Yeah, it’s freakishly cold and snowing again. Let’s try to embrace it, shall we? I was looking at things to do for this weekend (it’s coming soon, I promise!) and I noticed a few snowshoe-oriented events, so I said, hey, let’s make a post of it, shall we?
On Saturday, January 9, at 10 am there’s a Snowshoe Walk at Thacher Nature Center. They rent snowshoes, but you should call ahead to confirm and to reserve snowshoes.  Rental fee is $5.
Take a snow shoe walk at Landis Arboretum. They’ll loan out (a limited supply of) snow shoes and they’ll have a warm snack from 10 am to 12 pm on Sunday. $10/person or $25/family.
At the Albany Pine Bush, they’ll be snowshoeing for 1-2 miles and then serving hot cocoa and cookies from 2-3:30 pm on Sunday. $2/person or $5/family, children under 5 free. Pre-registration is required.
Wilton Wildlife Preserve rents snowshoes at $5 for a half day: check the schedule for availability.
LL Bean at Colonie Center has outdoor adventures snowshoeing for $15, but it’s designed for adults and older (8+) kids.
Many Eastern Mountain Sports stores will provide snowshoe rentals or free demos–call to see what they’ve got.
Okay, can I grouch a little bit, please? (And if your answer is no, that’s okay. You’re done with this post–hopefully I’ll catch you later). Because this is exactly why we need this freakin’ website. A local magazine had a big article on winter fun. So I’m looking for ideas. One of the first ones on the list was Garnet Hill Lodge. Okay, yes, it looks lovely, but it is a resort (Nancy would say that that’s fancy for expensive–I’m just speculating here) 2 hours away from me. So if I just want to try a little snowshoeing with my family. . . uh. . . that’s not going to happen. They did mention places to ice skate and some other winter fun, so hopefully that will be helpful for future posts. Anyway, then I’m poking around and I see that the Albany Times Union has an article about snowshoeing. Awesome, I think. And, you know, it’s helpful. But then I look at some of the suggestions, and it’s frustrating again. They mention the Adirondack Park Visitor Center at Paul Smiths, but I can’t get the web address that they provide to work, and when I do finally get to it, it has family-friendly programs and this really cool event coming up, the Chilly Ski & Snowshoe Festival. But then I figure out that it’s 3 hours away from my house. Bummer. So then they mention this trails site, right? www.trails.com*? And I go there and choose “New York” for state and “Snowshoe” for activity, and it says: 0 trails in your area. It took me and my technically-minded better half a while to figure out that the searches were worthless, and it’s all about zooming in and out on the map–but it was just not user-friendly. So then, also on the list is: www.adirondacks.com/snowshoeing*. I type it in and guess what? The web page can’t be found! They did mention that Bob’s Trees has trails as well; theoretically there was supposed to be a try-some-snowshoes free event on Saturday, but when I called, their machine said that the trails were not yet open due to lack of snow. Sigh. It’s tragic. And comic. And irritating.
*I’m not giving these the dignity of a link because I’m so bitter.
Cheri
Not that we do it, but I’ll put a plug in for snowshoeing and/or cross country skiing (must have your own equipment) right here on my street in the Reist Sanctuary located at the end of Morgan Avenue off of Route 7. We see people tromping in and out all winter long!
HollowSquirrel
Can I grouchily add that Parents Pages, for the most part, sucks? It’s just a venue for selling ads. Your site is much more useful, relevant and a heck of a lot funnier. In a good way, not in a strange way.
Katie
Oh, Cheri, so true. Actually, I walked by the Mohawk Commons EMS today and they had a sign about renting snowshoes for kids and adults. . . so I checked into it, and it’s $15/day or $30 for 2 or 3 days, basically from when they open (usually 10) to when they close (usually after bedtime at 9). So, then I asked if it was something that different-sized kids could share, and they said, yes, it’s basically a weight range. Anyway, I was thinking that at that rate you could call and share snowshoes for the day. . . you know, you take your kids out in the morning, then let your friends go out in the afternoon, and you could split the costs.
Katie
Thanks, Hollow Squirrel! Yeah, that resort had an ad. And the thing is, I’m not completely opposed to ads, because sometimes it’s stuff that I’m interested in, anyway, because, you, know, I am their market. And I would even aspire to have ads on the blog eventually, because I figure that this will have to turn into either a co-op where a lot of people are helping research or a business where I can justify all the time I’m spending. . . .but it’s so irritating when you start to read a column and then you realize that the column is just a thinly veiled ad to match the half-page spread that they purchased. I mean, it’s so transparent that you’d think that they’d be, like, embarrassed. Or, I guess with a veil it’s, you know, translucent. But still.