Does a snow machine put out snow and then melt on the ground making water?
That depends on the air/ground temperature. First of all, snow making machines disperse a very fine mist of water high into the air. The air temperature has to be below freezing (32 degrees F, 0 degrees C) in order for the mist to freeze into snow. Then the ground temperature has to be 32 degrees or less, or it will melt. If you plan to have people tramping around in the artificial snow, then the ground will have to be significantly colder than 32 degrees. Furthermore, you should have a base of snow, I’d say at least 6 inches for this plan to work. Finally, snowmaking machines or snow cannons are not readily available to the average consumer. They are quite expensive and are used almost exclusively by ski resorts.
