In Los Angeles in 2015, we get our rain in a room at a museum and our snow at the mall—just the price we pay for living with the most beautiful weather in the US. Sure, there's a freak snow every once in a while, but mostly Los Angeles approaches winter the way it knows best: it makes it up. Here we've rounded up spots from Valencia to Long Beach to Downtown where snow will fall, ice skaters will ice skate with various degrees of gracefulness on artificial rinks, and children will learn to ice fish—all those things that people in the movies do in winter. Enjoy.
Read MoreMap: Where to Experience Classic Winter All Over Los Angeles
The Grove
It's a winter wonderland nightly at The Grove at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., when snow falls gently on harried shoppers and clueless children. Be sure to catch the richly decorated over-100-foot tall white fir tree, which, an official release notes, is "taller than the Rockefeller Christmas Tree." Take THAT, New York. [Image via The Grove]
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Pershing Square
Lace up those skates and glide or stumble across the ice at the Pershing Square outdoor rink through January 18. (They're open Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day, too.) Your ticket gets you 60 minutes on the ice. Show your TAP card and save $1 on admission.
The Rink in Downtown Burbank
Running until January 3, this outdoor rink in the middle of Burbank's downtown hub stays open until 11:30 on Friday and Saturday nights. The rink also offers some sweet deals for Burbank residents on its community skate night.
Kidspace Children's Museum
Pasadena's Kidspace Museum will have snow days December 26 through 30, with real snow, snow-related science activities, and something called "Weeble Wobble Penguins," which hopefully will involve real, live penguins.
Westfield Promenade
Woodland Hills Ice is open seven days a week through January 24, and offers not just public skating hours but ice skating lessons and hockey lessons. It's not too late to grab some friends and reenact that Mighty Ducks Flying V scene!
Ice Station Valencia
Once a weekend in December, this indoor ice rink has snow days with real snow that you can play in. Children's admission includes the rental for skates, time on the ice, and hot chocolate.
ICE at Santa Monica
Glide across the ice at Arizona and Fifth Street through January 19. Bonus: hockey lessons provided by the LA Kings hockey program are available on select weekends.
The Americana at Brand
It snows at the Americana at 7 and 8 pm through December 24. Like The Grove, the Americana will have a white fir tree over 100 feet tall on display and, also like the one at The Grove, this tree will be "decorated with more than 10,000 hand-made ornaments and 15,000 Decorations lights."
The Lakes at Thousand Oaks
The Lakes is open for skating every day between now and January 24.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Nightly snowfall hits Universal CityWalk every hour, on the hour from 6 p.m to 9 p.m. from now through Christmas. Don't forget to stop by their giant tree, which will be laden with "200,000 choreographed, pulsing LEDs." You literally cannot miss it. There's also Grinchmas at Universal Studios, if you're into terrifying Whos.
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Nokia Plaza
The LA Kings Holiday Ice skating rink at LA Live is open through midnight on December 31 (it closes early on Christmas Eve, though). [Image via Aaron Cohan]
The Queen Mary
Over at the Queen Mary, the giant dome that once housed the Spruce Goose will be turned into a giant frozen playground, filled with about 2 million pounds of sculptures (some of which are over two stories tall), plus an ice rink, ice tubing, something called "Polar Paintball," and a sleigh ride. Promoters of CHILL at the Queen Mary, as the spectacle is called, boast that it'll be nine degrees inside the dome so bundle up. CHILL is open through January 3, then again from January 7 to 10.
Annenberg Space for Photography Skylight Studios
Get all the thrill of watching polar bears migrate through the Arctic while staying perfectly warm at "Pearls of the Planet" exhibit, which features "immersive experience booths with live cam screens featuring sights and sounds of the polar bear migration." You can also pose with a life-size polar bear "amidst swirling snow" in a special photo booth.
North Pole Tubing Park
You can tube in real live snow in the Angeles National Forest, at tubing park at Mountain High ski resort. It has 10 lanes, "two moving carpets and custom tubes." The park generally opens in mid-December, but only on weekends and holidays.