PETERBOROUGH - The snow was deep and unpacked on the Monadnock Country Club golf course Sunday afternoon, but families were happy to wade out into it and enjoy the white stuff.

The country club has opened the golf course to the public for free on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this winter for snow activities.

It's a way of letting people in the area get to know the club, said manager Bev Monkton in the clubhouse Sunday.

"We used to do it years ago, years and years ago," Monkton said.

The clubhouse also is opened during those hours for people to warm up or have a hot dog or a hot chocolate.

The greens are roped off so that they don't get damaged and no snowmobiles are allowed.

"This is nice because we have sledding, and snowshoeing and cross country skiing. They have a little bit of everything out there," Monkton said.

The country club started the new activity earlier this winter then stopped when all of the snow melted.

Now thanks to the weekend blizzard the club reopened on Sunday.

"We're hoping to have the snow last so we can keep it going," said Monkton's step-daughter Haley Monkton who was minding the snack bar. "It's a lot of fun and I'm glad people are taking advantage of it."

The country club uses its Facebook account and a flag at its driveway entrance to let people know if it is open, Monkton said.

Parents sledding with their children Sunday said they had heard about the club opening up to the public so they came to enjoy the snow.

"I play golf out here," said Dave Onorati of Jaffrey who came with his daughter and her two sons. "I haven't been sledding in years. And I thought this is quite a bit of snow, should be some pretty good sledding."

mpierce@newstote.com