While snow resorts to the south are looking to open their gates early to powder-hungry punters, Canberrans have been buffeted with strangely Melbourne-like winds and rain.

But up in the Brindabellas, the mountain ranges west of the capital, snow is beginning to cover Canberra's rooftop.

ACT parks manager Brett McNamara said they'd had about 15cm of snow, which was nothing special.

"Winter has arrived in the bush capital," Mr McNamara said.

Mr McNamara said it was important for Canberrans to realise how important the snow was for the capital's drinking water, especially as Sydneysiders will soon be facing water restrictions.

"That snow will melt and it will eventually make its way into our drinking water," he said.

"It has been unseasonably dry. The fact that we were prescribed burning into late May tells me that it's been incredibly dry out there."

While the Brindabellas weren't probably offering the conditions for a casual Sunday toboggan sesh, Mr McNamara said there were still chances to go hiking.

He said adventurous Canberrans - and he stressed "adventurous" - needed to be well prepared if they planned on hiking through the Brindabellas.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, just poor choice of clothing," Mr McNamara said.

"It's just not accessible to the average Canberran. It's in remote back country, you've got to be prepared."

He said 100 years ago the mountains around Canberra would have been snow capped for most of winter, which would have drawn the capital's planners looking for a good drinking water source.

"We used to get so much snow that back in the 1930s, the Canberra Alpine Club built a ski chalet up at Mount Franklin," Mr McNamara said.

"In my nearly 30 years at this organisation I haven't seen enough snow that would warrant a ski chalet."

"That's a marker in time about how much the climate has changed."

The Bureau of Meteorology was forecasting a low of minus-two in Canberra overnight on Wednesday with a top of 12 degrees and light winds forecast on Thursday.