Winter in Greenville is more of a wish than a reality, as any native will tell you. Our high temperatures rarely drop below freezing, and we count ourselves blessed to see a single snowflake fall. In fact, we suspect all early snowfalls (early meaning before Christmas) might be signs of an impending apocalypse.
Greenville winters are both too dry and too wet at the same time, alternating between biting wind, driving rain or 65–75 degrees and sun (during which most outdoor activities apply, like disc golf, hiking or picnicking). While we don’t share the dangerous weather conditions of the northern states, the winter weather’s irregularity keeps a lot of South Carolinians indoors.
In order to endure the long, gray, damp stretch of time between December and March, here’s a helpful list of how you can have Greenville winter fun.
Go Skating Indoors
Greenville does have one outdoor skating venue: Ice on Main. This seasonal rink takes up residence in downtown Greenville on the Village Green in front of the Courtyard Marriott from November through January.
Greenville’s other seasonal skating venue is Skating on the Big Ice at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The arena opens its massive rink to the public on select days in December and January. Skate rental is free with the donation of a case of water or 5 canned goods.
Of course, ice skating is available all year long at The Pavilion, Greenville’s premier multi-sport recreation center. The Pavilion hosts hockey games and figure skating lessons as well as opening the ice for general admission on certain hours of the day. Check its website for the public skate schedule.
Leave Town
If you want to have snow-dependent wintry fun, drive north to the mountains of North Carolina where all the ski resorts and snow tubing parks are. Here’s a short list of parks about an hour from Greenville:
Sapphire Valley Resort offers beautiful slopes for skiing and snowboarding in Sapphire Valley. The resort is also home to the Frozen Falls Tube Park, where you and your friends can plummet down a 500-foot run in a sturdy inner tube. The park is a 1-hour, 40-minute drive from Greenville.
Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley has 50 acres of skiable land and a nearby snow tubing park. The park has 18 different slopes and trails for skiing and snowboarding for enthusiasts of all skill levels. This park is a 1-hour, 50-minute drive from Greenville.
Western North Carolina is home to other ski resorts that are slightly further away, including Wolf Ridge Ski Resort, Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain Resort and Sugar Mountain Resort. The largest snow tubing park on the East Coast—Hawksnest Snow Tubing Park—is also just under three hours away.
Stay Home
If it snows, don’t even think about driving anywhere, or even leaving your own driveway. Southerners generally don’t know how to drive in snow, so the biggest threat is the people sharing the road. But southern snow also usually melts when it lands then refreezes, creating a layer of ice underneath the snow. So, if it snows—or if it ices, which is statistically more likely—just stay home.
Snow or ice, there’s still a lot of fun to be had sliding down a hill (or driveway) on a toboggan, sled or collapsed cardboard box.
Or you could do what I do: make cocoa and watch the 6-hour Pride and Prejudice miniseries in one day. To each his own.
