Trampoline Winter Care: Leave It Up, or Take It Down?

What each maker actually says

There is no single industry line on this, so the useful thing is to read the makers side by side. These are their own words, from the pages cited at the end of this guide.

Springfree says a high-quality trampoline can survive inclement winter weather without needing to be taken down and stored, and tells owners to clear accumulated snow with a soft bristle brush or broom, specifically warning against hard bristles or shovels, which may damage the mat. It notes a trampoline cannot hold a heavy amount of snow and that excessive accumulation can tear the mat. It also suggests a weather cover to protect the mat when the trampoline is not in use, and recommends anchors for windy areas.

ACON gives the most specific threshold of the four: heavy snow left on the trampoline for long periods can damage the springs, so clear it before it reaches 4 inches in thickness, using a soft broom or brush and avoiding sharp tools that might damage the fabric. ACON says you can jump in cold weather provided the surface is dry and free of ice, says the jump mat keeps its elasticity in the cold, and advises inspecting the frame monthly because moisture and freezing conditions put stress on joints and springs. On ice its advice is to let it melt rather than chip it off.

Zupapa draws the geographic line: in an area that gets heavy snow it recommends disassembling the trampoline and storing it, because heavy snow will most likely crush the trampoline and damage the frame; in milder climates the metal frame can be left in place. It tells owners not to jump on a trampoline with ice or snow on it, to clear snow with a broom or other soft tool, to use wind stakes against windy weather, and to check for bends or cracks in the steel tubing and rust at the bottom of the frame.

Skywalker and Machrus, as reported in the same roundup of maker guidance, advise taking the trampoline down and storing it in colder climates. If you own one of those, follow your own manual: the trampoline-specific instructions that shipped with the frame outrank anything a general guide says, including this one.

Read together, the disagreement is really about snow load, not cold. Cold does not hurt a galvanized frame or a modern mat. Weight does, and so does standing water that freezes in a joint.

Snow: clear it before 4 inches

A trampoline mat is a tensioned surface, not a roof. Snow does not slide off it: it sits in the middle, gets heavier as it compacts and wets, and loads the mat, the springs and the frame at the same time. ACON's 4-inch threshold is the only published number we have found, and it is a sensible working rule for any frame.

• Use a soft broom or a soft-bristle brush. Springfree names this explicitly and warns against hard bristles and shovels. A snow shovel on a jump mat is how a small tear becomes a replacement.
• Sweep off the edge, not across the springs. Push snow toward the nearest edge in short strokes so you are not dragging grit over the whole mat.
• Do not climb on to clear it. You are the heaviest load the frame will see all winter, and a snow-covered mat is a slip surface over springs.
• Do the same for a weather cover. Zupapa points out that snow builds up on the cover too, and it still needs clearing with a soft tool.
• Clear after each fall rather than at the end of a run of storms. Four inches of fresh powder is a two-minute job; a foot of refrozen pack is not a job at all, it is damage.

Ice, and why nobody jumps today

Every maker here says the same thing in different words: do not jump on an icy or snow-covered mat. Zupapa warns it causes slipping and falling as well as mat damage; Springfree tells owners to take a rain check if the mat is slippery; ACON allows winter jumping only when the surface is dry and free of ice. A frozen mat is also a harder mat, which changes how a landing feels in a way children do not anticipate.

If ice has formed, ACON's guidance is to let it melt naturally rather than chipping at it. Scraping ice off a mat or a pad with anything rigid damages the fabric and the stitching, and a cracked spring pad exposes exactly the part of the trampoline that CPSC's safety guidance wants covered.

One winter rule carries over unchanged from the rest of the year: the ladder comes away from the frame when the trampoline is not in supervised use. CPSC asks for that specifically so that young children cannot climb up unsupervised, and a dark, cold afternoon is exactly when nobody is watching (trampoline safety rules).

The net and the pad are the parts that age

If the frame stays out and you want to spend one hour on winter prep, spend it here. The enclosure net and the spring pad are the shortest-lived components on any trampoline: frames typically carry multi-year warranties while nets and pads carry a year or two, which is the makers telling you where the wear is. UV, wind-flex and freeze-thaw cycles all attack woven mesh and foam-filled vinyl faster than they attack galvanized tube.

