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Disappointing winter recreation season ends

Posted at 7:20 PM, Mar 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-09 19:21:56-05

WEST MICHIGAN -- The mild weather we've had this week melted most of our snow, and most winter outdoor recreation areas are disappointed to see an already short season come to an end.

Cannonsburg Ski Area says they only offered about 60 to 70 days of skiing this winter when they normally prefer to have around 100.

The Muskegon Winter Sports Complex said cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and ice skating saw a 20 to 30 percent decline in participation compared to last winter.

They said more people participated in luge because of a growing interest in the sport.

"We jammed a lot into a little," said Jim Rudicil, Executive Director at the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex. "We doubled up to catch up on a lot of our weekends that we were open and had good facilities. And the nice thing about Muskegon State Park here is the heavy wood cover. We don't have a lot of exposure to the sun."

Alycia Choroszucha, who works in marketing and media at Cannonsburg, says she is looking forward to warm weather activities at this point.

"We are actually building a brand new zip line which is going to be probably the biggest and coolest one in Michigan. And it's going to be a racing zip line. So you and a couple of your friends can race against each other."

The zip lines at Cannonsburg are scheduled to open May 1.