LAKETON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Warmer January temperatures have put a damper on outdoor winter sports in West Michigan. The Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park has been open three days so far this season.

Dan Bonner, an outdoor adventure specialist for Muskegon Luge, said warmer weather has kept the nonprofit park closed. On Tuesday, the park’s 2 acres of ice rinks were bare grass and dirt.

“We don’t have any refrigeration. We have very minimal snowmaking equipment but even right now, it’s too warm for us to make snow,” Bonner said.

The park is used to dealing with an occasional warmup but they normally don’t last very long.

“Last year we opened on Jan. 11 and we were able to be open until the very first day of March with one thaw in February. But this is just — this is weird,” Bonner said. “The January thaw is a thing. We have winter and all of the sudden for a couple of days it warms up, but the unusual aspect this winter is that it just hasn’t gotten cold again.”

Despite the challenges, staff is staying optimistic and getting equipment ready so when the temperature drops they will be ready. They say even a few inches of snow can make a difference in getting some of the activities back up and running.

“It looks like it’s going to get cold this weekend but we might not get enough snow. We need about 4 to 6 inches of snow for us to really start building our luge track, building our ice skate rink, and skate trail, grooming our ski trails,” Bonner said.

The staff worked around the clock after the pre-Christmas blizzard to get the park open and say they are committed to get the job done again.

“Once we get winter, we’re going to be gung-ho in getting everything ready so that our season pass holders can get out here and enjoy winter, visitors can get out here and purchase day passes and rentals,” Bonner said.