If you’ve been planning on making a road to Pasco County’s Snowcat Ridge for some snowy winter wonderland fun, you’ll want to check whether they’re open first. They were temporarily shut down by Pasco County officials on Wednesday evening.
According to Snowcat Ridge’s Facebook page, on December 9, Pasco County officials showed up at Snowcat Ridge and revoked the parks existing permit.
Snowcat Ridge says that officials did not provide any documentation or written explanation of any violations.
Pasco County officials released 48 photos that county inspectors took at Snowcat Ridge that, according to the county, showed violations regarding the electrical connections and shipping containers used as structures.
Officials said that Snowcat Ridge project did seek permits, but the inspection process was never completed. As of Nov. 20, when the park officially opened, only one permit had been inspected and closed. Park officials did not request inspections to close out the other outstanding permits, according to the county.
“Pasco County is committed to working with Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park to address all outstanding life-safety issues, and we look forward to the reopening of this unique attraction,” the county said in a statement.
Snowcat Ridge also shared this, “Pasco County has failed to recognize our State of Florida amusement ride approvals and will not allow us to open Snowy Slopes. Our legal team is working hard to keep Snowcat Ridge open, and we hope to have a resolution soon but until then we have been forced to temporarily close the facility. Our team is working hard to resolve this situation as soon as possible.”
Two days before being shut down by county officials Snowcat Ridge posted that they were hiring, always a welcome happening amid the continuing pandemic.
The park is located in Dade City and opened to the public on Nov. 20 features a 60-foot-tall and 400-foot-long real snow-covered tubing hill with a magic carpet lift, an Alpine Village, and a ten thousand square foot snow dome.