As someone who feels like December is going by so quickly – I also love the slow down of the winter season. If you are looking for some good advice on surviving and thriving in the cold season, NPR’s LifeKit released a great episode called “How to thrive, not just survive in winter”. One of the pieces of advice they have is to find things you love to do in the winter and are more fun when it is cold outside. At Ney Nature Center, we have so many things we can only do in winter, and that is the joy we have surrounding all of our seasonal activities.
While the park is open year-round, and we are always in support of a hike, only in winter can you enjoy the park via snowshoes or cross-country (nordic) skis. With a few miles of groomed xc ski trails and many more miles of snowshoe & hiking trails, we love the new visitors that we only get during these months, drawn in by the new way to enjoy the park. If you’ve never snowshoed or xc skied before, no problem! We have equipment for rental once the snow has settled and the trails are groomed, so you can try it out at a low cost before investing in your own pair. Open 7 days a week, with late hours on Thursdays, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of. In addition, if you would rather take a class, we have options for youth and adults. Starting on January 23rd, we will have once-weekly Youth Nordic Ski Club for 4 weeks for ages 8-14 years. Those 15 and up are welcome to join us for a 3-hour workshop on January 25th covering the basics of xc skiing, focusing on technique.
Not into skiing but want to enjoy the outdoors as a part of a class at Ney? Families may be interested in our upcoming winter break classes, listed below in the graphic. Otherwise, we also have monthly Tiny Trekker (4-6yrs) and Nature Detective (7-11yrs) classes covering a variety of topics, including Snow, Crows, and Maple Syrup!
Everyone is welcome at Snowshoe Saturdays, a monthly program beginning in January where you can explore different parts of the park with a naturalist. We also welcome adults to look into our Lifelong Learner Lunches, another monthly program, with these taking place in the education building, focused on new topics each month, including Zoos, Chimney Swifts, and Extremophiles.
If you aren’t able to make our classes, we always love to see visitors enjoying the park. It is open for free to the public from 6am-10pm 365 days a year, and park maps are available on our website, as well as in the kiosks in the parking lots. In the winter, please make a note to only use the snowshoe/hiking trails when the xc ski trails are groomed. It makes it much harder to ski when the trails have been flattened!
In summary, there is so much to do at Ney Nature Center in the winter, we hope you take at least some joy in this weather and appreciate the snow and cold while it lasts (it also kills off the ticks!) Don’t hesitate to reach out for trail recommendations or with any questions you may have. Happy Winter!
