Try Your Hand at These 14 Unique Active Winter Activities

With the colder temperatures and the snow littering the ground knowing what kinds of active winter activities you can get up to can really make or break your winter.

It seems that this winter is going to see a lot more people indoors than ever before.

Of course, we know why that is. We don’t need to talk about it anymore.

If you’re trying to stay active, however, there are so many ideas for fun things you can do, both inside and outside (within local restrictions, of course). You don’t need to just follow the crowd.

Hopefully, this post will help you find something that resonates so you can find some adventures of your own to go on. 

I happen to live in New England, where a lot of activities are accessible to me. But! I’ve tried to include enough that anyone should be able to find some ideas here, no matter where you are.

Whether you’re looking for winter activities for the adults, kids, or the whole family this list has got it all.

I hope this list of unique active winter activities whets your appetite.

Outdoor Winter Activities

One of the most enjoyable parts of winter is all those outdoor wintry sports that involve racing over the ice and snow. How much you enjoy and have access to them is pretty location-dependent, but even in urban areas (like New York City), you can find ways to experience these sports, even if you don’t want to leave town.

Or you can take a short trip up to the snowy mountains for the day.

Some real fun outdoor activities include:

Skiing + Snowboarding

If you’re a seasoned skier or boarder, you know how hard it can be to find some fresh powder when you’re craving the snow. If you’re willing to travel a bit, however, there are a surprising amount of mountains and ski resorts nearby, even in the heart of the Tristate or Boston area.

(Obviously, if you live in Florida, this might be a bit of a struggle. Sorry!)

Skiing and snowboarding are extremely good cardio, and they also work a lot of muscle groups that you tend to forget about during most workout routines. If you’re looking for a well-rounded lower body workout, look into skiing and snowboarding.

If you’ve never done it before, you learn about new muscle groups all throughout your legs when they’re sore and achy the next day. It is also a pretty good workout for your upper body too, but I’m not tryna scare you off too much! 😉

If you’re a newbie, don’t worry, a lot of ski resorts offer beginner classes to help get your feet wet in the sport. It’s a lot of fun, and while lift tickets and ski rentals can add up, it’s relatively inexpensive for the time you can spend on the slopes.

Plus, you get to learn something new!

Hiking

A great activity that can be done with the entire family, hiking is a fun, no-brainer kind of exercise so long as you have the faculties to trudge through steep hills, lots of rocks, and don’t mind being a little cold on your walk.

The views on a winter hike tend to be stunning, and it’s usually free. Hiking can be done at any time of the year, obviously, not the only winter, but in our time of social distancing, the trails tend to be pretty abandoned during the colder months.

Hiking is also a little easier on the body than skiing, so it might be an easier first step for people who aren’t already in decent shape, or who are a bit uncoordinated.

It’s also generally less expensive – you might need to pay for parking, but at other parks and trails, even those that charge during peak times, you’ll find parking is free or heavily discounted during the winter months.

One thing you will need to buy yourself to get the most out of the season is a good pair of winter boots.

Hiking trails can range from fairly easy to pretty rough, even when they aren’t covered in snow. They also don’t get shoveled like your neighborhood sidewalks; what I’m trying to say is when you’re looking at snow boots – don’t skimp!

Get yourself a good pair that has a solid grip and gives you enough ankle support that you don’t hurt yourself.

If you’re looking for something fun, easy to do, and that can give your lungs a run for their money? Go hiking! You can grab a pair of headphones if you’re alone, a nice thick coat, and your boots, and hit the trails. (Just always make sure you’re aware of your surroundings!)

Play with your kids in the snow

Are you a parent? Live in a snowy region?

Go. Outside. With. Your Kids.

Making an igloo, building a snowman, or having a snowball fight out in the yard with your kids and the dog are timeless winter activities, and they can certainly help break up the long days spent inside the house.

It’s certainly easier if you have a yard, but there might be a park or clearing near your house where you can play a game that gets you and the kids outside and in the cold, crisp air for an hour or two.

Obviously these games aren’t restricted to things to people with kids. You can build a snowman with your partner, or you can make snow angels with your roommates. Just make sure you bundle up!

Sledding

One great way to play with the kids is by trying your hand at sledding!

It might be a lot of effort to haul the sled up the hill, but sliding down the hill with a joy-filled screaming kid is worth the figurative blood, sweat, and tears of it all. If there’s a hilly park near you, or if your backyard is near a slope, even better! 

Now, I’ve never actually been sledding myself – it’s one of those adorable things I always see in movies.

So this winter, one of my goals is to get out there and slide down a slope. If you’re in the market for a sled, there’s a review by The New York Times on some of the best of the season.

