Looking for a family-friendly time in the snow? Look no further than the White Pass Ski Area this weekend.
Starting Saturday, the White Pass Ski Area will officially kick off its “Dragons vs. Dinos” Winter Carnival, complete with a giant snow castle for kids to explore and go tubing or sledding in, along with a torchlight parade, fireworks show and more.
Kathleen Goyette, director of marketing and public relations for White Pass, said the castle was under construction as of last weekend. Once completed, it will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 3.
“We have about 35 volunteers who come in and out right now working on the castle,” Goyette said.
On Thursday and Friday, snow sculptors will also be working, creating frigid works of art for visitors to enjoy, Goyette added.
“There’s no charge, you can come on up and hang out, and kids can start playing in the castle at 10 in the morning … Anything in the base area is free and open to the public,” Goyette said.
Kids obstacle course races will also be held by the castle on Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m.
For those looking to actually take to the slopes, a lift ticket purchase will still be required, though skiers and snowboarders will be able to take advantage of night skiing on Saturday, with tickets for night skiing going on sale at 2 p.m. on the first day of the Winter Carnival.
Night skiing will end at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Also on Saturday evening, White Pass Ski Patrol will begin to lead the torchlight parade down the mountain at 7 p.m. The fireworks show will begin at the same time.
For those planning on attending White Pass’ Winter Carnival, Goyette recommended getting there early as the mountain’s parking lots fill up quickly.
Those interested in the fireworks show and night skiing are advised to get there around 3 or 4 p.m., as the hardest time to find parking is between 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. according to the White Pass website.
“If you have little kids, Sunday is a much quieter day, not such a long line for tubing in the castle, much more laid back, so I recommend Sunday if you’re bringing the tiny ones along,” Goyette said.
For more information on White Pass’ “Dragons vs. Dinos” Winter Carnival, visit https://skiwhitepass.com/events/winter-carnival.
To purchase lift tickets, visit https://skiwhitepass.com/the-mountain/lift-tickets.
