8 Fun Outdoor Winter Activities

Posted by wahab on February 18th, 2020

It is December now, which means cold temperatures outdoors and snow, a lot of it. If you are willing and able to brave the cold, however, there sure are a lot of fun outdoor activities exclusive to winter. Some of the most popular and fun outdoor winter activities are snowboarding, snow skiing, snow sledding, building a snowman (or snowwoman), cross-country skiing, ice skating, snowmobiling, and having a snowball fight.

Snowboarding

Invented in the early 1980s, snowboarding is now allowed at all except a handful of ski resorts around. Snowboarding is probably the most popular extreme winter sport there is. With how many ski mountains there are in the world, it is likely that you can find one within a few hours drive to go have some fun on. 

Snow Skiing

Snow skiing has been around for much longer than snowboarding but is also another very fun extreme winter sport. Snow skiing is a little easier to learn than snowboarding but it is just as fun once you put in the practice to learn how to ski.

Snow Sledding

Snow sledding is a lot of fun for the whole family. You do not need to buy a lift ticket and probably do it near your home. All you need is some type of snow sled and a snow-covered hill to ride down. You just walk up to the top and slide your way down as fast as you can.

There are 4 main types of sleds: runner sleds, toboggans, disks, and tubes. Runner sleds consist of a raised platform suspended by metal runners or skis and are usually steerable. They are fastest on hard-packed snow and ice. Toboggans do not have metal runners or skis. They are simply a sled that has a smooth bottom surface which makes complete contact with the snow. Disks look like the bottom half of an empty sphere. They were traditionally made of metal, but most are now made of hard plastic. Tubes are inflatable snow sleds that are, at the most simple, circular donut-shaped. However, inflatable sleds can come in all types of shapes, sizes, and designs.

Build a Snowman (or Snowwoman)

Building a snowman is easy. All you need is enough snow on the ground in your yard, a long carrot for the nose, pieces of coal for the buttons and eyes, some sticks for the arms, and maybe a hat if it is a classy snowman.

Cross-country Skiing

If you like to exercise while exploring the snow-covered countryside, then cross-country skiing is for you. Cross-country skis are modified from snow skis to allow you to ride on the flat snow-covered ground. It can be a big workout, but also very fun.

Ice Skating

Ice skating rinks are located in most towns and can be fun in the winter and, in the case of indoor ice skating rinks, year-round. It might not be the easiest activity to learn, but it can be a lot of fun to put on your ice skates and glide across the ice.

Snowmobiling

Snowmobiling is great for the adrenaline junkie. You can go very fast through the snow on what is basically a motorcycle designed to power through the snow. You just need to be careful and make sure to wear a helmet.

Snowball Fight

For the highly competitive families, go outside, grab some snow, and throw it at each other. If you want even more of a fun time build some snow forts to protect. You can even form teams and play a version of the team capture the flag using the snow forts and snowballs.