Ice Climbing

Alright, this one is a little harder to get your hands on.

Not everyone can go ice climbing. Climbing itself can be pretty strenuous, although I absolutely love it, and there are a lot of great climbing gyms that can help you get into the hobby (more on that in a sec!). But ice climbing is a bit tougher.

Ice climbing is better for more experienced climbers and the locations where you can get a good few hours climbing iced-over waterfalls and icy stalactites tend to be a bit farther away. That said, some climbing gyms will have outings where they take a small group of members (or non-members, if you sign up early enough!).

Before the pandemic, people would typically carpool, but nowadays you’d probably have to expect to arrange your own transportation.

But oh man!

If you like climbing, the experience of climbing up a frozen waterfall is incredible and the views are stunning. It can be pretty expensive since you need some extra equipment, but if you get into an ice climbing community, you can meet some great people, and they might even be able to lend you some gear before you decide to invest in your own.

Outdoor and Indoor Winter Activities

Ice Skating

I’m a sucker for ice skating. I was never too good at it as a young girl, but I always had this dream of becoming a figure skater. It is a fairly expensive hobby, though, because you have to buy skates and, unless you live near an outdoor ice rink, you usually have to pay for all your ice time.

It is, however, a great workout, whether indoors or outdoors. The great thing is that if you love skating, it’s not exactly hard to find the equipment or a place to skate. All you need to do is head to the local big-box sporting goods retailers, like Dick’s or Modell’s and they should have everything you need. 

So, no, I don’t recommend buying them online if I were you; you need to be sure that they fit perfectly in order to be comfortable out on the ice.

Ice Hockey

Where are my Letterkenny fans?

Wheels, snipe, celly, boys!

Just like ice skating, ice hockey is an iconic winter sport, and it requires quick thinking, coordination, and the ability to not fall down while in ice skates.

Ice hockey isn’t the easiest sport to just pick up and get into, since you definitely need to be comfortable on the ice before you can even start to play a good game of it, but it’s a great workout and perfect for adrenaline junkies.

It costs a pretty penny, however, as many ‘hockey moms’ throughout Canada and the Northern US could probably attest. Not only do you need skates and ice time, but you need a hocked skin and all the protective equipment. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that your child doesn’t want to play goalie.

Walking

If you’re anything like me, you’re a little on the lazier side some days, and that’s okay. Walking is a really fun and interesting way to get in your Fitbit steps, get your blood flowing, and get lots of fresh air.

Back in high school, I used to see a lot of older people walking around my local mall in the mornings. I didn’t follow them, so I don’t know exactly what route they took, but if they did a full lap at a brisk pace, that’s certainly one way to get your exercise in.

Some walked, some power-walked, and some added a pair of light dumbbells to make the workout a bit more intense, but all of it is great stuff.

Especially if you’re a bit older or not starting from the best point, simply walking is one of the easiest and least strenuous ways to embrace a healthier lifestyle. If doing a walking tour of your local shopping mall isn’t up your alley, however, there are indoor and outdoor tracks at local schools and universities.

At my university, the gym is open to the public, they just need to pay for daily or monthly access. Or, you can simply walk around your neighborhood for a set distance or amount of time.

To me, the best part of walking is that it can be how you get to your adventures! Want to check out that new coffee shop that opened up in town? Walk there! Then reward yourself with some hot chocolate to warm you up before your walk home.

You can even * gasp* run, too. Blasphemy!

Rock Climbing

I am 1000% biased here.

I love to rock climb.

Personally, I prefer to do it indoors as I am not a fan of doing it outdoors. I feel like if I’m going to fall on rocks instead of padding, I need to at least have a knee, arm, ankle, head, neck, the whole shebang of pads protecting me. But then it’s harder to climb because you’ve got all these pads; I’ve definitely tried it and, unfortunately, it’s not my thing.

But enough about me, you’re probably wondering if you can actually climb outdoors in the winter. Of course! If it’s your first time climbing outdoors in winter, just be warned, your fingers will get stiff quickly. I suppose the same could be said about ice climbing.

Try to look for shorter routes with a climbing guide (they’ll know the best in the area). However! If you’re seasoned, then… godspeed, you know what you’re doing, and you’ll find me inside at my local climbing gym.

Climbing indoors is just as easy in winter as it is all the rest of the year – really easy!  All of the gear you need is rentable at your local climbing gym, and for many gyms, you can come and go as you please with a single day pass.

During the middle of COVID, I would encourage you to try bouldering (climbing on short walls) over top rope (longer climbs attached to a rope), since top rope requires a second person at the bottom, and you’re both touching the same rope.

The other thing is that the gym staff will have to tie you into a harness and obviously they have to be pretty in-your-face to do that… social distancing!

