, like inflatables. They blow them up in the shape of the inside of the igloo,” explained Kari Roder, the director of marketing at Boyne Mountain Resort. “And then they use snow blowers, basically, to throw snow over the top of it.”

Roder said the resort needed to make “an incredible amount of snow” to build the structure, a process that required temperatures below 28 degrees.

This year, that happened.

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The igloo is just one of the perks of what looks like another relatively normal winter in Michigan. The season has seen some stints of warmer temperatures, but nothing compared to the winters of 2022-23 and 2023-24, when higher-than-normal temps and a lack of snow resulted in event cancellations, ski industry layoffs and a loss of money for the state.

Things got so bad, Michigan businesses impacted by the warm weather were encouraged to apply for disaster relief loans.

So far this winter, however, much of Michigan has seen slightly cooler-than normal temperatures and a little bit more snowfall than usual.

“This first half of winter — October, November, December — all guidance was showing high probabilities of La Niña,” said Sean Christensen, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Gaylord. “What that typically means is a little bit cooler for us and then also more precipitation. And that’s what we saw for the most part.”

That was statewide, including in Detroit and Grand Rapids, “even with those warm sprouts,” Christensen said.

This cooler winter comes amid a trend of winters in Michigan becoming slightly warmer.

Snow this season has blanketed many parts of the state already, with Sault Ste. Marie, Gaylord and Alpena just a few of the spots ahead of averages as of Sunday. Hotels are filling up for many winter events, parking lots have been packed near cross-country trails and ski resorts opened up early or on time with good snow.

Two people stand on cross-country skis in the snow

Two people stand at the bottom of a ski hill in winter gear

People sit inside an igloo bar and drink

Studies have pegged the economic impact of snowsports and recreation in Michigan as high as $3 billion, which means cooler temps can pay off.

“The strong start we’ve had to the winter season provides a boost to Michigan’s economy and showcases the incredible experiences that travelers can enjoy across our two peninsulas,” said Kelly Wolgamott, vice president of Pure Michigan, part of the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Keweenaw County has seen about 128 inches of accumulated snowfall as of Sunday, already 30 inches more than last year. Will they pass the record of 355.9 inches from the 1978–79 winter season? Visit Keweenaw launched a contest to guess how much snow the county will get by the end of the season.

The ample snowfall they’ve had so far is good news for the Snow Sculpting Invitational taking place Jan. 23 to 25 during Hancock’s Finnish-American winter festival, Heikinpäivä.

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Thanks to some early-season snowfall and cooler temperatures, most ski areas across the state opened early or on time, said Mike Panich, executive director of the Michigan Snowsports Industries Association.

He noted there was a warmup around Christmas and last week but said that, overall, “conditions have been outstanding, and the crowds have been showing up.”

Precipitation has also been good for places like the Cross Country Ski Headquarters in Roscommon.

“This reminds me of winters from 15 to 20 years ago,” said owner George Frye. “We were just getting days and days of snow, and we’ve had pristine trails for several weeks.”

Natural snowfall is important for the family-owned business, which only uses snowmaking in a limited capacity. Frye said the good weather has meant people are turning out.

“We kind of judge it by how full the parking lot is,” he said. As of last Thursday, it had already been full for two weekends. “That, for December, is crazy.”

Snowmobilers race in an arena — Hotels are reportedly filling up in Sault Ste. Marie on Feb. 7, when the International 500 Snowmobile Race will take place. (Courtesy of MI Playground, Sault Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Sault Ste. Marie has seen its fair share of snowfall, with more than 100 inches as of Monday, when 60 inches is typical for this time.

Linda Hoath, the executive director of Visit Sault Ste. Marie, said good snow translates to visitors.

“They don’t want to come up when it rain-snows,” she said. “They want to come up when they can get some good, fluffy white snow. And that’s what it’s been here. It’s been beautiful.”

While the area caters to people looking to snowshoe, cross-country ski, fat-tire bike and more, one of the biggest winter pastimes in Sault Ste. Marie is snowmobiling.

“The streets are open to snowmobilers,” Hoath said. “People drive their snowmobiles to work.”

The area also hosts the International 500 Snowmobile Race. The main event is coming up Feb. 7 and Hoath says the hotels are almost full.