Snowshoeing? Been there. Pond hockey? Done that. Winter is one of the best times to explore cottage country. Slap on a toque, and make this the year you break your usual routine.
If you like downhill skiing, tame the gusts and go snowkiting
No hill? No problem. Harness the power of wind—even as little as 15 km/h—and you can get your speed fix. And snowkiting is easier than its summer cousin, kiteboarding. If you mess up and fall over, you land on soft snow instead of sinking into the water. For beginners, learning on downhill skis is easier than on a snowboard. Outfits near big, windy lakes, such as PBKiteboarding on Lake Simcoe, Ont., and in the Keswick, Ont., area, offer lessons.
If you have access to trails, go fat biking
You don’t need to be a strong cyclist or mountain biker to nail this sport. Along with providing the grip to handle ice and snow, a winter bike’s wide tires give the rider stability. And if there’s no snow on the ground? Doesn’t matter: fat bikes work just as well in mud and rough technical terrain. You won’t be speedy—but you’re much less likely to wipe out. Fat bikes aren’t the oddities they were two decades ago. Plenty of places in cottage country rent them, so you can try before you buy.
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If you already rock a pair of classic x-c skis, try skate skiing
Skate skiing is just as it sounds: “To move yourself forward, you need a motion more like ice skating,” says Steven Paul, the ski merchant at MEC. “Regular cross-country skis have a portion of the ski underneath the foot that grips the snow when you push down, but comes off the snow when you remove some weight,” he says. “This allows you to glide on the tip and tail of the ski and allows for the walking-like motion of classic skiing. Skate skis only have a gliding surface and no grip.” Skate skiing is harder than classic x-c. But you’ll travel faster (that’s why it’s a better technique for a sport such as skijoring.) It’s also a better workout, says Paul. “So you’ll be keeping warmer.” Nothing wrong with that!
If you clear the lake ice for skating every winter, make an ice golf course
We all know that hitting ordinary, non-floating golf balls into the lake is bad. (You know that, right?) But clear a portion of the frozen lake, and you can make a small golf course by augering holes, marking them with flags, and using tennis balls instead—they’re buoyant. This is what Lac du Bonnet, Man.’s Roger Lacroix does. He created his first nine-hole course on the lake in 2013 once the ice was thick enough in November—eight to 10 inches—and has been doing it on and off, weather and winter travel plans permitting, over the last decade. Like any other lake rink, the greens—er, the whites—require snow removal and maintenance, sometimes daily. But Roger’s Lac du Bonnet friends and neighbours help. Still, “needless to say, when it doesn’t snow overnight, it’s a welcome sight,” he says.
Can you guess which of these ice safety “tips” are actually myths?
If you’re out there hiking, combine it with winter birding
But for the best sightings, avoid the deep forest, says Mark Peck, an ornithologist at the Royal Ontario Museum. “The woods tend to be quiet in the winter, unlike in the spring. Country roads, with lots of open fields, are good places to search.” Here you’ll find species you won’t see at your feeders: hawks (red-tailed and rough-legged); owls (snowy, barred, and the great horned); and wax-wings (cedar and Bohemian), to name a few. On the other hand, wooded areas could be a good place to spot grouse, including the spruce grouse; these flashy males start their mating dances in the winter.
This article was originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Cottage Life magazine.
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