Over 40 Fun Things To Do In The Snow Guaranteed To Be A Blast
If you have been looking for fun things to do in the snow, this is the list for you!! It includes over 40 different ways you and your family can get outside and enjoy winter!
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Fun Things To Do In The Snow
Michigan Girl
Since I live in Michigan, you would think that I would be a huge fan of winter. Well that’s not entirely true. I love the look of fresh fallen snow and I actually enjoy shoveling, if that’s even possible. But I don’t like being cold. That’s where having the right snow gear comes into play. If you don’t have it, you won’t last long outdoors. Here is a list of some of my favorite cold weather items:
One of the best ways to embrace winter for me is to go into it knowing that there will be days that I don’t want to embrace it. Growing up in Michigan, there have been years when winter seems to last from Halloween until Easter. I remember trick-or-treating in snow gear and posing for Easter photos as the snow was falling!
Since having children, every year during winter I try to push myself to get outside and try some fun new things to do in the snow. This list includes some things I have already done, and some new ways to embrace winter that I can’t wait to try!
Practical Ways To Embrace Winter Outdoors
Take A Shelter Dog Out For The Day
What dog wouldn’t love to spend sometime outside of their cage, running around some fresh snow?! Contact your local Humane Society or animal shelter to see if this is something they offer. Not only will it make the dog happy, but I’m sure you will leave with a smile on your face also. We were lucky enough to spend a day with a shelter dog during a recent trip to Maui.
Enjoy A Hot Chocolate Outside
More and more restaurants and coffee shops are putting up outdoor igloos and tiny greenhouses so people can enjoy their warm drinks outside. This would be a fun thing to do in the snow for the whole family without having to build your own igloo.
Visit A Local Nature Center
While we are huge fans of playing in our backyard, sometimes you just need a change of scenery. Stop by a local nature center and enjoy a hike on their trails. A nature guide, or a book about animal tracks, are great resources for an outdoor scavenger hunt! The snow makes finding animal tracks a lot easier than in the warmer months.
You could even check to see if they offer classes during the winter about hibernation or discovering animal tracks like Outdoor Discovery Center, in Holland, MI.
Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt
Together as a family, come up with a list of things you to find outside like, pine cones, berries, or an icicle. Then split off into groups, each one armed with a camera. Set a time limit, head out, and take a picture of each item you find. When the time is up, meet back up and see which team found more items from the list. The team who found the most items, WINS!
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Have A Bonfire
A bonfire is the perfect way to embrace winter after spending a day outside doing fun things in the snow. Instead of everyone coming inside to get warm, you can gather around a bonfire to warm up Have you seen these new smokeless fire pits?. Make sure you check with your local laws to see if backyard fires are permitted. If not, warming up by the fireplace is just as fun!
Take A Day Trip To A Nearby City
Winter is a great time to visit a nearby city you haven’t been to, or to visit one of your favorite cities. Check out our list of 10 things you must do in Muskegon, MI, during a recent day trip our family took.
Learn To Snow Shoe
I have never tried snow shoeing before but I know quite a few people who have taken it up recently and they LOVE it! Since we love hiking, this sounds like a fun thing to do in the snow while enjoy some of our favorite trails.
(Photo Courtesy: PetoskeyArea.com)
Learn To Ski
Ok, I’ll admit it… I have lived in Michigan my entire life and I have never been skiing. There is something about flying down a snow covered hill on two narrow skis that always had me a little worried. However, I did promised myself that I would try new ways to embrace winter… Maybe I’ll just start out with cross country skiing. I’ll keep you posted!
Check out our friends over at In The Olive Groves. They are huge fans of winter sports and they know a ton of great places to enjoy them like this wonderful place in Maine.
Photo Courtesy: InTheOliveGroves.com)
Learn To Snowboard
Fun little fact: Muskegon, MI, is the the birthplace of the snowboard! The first mass produced snowboard, know as the Snurfer, was designed by Sherm Poppen in 1968 as a toy for his daughters. How cool would it be to learn how to snowboard in the city that is known as the birthplace of snowboarding.