Just keep in mind, top rope is more endurance-based, since the climbs are longer. Bouldering is a little more approachable for beginners, but it is much more about strength than endurance. It’s still a great workout, and pretty cost-efficient, all things considered.

Winter Activities Indoor

Not an outdoor kinda gal? No biggie.

Here are some lowkey, easy things to do indoors that you can try. Just like you, I’m more of an indoor person during the winter. The cold and I are not besties.

Dancing

My boyfriend can’t dance for the life of him, and maybe you or yours can’t either, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little bit of dancing into your life this winter, even if it isn’t very good dancing. (Love you, babe!)

Try a salsa class or a hip-hop dance class that’ll engage your core and your legs. Or you can go classy AF and check to see if there are any ballroom dancing classes in your area. That’s less of an exercise routine though… still, pinkies out!

One great benefit of dancing? You’ll feel a sense of euphoria after sweating it up dancing to some amazing music and giving it your all.

There aren’t very many large dance classes happening at this present moment, but you can practice with online video tutorials in any clear, open space in your home.

Swimming

I personally have not gone swimming much in over three years. I used to be a lifeguard, and so I had to swim constantly, but, my access to a pool has been somewhat hit-or-miss. Nevertheless, I have been craving the opportunity to hit a pool this winter, so I’m hoping to add that to my regimen this year.

The first thing to do if you want to add some time in a (heated) pool this winter is to check out places like your local gym (our nearby LA Fitness has a pool, for example, as do many higher-end gyms) or even the local high school that may give the public community access to their pools after school hours.

Swimming is an all-around great workout if you’re looking for it. It’s gentle on the joints and on your wallet. The only major things you need to be careful about are dehydration and keeping yourself safe in the water.

Because of the pandemic, there are bound to be restrictions on how many people can access the pools around you. That said, the CDC says that the virus gets knocked out by the chlorine in the water. (If you’re interested in that, you can check out this article from Insider).

So while you still have to be careful about who’s breathing on you near the pool, the water itself won’t spread the virus. If you’re interested in taking distanced swim classes, remember to sign up early and actually show up!

Household Chores

Now this one gets my blood going. I get so winded after cleaning our bathroom and running laundry up and down the stairs, that I most likely am not going to do a workout that day because of it.

Doing laundry and cleaning your house allows you to move your body a lot, and if you put music on while you work, you can also incorporate some dancing as well.

The point is that you can incorporate working out and exercising into your chores to help you feel better AND more productive at the same time. I really also want to say that cooking and baking can go under this category, if only because you’re standing a lot, but… let’s be real, making food ain’t a chore around my house. 😀

Ooh, I just realized that I could get started on early spring cleaning this pandemic! Might as well!

Kickboxing/Boxing Class

OK, if you are looking for an activity that will kick your butt in no time, try a kickboxing or boxing class.

I’m sure that many of you have heard of the iLoveKickboxing franchise – if you have not, it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a kickboxing class that can be found almost all around the world.

iLoveKickboxing classes are taught in local studios and they claim to help to firm up the booty, give you a smaller waist, toned arms, and a leaner body overall. If you’re not willing to go into a physical gym for the workout, then you can do it yourself at home.

They have rolled out a number of at home tutorials, and there are other programs out there on the web as well. The only downside is that you need a decent amount of space to throw your bows in and you might need to buy your own equipment.

Boxing, on the other hand, you’ll need to find a ring that will help you out. Imagine getting out of any of these classes and walking out into the wintry air? Ah, all the steam just lifts off your skin. Refreshing.

Mellow out with Yoga or Meditation

While not strictly an indoor (or unique) activity, I’m not sure there are very many people who would be willing to do yoga in the wintry air. If you’re one of those, great! I surely am not.

If you’re looking for something to help you come down from a really harsh day try a little bit of yoga to calm your busy mind. You can also meditate (very little on the active vein, but mental activity is good, too!) to keep you sane.

Both of these activities are very inexpensive to get into and have been linked with lower stress levels, generally improved health, and more stable moods.

Conclusion to Active Winter Activities

Whatever your poison is this winter, I hope that this list of unique active winter activities proves useful in some way.

Remember to suit up well if you’re going outdoors. Lots of layers, along with gloves, a hat and scarf, and a pair of comfy winter boots should do the trick.

Remember to bring a water bottle if you’re going to be outside for a while. I would hate to hear of anyone becoming dehydrated this cold season.

Keep safe, wear your masks, and have fun!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Lemonade Stand Gang newsletter! See ya ‘round.

Related Winter Articles:
50+ Best Winter Date Ideas
Easy and Yummy Winter Soups

Winter Activities Adults