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Snowshoeing for All Ages
A Winter Sport for Family Fun
By Amy Carey Bowman
The final piece of apparel: "Wear a backpack that will comfortably carry all of your equipment – any extra layers as you warm up and need to shed them, food and water and any emergency equipment needed for the region you'll be traveling into," Heilman says. Parents might also include a diaper and wipes, kid-friendly munchies like trail mix, dried fruit and granola bars, small bottles of water with sport-tops so kids can pop them open easily and tissues. If your bag is too full to accommodate extra clothing, be sure to have a dry pair of pants and socks for each family member waiting in your car.
If it will be really cold in your area, pick up a few pairs of hand warmers – usually sold wherever you can buy or rent snowshoes – to stick inside your children's gloves and keep your water bottles somewhere inside your jacket to avoid freezing.
Now you're ready to hit the trails. Ask your snowshoe dealer to suggest routes based on your family's specific fitness levels, White says. If you're at a resort, the ski school or concierge should have maps and advice ready for your snowshoeing adventure. "Local hiking clubs often are good sources for winter hiking information," Heilman says. A quick search for hiking clubs or snowshoe trail maps on the Internet should yield results in your area. Or browse the library for books about family-friendly hiking in your region.