Outdoor Winter Activities for Boston Families

2/27/13 - By Tara D

Although this week is starting to feel like spring, we all know how predictably unpredictable New England weather is – and that winter isn’t over yet. The vernal equinox is March 20, but I remember years when we had snow in April. So, you may want to keep the boots and snow pants somewhere handy for now, and enjoy the remaining days of winter with your kids.

Bloggers from the Appalachian Mountain Club’s “Kids Outdoors” online community have lots of great ideas for getting outdoors and staying active as a family, even while trees are leafless and the ground is covered in a layer of white. Read on for a round up of our favorite AMC posts on winter fun with the kids, with our own recommendations for places in the Boston area to have all that fun. 

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

We recommend starting with a quick read of Enjoying a Winter Wonderland: Tips & Trips by Kim Foley MacKinnon. She offers very helpful hints on making sure the kids are cozy and comfortable in the cold, and shares her family’s favorite winter spots in and around Boston.  

In her post, Snowshoeing Fun and Games for Kids, Kristen Laine shares tips from Rick Silverberg, who has led winter excursion workshops for AMC for more than 30 years and is a veteran of snowshoeing adventures with his daughters’ Girls Scouts troops. He offers great ideas for fun snowshoeing outings with kids, like making giant bunny tracks and mapping winter. When the kids have mastered the snowshoes on flat terrain and are ready for a challenge, try snowshoeing at one of our favorite local hiking spots for families.

Teaching Kids Cross-Country Skiing offers some very good parental advice: “It’s only fun if it’s fun”. Read about ways to introduce your kids to cross-country skiing and cultivate a life-long love of the sport. Then grab the kids and head out to Weston Ski Track, Great Brook, or one of our other recommended spots for cross country skiing.

Heather Stephenson argues that autumn isn’t the only time for celebrating trees. She offers Simple Winter Tree Activities for Kids, including a lovely book recommendation. These activities are especially nice for younger kids who may not be ready for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing adventures.

For more advice on exploring the great outdoors with your kids in every season, visit Kids Outdoors, an Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) community.