Go Sledding or Tubing
Grab a sled or tube, and make your way to the nearest sledding hill to let your inner child run wild!! It’s a guarantee that there will be loud screaming, snow in your face, a wipe out or two, and a good time had by everyone!
Try Fat Tire Biking
For those of you who are fans of mountain biking, don’t let the winter stop you from enjoying the trails! Winter is the perfect time for learning how to go biking with fat tires. These tires are specifically designed for riding through the snow, making a ride the trails, a year round activity.
(Photo Courtesy: PetoskeyArea.com)
Go Ice Skating
Thankfully, if you decide to try ice skating, there are plenty of options to help make that happen. You could stop by an ice arena, a local lake or pond, or if your city has one, a downtown ice rink. If you don’t own a pair of skates, a lot of these places offer reasonable skate rentals.
Go Snowmobiling
Michigan is also home to more than 6,500 groomed snowmobile trails across the state. You can ride over frozen lakes and open fields to discover places that you might only be able to see in the winter. Don’t have own a snowmobile? No worries! There are multiple companies, in both the lower and upper peninsula, that rent snowmobiles and other winter gear.
Make A Snow Angel
This probably ranks right up there with sledding for childhood memories. Find a patch of untouched snow and let your arms and legs do the rest!
Build A Snowman
Do you wanna build a snowman?
Anna, Frozen Movie
All you need is good packing snow, a hat, some sticks, a carrot nose, and you have yourself the perfect snowman. But don’t stop at just one snowman; you could make a whole snow family! These snowman kits make great welcome gifts for new families that have moved into the neighborhood.
Build A Snow Fort
Here are some tips for building the perfect snow fort:
- I highly recommend purchasing one of these building block molds to help the process go a lot quicker. Otherwise, a small rectangular plastic container works good too.
- Pick out a design for your snow fort before you start building.
- Find the perfect flat spot in your yard and outline your snow fort in the snow so you know how big it will be.
- Start filing your mold with snow and place blocks in a brick pattern. Fill the space between each block as you build.
- Keep building until you have reached your desired height. Then…
Have A Snowball Fight
Now this could be a planned event, with rules in place, like no aiming at faces, (You know who you are!), or it could be a surprise attack on some friends or neighbors that have a sense of humor. If you want to make a lot of snowballs in a short amount of time, check out these snowball makers.
Photo Courtesy: How We Find Happy
Catch Snowflakes On Your Tongue
This for sure will bring you back to your childhood; standing outside with your mouth open wide, trying to catch the large snow-globe looking flakes, and feeling that little shot of cold as they melt on your tongue. This has to be one of the top ways to embrace winter!
Photo Courtesy: Egor Kamelev via pexels.com
Check Out Some Ice Sculptures
Every time I see an ice sculpture, I am blown away by the level of skill it takes to create one! Let alone how these people start with a block of ice and a chainsaw, and they end with an incredible sculpture like a dragon or a city skyline. Check your local state to see if there is an ice festival near you.
Photo Courtesy: Chait Goli via pexels.com
Go On A Winter Helicopter Ride
When you think of helicopter rides, many people think it is reserved for flying over exotic places like Hawaii. But not anymore! More and more helicopter tour companies are opening in smaller cities with tours ranging from downtown fly overs, to color tours in the fall. Sounds like the perfect addition to a great date night! (Hint, hint!)
Photo Courtesy: Roman Odintsov (pexels.com)
Grill Outside
Who said grilling is only for summer?! Have the whole family plan a dinner to include some of your favorite summer barbecue items like grilled chicken, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, and pasta salad. Throw on some shorts and a t-shirt and pretend it’s July. This is one of those ways to embrace winter… by pretending it isn’t here!
