Outdoorsy winter activities for couch potatoes

If you're looking for a fairly stationary outdoor activity for winter, you can't do much better than stargazing. Just grab a thermos of something warm, pull on your warmest winter coat, and settle in for an amazing show. Since nights get darker earlier in the winter, it's a great time to check out the many constellations that are prominent this time of year. So take advantage of the crisp, clear winter air, and look up.

Want to spend a few meditative hours outdoors? Ice fishing may be the activity for you. Once you've made your hole in the ice, your main activity will be to wait. If you're worried about getting cold, you can also use an ice fishing shack. This is the rare winter activity that provides you with daytime entertainment and dinner.

Here's a winter activity that may usually take place indoors, but is even more fun to do outdoors. Watching a hockey game outdoors is a great way to spend a day out, whether it's a big NHL winter classic or a local team. It's the perfect opportunity to sit back, grab a beer, and hang out with friends, no exertion required.

Nothing will make you appreciate a dip in a hot pool like the cold weather, and there are plenty of spas that realize it. Outdoor hot pools are very therapeutic, especially when you move between hot and cold pools, as in the Nordic spa experience. And if you just want to sit in a hot tub, revel in snowy surroundings, and watch your own breath condense in front of you, an outdoor spa is the place for you this winter. Outdoors doesn't have to mean cold.

Bonfires aren't just for summer! In fact, they might be even better in wintertime, when their heat is much-needed and there's little risk of starting a wildfire. You can either brush snow aside to start a bonfire, or just pack it down and start the fire right on top. Then, all there is left to do is find a seat and grab some marshmallows. Winter s'mores for all!

Put some hot cider in your travel mug and get ready for one of winter's most enjoyable activities. A sleigh ride lets you see the beautiful winter sights, all from the comfort of beneath a blanket. Hunker down on a sleigh full of straw and let a powerful team of horses pull you through a forested landscape muffled by snow. What summer activity can compare with this?

Ice hotels bring the indoors outside (or the outdoors in, we're not sure which). If you want to relax surrounded by gleaming, crystalline ice, Quebec's Hotel de Glace is the place for you. This world-renowned ice hotel lets you spend the night on a bed of snow—and insists you'll be comfortable doing it. So get outside of your comfort zone and enter the world of relaxation that doesn't rely on the beach.