Winter is upon you and you are mourning those long nights of summer that you spent frolicking in the warm sun. Never fear winter can but just as much fun. There is always a winter alternative for all your favourite summer time activities will have you back in the adventurous spirit once more.
Firstly a Winter Alternative for Swimming
Swimming is pretty iconic of summer. It is almost what summer is about, living all day in your swimwear and only coming inside to get more food.
You don’t have to stop swimming just because winter is upon you. There are always indoor aquatic centres that are open year round. They can offer some great swimming fun. I feel like places such as Great Wolf Lodge are the ideal places to go in winter. It is always nice and warm inside and you are getting all the summer swimming in despite it snowing out the window!
We really love heading to the thermal pools during winter. For the last 10 years we have almost always had a trip to New Zealand during winter. New Zealand is set on two tectonic plates which make it incredibly thermal. One of our favourite places to stop on our road trips is a place called Kerosene Creek. It is a naturally heated fresh water creek that runs through native bush. It is absolutely stunning and the water is nice and hot like bath water.
Thermal pools seem to be very popular around ski fields so be sure to look into finding one next time you are hitting the slopes.
Hiking
Did you know that hiking in winter is actually a lot of fun too?! We love to take our kids hiking no matter the weather…okay snowstorm might not be the best idea but I am sure you know what I mean. We have always said there is never bad weather just bad clothing. Check out this post with our tips on how to best dress your little ones in winter so they stay toasty and warm.
Winter hiking offers a completely different experience than hiking during the warmer months. The landscape is different, the wildlife changes and it’s usually a lot quieter.
Nevertheless a great winter alternative for hiking is cross country skiing. Now, granted I have never actually tried it but it looks like a lot of fun. It is kind of a mix between tradtional skiing and running. Check out the video below to get a real feel for what I am talking about because they can explain it far better than I can. I really think this would be a great winter hiking alternative. The ski fields who offer this type of skiing near us actually using the summer hiking trails as cross country skiing trails in winter. So an obvious alternative.
Surfing
I think this one is going to be fairly obvious but I am go to write about it anyway. The best winter alternative for surfing is without a doubt going to be snow boarding. I am personally a skier but my husband is the snow boarder. It is actually where we had our first official date. We got engaged 6 days later but that’s a story for another day!
We can probably put skiing and snowboarding together for the purposes of this post. Skiing and snowboarding use many of the same skills that you use while surfing. There are so many legendary ski fields that are just adventure central. Whistler is the one that screams bucket list to me.
If you have never been skiing or snowboarding then I would highly recommend you book in a lesson on your first day on the slopes. It will usually take only one lesson to master the basics and from there it is just practice. Your kids will undoubtably surprise you with how quickly they pick it up. They will likely put you to shame as the start whizzing past you later in the day.
If you are at the snow it is only reasonable to make a few snow men and snow angels. Playing in the snow can be just as much fun as building sand castles on the beach. Younger kids will really enjoy tobogganing which is significantly cheaper that skiing and snow boarding. If you are after a budget day at the snow then that is what you should do. The kids will still have an incredible time and you can save some dollars for other adventures.
Camping
If camping out in the cold is not your idea of fun then you are going to need a good winter alternative. One alternative we have done is set up out tent inside our house. Yes it does seem to negate the point of camping but it totally creates the whole camping atmosphere and the kids loved it. We simply moved all the furniture out of the living room and set the tent up complete with sleeping bags and pads. Now, I might say that the best part of this whole experience was having the tent set up in front of the big screen TV.
You can also create the camping experience at home by setting up an epic s’mores buffet and fire pit. Crack out the guitar and have a good old fashioned sing along and it will be a night to remember.
A good winter alternative to camping if you actually want to leave your house is to head to a cabin. Cabins are usually located in some picturesque areas and are set up for perfect winter memory making. During the night you can sit around a campfire toasting your marshmallows and by day head out to see the sights and be adventurers.
Rock Climbing
Rock climbing can be done year round but it is definitely a little more challenging in winter , especially for kids. It is with this is mind that our winter alternative for rock climbing is to simply hit the indoor rock climbing gym.
Rock climbing gyms are a great way to keep your skills sharp and continue to hone in on the finer aspects of rock climbing. If your kids loved rock climbing during the summer then make sure you keep nurturing that passion over the winter. Rock climbing has so many insane benefits for kids it’s mind boggling. You can read about that here.
You can also spend the winter months planning with your kids where you are going to climb once the sun comes out again. Sometimes the planning aspect of seeking adventure is half the fun. Youtube is our go to for finding places to explore and add to our family bucket list.
One video that actually really inspired our kids was Free Solo. It focuses around free climber Alex Honnold who attempts to free climb El Capitan in Yosemite. It is an incredibly inspiring documentary that had even our seven year old hooked until the end. I don’t think we will ever be free climbing El Capitan but we will definitely be visiting and will perhaps one day climb it…harnesses attached!
Skating
Ice skating in Central Park always looks so magical. If you are looking for a winter alternative for skating then you need to go pick up some blades and hit the ice. My experience with ice skating is a bit mixed. As a child I was a lean mean skating machine. However we have taken our children the past few years and they skated rings around me and my balance was completely off. I am not sure if it’s an age thing or if I was just way more cautious these days.
Ice skating at dedicated ice skating centre is a great idea for newbies because they offer skate hire. Along side skate hire you can also hire aids for young children which allows them to become a lot more confident without the fear of falling. We always hire one for our younger two kids. They can either use it to push around as they skate or if they want to be a little lazy, entice one of their older siblings to push them around the ice while they sit on it and ride.
Finally a Winter Alternative to Treehouse Building
Kids love to build and they love to be creative. Our 6 year old has this insane ability to just know how things should be put together. He mananged to do a puzzle in 5 mins that 6 adults could not figure out in over an hour. Fort building and hut building is where he excels.
A great winter alternative for building all those play forts outside can be simply moving them inside. I think most people these days have seen the epic fort building couches that are ridiculously popular. These fort building couches really serve so many purposes and kids really love being able to be creative is so many new ways. If you don’t have one of these new couches then you can take it old school and pull all the cushions of the couch and get all the sheets outs of the linen cupboard. We have found that clothes airing racks work great in fort building as do pegs and bull dog clips.
Now if you are super game and your back yard is full of snow then how about you build an igloo? Igloos have always fascinated me as to how they keep you warm and how on earth can you have a fire inside and not melt the ice?
In researching igloos while writing this post I came across this video which explains how an igloo keeps you warm. My kids watch these videos all the time and are always coming out with crazy facts. Maybe you can try it out and see if you can last the night in your igloo!