Photo Courtesy: Skitterphoto via pexels.com
Visit An Ice Castle
Yes, ice castles are real! Ice Castles currently has four locations throughout the United States; Colorado, New Hampshire, Utah, and Wisconsin. Each castle is built using hundreds of thousands of icicles hand-placed by professional ice artists. Vibrant LED lights make the castles glow up against the night sky. Each castle includes sculptures, thrones, ice-carved tunnels, slides, fountains, and much more.
Our friend, Karen at KMF Is Writing, recently visited the Ice Castle in Wisconsin. You can read all about her experience here.
Go Ice Fishing
My husband’s family has had a cottage on a lake ever since he was little. Every winter, the ice shanties start popping up and the neighbors stop by to share some of the days catch. If you decide to give it a try, make sure you go with someone who is an ice fishing veteran. Even though the ice may “look” thick enough, it has to be a minimum of 4″ thick to walk on.
Go Ice Climbing
Talk about a unique winter sport! Michigan is home to some of the best ice climbing spots in the country, like Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula. You can experience the rush of ice climbing as you make your way up a frozen waterfall, ranging from 20 to 210 feet tall, all while taking in the beautiful Michigan winter scenery around you.
Check out our friend, Karen at KMFiswriting.com, and read about her experience finding frozen waterfalls in Minnesota.
Visit A State Park
Pack up the family and head to your favorite state park. If you usually visit during the warmer month, this visit will be a great opportunity to see how the parks change throughout the year. One of our favorite things to do is to visit Lake Michigan in the winter. A place where you would normally see beach goers in the summer, like the Grand Haven State Park, has now turned into a totally different world. Mountains of frozen water and sand fill the beach, and the big red lighthouse stands out surrounded by the blue sky and white ice.
Go Glamping
Even though glamping is technically an “indoor” thing, it is also great way to be outside, surrounded by nature. Just look at that view from the window inside this Airbnb in New York.
Photo Courtesy: Willow Treehouse, Airbnb.com
Learn How To Curl
Within the last few year, curling has become more and more popular. My kids were obsessed with it during the last winter Olympics and they even try to recreate it at home with a Swiffer! There are quite a few places across the U.S. that offers curling classes and leagues. You could get a team together and check it out.
Photo Courtesy: Tima Miroshnichenko via pexels.com
Attend Or Take Part In A Dogsled Race
Even though dog sledding isn’t your typical winter sport, you can still mush yourself into a great time. There are dog sled races throughout United States, and quite a few places where you can book a ride for yourself. To be honest, it must feel amazing to make your way through the snow, being pulled by these beautiful animals.
You can read all about our friend’s, Karpiak Caravan, experience HERE.
Photo Courtesy: KarpiakCaravan.com
Check Your Local Parks & Recreation Offerings
Your local Parks & Rec office may offer multitude of outdoor activities near you such as sledding, ice skating, hiking and outdoor exploration, cross country skiing, fat tire bike riding, and snowshoeing. Usually the best ways to embrace winter are not that far from where you live, so no excuses!
Visit An Ice Cave
Ice caves can form one of two ways:
- When melting snow runs over the edge of a cliff, it freezes, and creates a “cave.”
- Or when waves in a large body of water, like a Great Lake, continue to crash onto the icy shore, the water keeps freezing creating cavities, a.k.a. caves.
Make sure you wear proper footwear, like ice cleats, otherwise you might get hurt while walking on the ice. The cleats give you some traction that is necessary for you having an enjoyable experience without a trip to the hospital.
Visit A Tree Farm
I can smell the pine trees now! This would make for a great activity before the holidays, or even the perfect spot for your family pictures. Especially if you can time it right with the snowfall.
Go On A Horse Drawn Sleigh Ride
Nothing says winter to me more than a horse drawn sleigh ride! Cuddle up with your family to stay warm as you make your way through the snow. There are many options for sleigh rides like a ride through the city, or along the wooden trail in the country. Any of them sound amazing to me!
Photo Courtesy: Pixabay via pexels.com
Go Winter Kayaking
I know what you’re thinking…
“Won’t I get wet?!”
Yes, there is always the chance that you could get wet, after all, you are on the water. But what an incredible way to embrace winter as you make your way down river, listening to the silence only nature can offer!
