What Is a Snow Day?
I grew up in Ohio, so when I was a kid, a snow day meant a day off school because the roads were too icy for the school buses. It also meant bundling up in snow pants and snow boots to make snow angels, build snowmen and have snowball fights with the neighbors.
Now that I live in southern California, a snow day means something quite different. In Los Angeles, it never snows. We did get hail a couple times, and there was frost on the roof one morning, but it melts almost immediately. My kids will probably never know what it’s like to get to stay home from school because of snow, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy playing in the snow.
It’s important to note that currently, a snow day for my family simply means taking a road trip to play in the snow. We’re not going skiing or snowboarding. Our kids enjoy building snowmen and sledding.
A Southern California Snow Day
One great thing about southern California is that we can easily drive up to a snow covered spot in the mountains in just an hour or two. There are several popular towns to choose from. Many people go to Big Bear to go skiing. Lake Arrowhead and Mount Baldy are popular too, but our current favorite spot is Wrightwood.
Why We Like Wrightwood
In a little over an hour, we can go from 70 degrees and sunny in Los Angeles to a winter wonderland in Wrightwood. The best part is that there aren’t any windy roads to get up the mountain, and if you wait a couple days after the most recent snowfall, the roads are free of snow and ice. That means you don’t even need to pack chains to get up the mountain safely.
After driving through the town of Wrightwood, you can stop along the side of the road to play in the snow. You’ll see lots of families doing this. In order to find the best snow play spots, you might also want to consider stopping at Mountain Hardware before you leave town. They gave us a map and circled some recommended spots. We also bought a parking pass for $5 so we could park along the side of the road. We ended up not needing the parking pass this trip since we found a parking lot to park in near a lookout area, but we’ll keep it for next time.
Mountain Hardware is also great about updating their Facebook page with the snow conditions and posting pictures when there’s fresh powder.
One thing I’ve noticed is that on Mountain Hardware’s Facebook page, they often recommend getting up the mountain super early to enjoy the snow without the crowds. While I’m sure this is not a bad idea, we didn’t make it up to Wrightwood until around 10:30am, and we were able to find a spot to play in the snow that was virtually untouched before we got there.
An Overview of What to Pack and Why
I’ve learned a thing or two in the years since my family has first started traveling to the mountains to play in the snow. The first year, my husband and I didn’t bring proper snow clothes. We just layered a jacket over a hoodie, and I wore my Uggs. We got cold pretty quickly. Since then, we’ve learned what to pack and how to pack it so that we can have a fun family snow day without feeling cold too quickly to really enjoy being in a winter wonderland.
Our most recent trip to Wrightwood was this past weekend, and while we were there, I saw some parents walking into the snow with their kids, and I knew they would end up getting cold quickly. The kids were wearing fleece pjs and crocs. I mean, good thinking on shoes that can handle getting wet, but I knew their legs and feet would feel very cold very quickly. I know, because we didn’t always pack appropriately.
After about eight years of family trips to the snow, I think we have the family packing list down. Each year, we tend to add something to make sure we’re even more comfortable. For example, one year, my husband and I bought some amazing winter coats that are super warm and comfy. I highly recommend this exact coat ski coat. There’s a women’s version and a men’s version from the same brand.
The women’s coat comes in 13 colors, and they all have a super plush and cozy lining inside. I got the pink one. The men’s coat comes in 10 different colors and also has the same plush and cozy lining as the women’s coat. My husband got black. My husband and I got our coats 3 years ago, and they still look brand new. Since Amazon sells them, that means you can get them quickly too. At the time of publication, the women’s coat is available for overnight shipping with a Prime Membership.
In past years, we also realized that even in boots, our feet tended to get cold quickly. To counteract that, we wore two pairs of socks. This year, we upgraded that even more by wearing a normal pair of socks with an extra warm pair of socks over them. For my kids, their extra warm socks were the cozy type slipper socks with grippers on the bottom. My husband and I wore these socks.
This was the first year my feet never felt cold the whole time we were there, and we even stayed and played longer than usual.
How I Pack the Car for a Snow Day
Since it takes over an hour for us to get to the snow, we also learned not to dress for snow until we get there. I had a separate bag packed with snow gear for each member of my family. Here’s what the car looked like when we left home.
Each bag contained snow pants or a snow bib, a warm winter jacket or ski jacket, insulated waterproof gloves, snow boots, and a hat plus an extra warm pair of socks. Here’s a picture of everything that I packed for my daughter.
I put the boots in a plastic bag from a store (in this case, Target). In that same bag, I also included the warm socks and gloves so they were easy to find.
Then, I put the plastic bag in a bigger bag (in this case, a Homegoods bag) and added the coat, snow pants and hat. This is what my daughter’s snow gear looked like all bagged up and ready to go.
Besides the bags of snow gear, the only other thing we put in the back of the car was our trusty sled that has been going strong for over 3 years now. Up front, we had a tablet for the kids to watch their favorite shows, water bottles and some snacks to munch on.
Don’t Forget the Carrots!
The one thing we forgot to bring was carrots. My husband actually bought super cute and colorful carrots from Trader Joe’s specifically for the snowman we knew we would build, but we forgot to bring them.
We tried to make our snowman look like Olaf, but since he didn’t look exactly like Olaf, we called him Snowlaf. He ended up not having a nose.
But we still ate the carrots when we got home.
What I’m Adding to My Packing List for Next Time
There are a couple things I plan to bring next time we have a snow day that I didn’t bring this time. I would bring a few bowls, spoons and some chocolate syrup so we could make our own snow cones. The snow was very deep where we were and pretty much untouched before we got there. I was telling my kids how I used to eat snow from our backyard in Ohio when I was a kid. I’d fill a bowl with snow, bring it inside and add chocolate syrup. They want to try it.
I also regretted not bringing our stuffed Olaf with us. I didn’t have a good internet connection and couldn’t load pictures of Olaf on my phone. I couldn’t remember exactly what he looked like. Next time, I’ll have him waiting in the car for inspiration.
One final thought. It’s not a bad idea to throw an extra pair of clothes in the car especially for the kiddos. I’m not sure how it happened, but one year my son’s pants got wet from the snow. I don’t remember if he took his snow pants off or what, but I was glad we had a change of clothes with us.
My Recommended Snow Day Packing List:
If you’re planning a road trip to play in the snow, here is everything that I recommend bringing:
Winter coat (1 per person)
Snow pants or snow bib (1 per person)
Waterproof insulated gloves or mittens (1 pair per person)
Waterproof insulted snow boots or ski boots (1 pair per person)
Extra thick and extra warm socks (1 pair per person)
Sled
Carrots (if you’re building a snowman)
Bowls, spoons and chocolate syrup for homemade snow cones
Extra clothes in case someone gets their clothes wet from the snow
Water bottles
Snacks for the car
An inspiration snow man (like Olaf)
I Hope You Found This Helpful
If you live in southern California or another fairly warm location where snow is only a road trip away, I hope you find these packing tips helpful. It really is important to invest in real snow gear even if you’re just building a snowman or going sledding. It’s a LOT more fun to play in the snow when you’re not cold or wet.
Does it snow where you live?