Taking the net off, rolling it dry and storing it in a shed or garage for the worst three months is free and measurably extends its life. The same goes for the spring pad, the basketball hoop, the tent, the sprinkler and anything else clipped to the frame. Label the bag, because a net that goes back on in March with the poles in the wrong order is a miserable afternoon. When a net does come to the end of its life, replace it rather than running the trampoline open (best trampoline replacement nets, best trampoline safety pads).

A weather cover is worth it for the mat and only the mat. Springfree suggests one to protect the mat when the trampoline is not in use. Treat it as a mat protector that still needs sweeping, not as a reason to skip the snow routine, and bear in mind that a cover left on a wet mat all winter traps moisture against the fabric rather than keeping it dry.

Winter storms are an anchoring problem

The real winter risk in most of the United States is not snow load; it is a windstorm taking an unanchored trampoline into a fence, a car or a neighbor's yard. A trampoline is a shallow dish of fabric on a light frame, which is to say a sail, and stripping the net off for winter makes it a little less of one but not enough to matter.

Both Springfree and Zupapa name anchoring as winter advice, and ACON ships anchors with its rectangles and offers them for its rounds. The jobs worth doing before the first storm of the season:

• Check every anchor by hand. A season of mowing and summer play loosens straps. Re-tension each strap and re-drive any stake that has lifted.
• Anchor every leg, not two of them. A frame tied at two points pivots on them. ACON's own guidance for windy open yards is four anchors.
• Re-check after the ground freezes and again after the first thaw. Frozen soil holds a stake beautifully; thawed soil around a stake hole holds almost nothing.
• Take the net down before a named storm, not after. Less surface area, fewer poles to bend.

The method is the same as the rest of the year, with one addition: in winter you cannot drive a new stake into frozen ground, so anything that needs fixing has to be fixed in the fall (how to anchor a trampoline, and anchoring on concrete if there is no soil to work with).

The anchors that hold through a winter

These are the trampoline anchors in our registry, in the order a yard facing a winter of storms should consider them. All three are judged on the anchors rubric, on published holding design, fit range, materials and instructions (how we rate).

The full ranking, with what each maker publishes, is on best trampoline anchors.

How to take one down properly

If you are in heavy-snow country, or the trampoline sits under a roofline that dumps snow, Zupapa's advice is the right advice. The order that saves the most work in March:

• Pick a dry day. Everything you store must go away dry or it will mildew.
• Remove the net and poles first, then the spring pad, then the mat and springs, following your manual.
• Bag and label by component: net, poles, pad, mat, springs, hardware. Spring-pull tools and bolts live in the hardware bag, not in the garage drawer.
• Inspect as you go. Zupapa asks owners to look for bends or cracks in the steel tubing and for loose screws or rust at the bottom of the frame, and to treat weak spots with a rust inhibitor. Winter is the cheapest time to find a cracked socket.
• Store the frame tubes off the ground and out of standing water, flat or on a rack. The leg ends sitting in a puddle all winter is how a frame rusts from the inside.

Leaving the legs in place and storing only the soft parts is a legitimate middle path in a mild climate, and it is what Zupapa describes for milder areas. It also keeps the footprint reserved so nobody parks a trailer on the spot.

The spring inspection

Before the first jump of the season, go through the frame the way the makers ask. Zupapa's list is net, mat, foam padding and frame; ACON asks for a monthly frame inspection through the cold months because moisture and freezing stress joints and springs. In practice: look for rust at the leg ends and at every welded socket, flex each spring hook, check the mat stitching all the way around, look for UV chalking and small tears in the pad, zip and unzip the net entry, and then re-tension every anchor before anyone gets on.

Replace what the inspection condemns. A stretched spring, a frayed net seam or a split pad are each a cheap part and an expensive injury, and they are the three things a winter outdoors is most likely to produce.

Mistakes to avoid

• Shoveling the mat. Soft broom only, per Springfree and ACON.
• Chipping ice off the mat or the pad. Let it melt, per ACON.
• Letting kids jump on a snow-dusted mat because it looks fun. Every maker here says no.
• Leaving the ladder against the frame all winter. CPSC asks for it to be removed so small children cannot climb up unsupervised.
• Storing a wet net. Mildew destroys mesh faster than UV does.
• Waiting until the ground freezes to fix an anchor. You cannot drive a stake into frozen soil.
• Assuming a cover is a substitute for clearing snow. It is a mat protector, and it needs sweeping too.