(Photo Courtesy: PetoskeyArea.com)
Try Night Sky Viewing
My son is a huge fan of space! During our travels we have stopped at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, in Ohio, and the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. But nothing has made him more happy than receiving his own telescope. Winter night sky viewing is great because, for one, it gets dark early, and two, the sky is usually pretty clear. We have been able to take some amazing photos with his telescope, like this one, from our own backyard.
Learn How Maple Syrup Is Made
There a few nature preserves near us that offers you a chance to step back in time and discover how Native Americans and pioneers made maple syrup. On the tour you can enjoy the smells, and tastes of the sugarhouse, and practice tapping a tree. Make sure you grab a bottle of maple syrup before you go home so you can make maple taffy just like in the Little House on the Prairie books.
Photo Courtesy: Anete Lusina via pexels.com
Offer To Shovel Or Snow Blow A Neighbor’s Sidewalk
Since you will already be outside to shovel your own walkway, why don’t you just keep shoveling all the way to your neighbor’s front door. Imagine how happy they would be to look out the front door, possibly dreading the fact that they have to go out to shovel, when they notice that it’s already been done for them. Winter is a great time to pay it forward, especially to elderly neighbors.
Do Random Acts Of Kindness
The greatest thing about random acts of kindness is that they are just that, random. That means whenever the urge hits you, whether in line at the drive through or grocery store, you can pay it forward. One of our favorite random act of kindness is we love to purchase coloring books and crayons for the local children’s hospital. It helps the time pass for children who are in the hospital for any length of time.
Photo Courtesy: Anna Tarazevich via pexels.com
Polar Bear Plunge
Are you brave enough to jump into freezing cold water?! While I’m not sure that I am brave enough, I do love that our local polar plunge helps raise money for Special Olympics. Now that’s something that I can totally support!
Photo Courtesy: Louis via pexels.com
Try Winter Camping
To be completely honest with you, I never knew this was a “thing” until a friend’s son had to participate in winter camping for his Boy Scout badge. I used to think this was only something that people did who climbed Mt. Everest. If you decide winter camping is something you would like to try, make sure you do your research and have the proper equipment as it gets pretty cold at night in the winter!
Go On A Night Hike
Locally, there are a couple different options for hiking at night. There is a winter sports complex that has trails that are lit for night hiking or cross country skiing. OR you could check the calendar and plan a hike around when there will be a full moon. If the night is clear during the full moon, you would be amazed at how bright it is outside with the light bouncing off the white snow. Make sure if you do venture out for a night hike, that you visit a place that you are familiar with so you don’t get lost.
JUST GET OUTSIDE!
I know it can seem like a lot of work to get everyone dress and ready to go outside, especially if you have kids, but in the end it is so worth it! It could be something as simple as a walk around the neighborhood or there are also great challenges you can join too like 1000 Hours Outside or the 52 Hike Challenge. If you have a hard time holding yourself accountable, enlist the help of a friend to join the challenge with you. Getting outside is the perfect way to embrace winter!
Book A Vacation Some Place Warm
Yes, I am starting this list with something warm! Every winter our family plans a trip somewhere warm, like Florida. It is the perfect way to thaw out and soak up some important vitamins; D and SEA! Find out how our family of 5 flew round trip to Florida for less than $325 without using points or frequent flyer miles.
Additional Fun Things To Do In The Snow
If you have an additional ideas for fun things to do in the snow, please let us know in the comments below. We would love to add them to our list, or better yet, give them a try ourselves!
38 Comments
Michelle
These are such great and fun sounding activities! Can’t wait to find an ice castle to visit!
Trisha
I can only imagine how awesome they are in person! Maybe we need a little road trip…?! 😉
Jana Stewart
I live in MI and this list is golden to me!!!!! I’m actually going snowboarding for the 1st time in 2 weeks! You have so many amazing options on this list! Thank you!!!
Trisha
That’s awesome! Please let me know how you do! I still need to muster up the courage to try snowboarding.
