Snow Bowling

Snow Bowling!

Looking for a fun outdoor
Winter activity?

Try our Snow Bowling idea!

When you are building your Snow Bowling Alley, you will need snow that is fairly sticky - sticky enough to create the Snow Ball and Snowmen Pins. Once your Snow Bowling Alley is built, you can play on it even when the snow is not sticky — perfect for those colder winter days.

What You Will Need:

• Sticky Snow
• Backyard or other play area

What You Do:

• In an open space of your yard, shovel the snow to create your bowling alley. We make our alleys 10 feet long and 2-1/2 feet wide. Pile the snow you shovel along the alley to form the side walls. We make our alley walls about 10 inches high. Make sure to create a wall at the end of your alley, leaving the beginning of the alley open.
• Using buckets or a garden hose, spray water over your alley and alley walls — this creates a smooth, slippery surface for Snow Bowling. (A clean tank sprayer works great, too!)
• While your alley is turning to ice, it's time to work on your Snow Balls and Snowmen Pins. We make our Snow Balls about the size of a regular bowling ball — if you make them too large, they are more difficult to roll, and if you make them too small, they do not have enough weight to bowl down the snowmen. You might want to make a Snow Ball for each player. (Having a hard time making a round Snow Ball? Try our Snowman Maker Mold to make perfectly round Snow Balls!)
• Make small Snowmen Pins to stand at the end of your bowling alley. We make ours about 18 inches high. You can either roll snow balls to form the snowmen, like you do when building a traditional snowman, or you can lump snow together and sculpt the shape you want. TIP: If you spray water on the Snowmen Pins after they are formed, they will last longer.
• Once your bowling alley has formed ice, you're ready to go Snow Bowling!

Variations:

• Snow Bowling is a lot of fun at night, too! Set up ice lanterns along the bowling alley to light the way.
• If you want to make colored Snow Balls, mix a little food coloring in a spray bottle and paint your Snow Balls — this way each player will have their own unique Snow Ball to use.

CAUTION: To avoid injuries, please be careful not to slip on the iced surface of your bowling alley!

Want More Winter Activities for Kids?

We have lots of fun indoor and outdoor winter activities for kids of all ages in our Play With Your Kids section. Here are the links to these activities:
Ice Ornaments
Icy Bubbles
Track and Snow
Fox and Geese Backyard Game
Ice Spikes
Frozen Faces Treat
Indoor Snowball Fight
Marshmallow Snow Sculptures
Penny Hockey Game
Backyard Bird Buffet