If you are looking for some snow fun over winter break, you don't have to spend several hours driving from Livermore. 

With just a 35-minute drive, you can get to Dell'Osso Farms, which is having its Holidays on the Farm celebration. You may think of the site as the pumpkin maze place in Lathrop, but now it is completely transformed into a winter wonderland. 

It has snow tubing and ice skating for a fee. Customers are advised to buy snow-tubing tickets online in advance. Dell'Osso's 90-minute sessions, tube included, tend to sell out. Tubing and ice skating are available rain or shine because they take place in covered areas.  

For even more adventure, there are the zipline and an aerial rope course. There is a free snow play area for little ones. You can bring your own food, or buy kettle corn, hot chocolate and lots of other goodies. 

For more information on Holidays on the Farm — and there is lots more to do and see — click here. It closes after Sunday.

If you drive a little farther, about 2-1/2 hours from Livermore, you can visit the Leland High Sierra Snow Play area. It's in Strawberry, which is not far past Sonora. Rather than parking in some random spot in the snow and dodging trees as you try to snow tube, Leland High Sierra offers a huge amount of tubing lanes and no trees.

It provides the tubes and lifts to tow you to the top of the mountain if you don't want to hike. This facility also has a nice indoor area for those who don't want to tube or need a little rest. You can bring food to the snow play area or buy snacks there.  

The Leland High Sierra Snow Play area has different pricing for hiking vs. being towed and week days vs. weekends. For more information, click here. The snow play area is open until mid-April, weather permitting.