Sam
I love the idea of different ways to get outside during the winter! I grew up in PA, and now I live in Western Washington and let me tell you… I really miss the snow!! It just rains a lot here 😏 Also, do you know of ways to have a bonfire when you live at a rented property so you can’t do it there?
Trisha
Oh man! I think I would rather have the snow than rain!
As far as the bonfire, I would definitely check with your landlord first and then the city. Good luck!
Chantelle
All of theee look fun. I usually hibernate during the winter, but seeing all these options makes me want to try something new
Trisha
The introverted side of me wants to stay inside, but my extroverted kids are just the push I need to get outside!
erin
Great ideas! I love the idea of taking photos for a winter scavenger hunt! Ice Caves also sound awesome! Like you, I’m not a fan of the cold though (even though we’re from Canada!). Thanks for some new ideas!
Trisha
You’re very welcome, Erin! My kids are working on their scavenger hunt list right now!
Kayla
This list is so long, but oh so great. I live in Indiana and never thought about some of these ideas. I can’t wait to try a few of them.
Trisha
Haha! I also worried about it being long but then I realized that winter is long too! 😉 I needed all the help I can get to make it through the long winter days.
Catherine
This list is so helpful! I live in a place that is cold and gray but doesn’t get any fun snow – but so many of these activities are still applicable.
Trisha
That’s too bad! I hope you get the opportunity to get out and try a few at least!
A Capone Connection
Confession: I hate the winter, but I live where it’s cold (PA). I like many of your suggestions… especially the one where you travel somewhere warm. lol Seriously though, I’ve been on 2 helicopter rides but never thought to do it in the winter. That sounds like it could be awesome! Thanks for the tips!
Trisha
You’re very welcome! I’ve only been on a helicopter ride once, and I also never thought of doing it in the winter!
kmf
We’re definitely embracing winter in Minnesota. Tried snowshoeing yesterday and loved it!
Trisha
That’s awesome! I’m glad you were able to get out there and embrace winter!
Taquia
This is a great list full of fun ideas! I would love to visit an ice ice castle.
Trisha
You and me both, Taquia! I would love to know how they build them since they are so large!
Cathy
I do like winter! Especially the snow! Unfortunately, I now live in NC where we don’t get much snow. Great ideas!
Trisha
I hope you get to visit someplace that had some snow for you to enjoy!
Barbara
FIrst item on our list when the temperature changes is to plan our warm weather sunshine get-a-way! I’m with you! Also from Michigan…winter is too cold and too long! 🙂
Trisha
Amen! A warm break about half way through winter is the perfect thing to look forward to!
Leeanne
We have a trip planned in early March to go on a horsedrawn carriage ride. We can’t wait! Great list of winter activities.
Trisha
Oh that’s awesome! I can’t wait to hear all about it!
Marianne
Im in Ontario… so pretty much the same winter as you! I think the only thing I would not try on your list, is a Polar Plunge! LOL
Trisha
I agree! That one would take a lot of convincing!
Carey
I wish had more snow and colder weather for some of these fun adventures. I never even thought about taking a foster dog for a walk. What a great idea!
Trisha
I hope you find a shelter that does “Doggie Day Out.” Our whole family enjoyed it a lot!
stacy
Omg, I never thought to take a shelter dog out for the day! On it!!
Trisha
It is so much fun to love on a shelter dog for the day! We are looking into doing it again!
lisa
This is a great list! I am trying to embrace winter too this year!
Trisha
That’s awesome! I hope you get the opportunity to try something new!
Cindy
These are fun suggestions! I’d love to try snowshoes. And winter camping intrigues me too.
Trisha
We just signed up for an intro to snowshoeing! We are so excited to give it a try!
Alexis Farmer
I’ve lived in NE Ohio all my life and the winters are long and gross. If I did half of these things, it would be so much better, though! I’m definitely down to have a bonfire anytime of year.
Trisha
Can’t go wrong with a bonfire and some s’mores!