Experience the “Thrill of the Chill” this Winter!
There are a lot of ways to enjoy our wild spaces when temperatures drop “below zero!” Explore the wonders of Canada in the winter as you start a journey towards better health. Let Mother Nature be the encouraging voice to help you stick to your resolution! To help you, we invite you to explore our Below Zero page to discover new ways to connect with nature during the winter! Click any of the icons below for another way to celebrate winter.
Get Outside – Just for the Health of It!
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests time spent outdoors in the wintertime can boost your well-being during a season when most Canadians really need it! Being a fair-weather outdoorsy type ignores the incredible mental health benefits of getting outside to experience all the glory of a Canadian winter. Walking, skiing, sledding, ice skating, fishing, snowshoeing – these are all great ways to experience the “thrill of the chill,” soaking up some natural vitamin D and connecting with your inner child in this winter playground we call Canada.
According to researchers, spending just five minutes immersed in “snow space” can boost mental health in both the old and the young. Ecological theory suggests that contact with nature offers important mental, emotional, and social benefits, and committing to outdoor activity in the winter adds another positive tool to your mental health toolbox. A new year is the perfect time to incorporate a new way of thinking about being outside in the winter. That’s the core intention behind a New Year’s resolution and Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Below Zero initiative – it’s about making a personal commitment to enact positive change in your life, saying goodbye to old patterns and embracing new challenges. Healthy living is within your reach if you just take steps in the right direction.
At the Canadian Wildlife Federation, we recommend one simple step: get outdoors! Head outside. Breathe in the air. Feel the cool breeze. Take a walk. Explore nature.
50 Fun Things To Do Outside in The Winter
There’s no fun like snow fun – but it doesn’t have to be snowing to find things to do outside in the winter. Here are a few idea starters to get you outside and connected to nature during the winter!
- Go ice skating.
- Download your free iNaturalist app at iNaturalist.ca and conduct winter citizen science.
- Go snow shoeing.
- Go cross-country skiing.
- Go downhill skiing.
- Go winter camping.
- Build a winter bonfire and make s’mores.
- Take a hike: with your family, with your dog! Just go for a walk.
- Attend an outdoor winter festival. From winter music festivals in Vancouver to IceWine Festivals in Niagara to carnivals in Quebec to Bivver in Newfoundland, Canadian’s still party outside!
- Go tobogganing.
- Build a fort and have a snowball fight with your kids (or your spouse/partner).
- Buy a snow block maker and build stuff.
- Take a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa and sit outside on your front porch swing.
- Create a snow maze by shoveling paths in the snow.
- Feed the birds or go birdwatching. With no leaves on many of the trees they’re easy to spot.
- Make your own birdfeeders out of pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed.
- Go on a winter picnic. Take blankets, sandwiches and hot soup in a thermos.
- Go on a photo expedition to take pictures of winter landscapes, black and white or colour.
- Make snow paint with food colouring and water and paint your winter landscape outside.
- Make snow angels.
- Build a snowman, snowwoman, snow families, snow animals! Snow is nature’s playdoh!
- Go looking for animal tracks in the forest. Just make sure there’s not an animal at the end of them.
- Create blocks of ice using a bucket and try your luck at ice sculpting.
- Take a polar bear dip – it makes for a great photo opp.
- Collect pine cones and make decorative wreaths.
- Watch a winter sunset.
- Sketch some trees.
- Catch snowflakes in your mouth.
- Winter winds blow cold but they can still lift a kite! Trying kite flying!
- Explore somewhere new outside.
- Count the stars in a winter night sky.
- Conduct science experiments with snow. Melt snowballs to see how much water they hold.
- Look at snowflakes with a magnifying glass.
- Play street hockey.
- Go cross-country skiing with a camera and take winter photos in the forest.
- Bundle up warm and sit outside listening to a snowfall.
- Download a sky-watching app and view the constellations at night.
- Enjoy an outdoor hot tub.
- Go ice-fishing.
- Go snowmobiling.
- Go winter geocaching.
- Make an ice rink in your back yard.
- Blow bubbles outside and watch them freeze.
- Spray water on your garden and create unique frozen ice art.
- Go to a maple bush in late winter.
- Attend a winter festival of lights..
- Play a game of snow soccer.
- Treat yourself to a horse-drawn carriage ride.
- Make a snow race track for remote-controlled cars.
- Play a game of snow bocce.
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