6 Eco-Friendly Winter Activities

Winter is arguably my favorite season because there are so many ways to get outside and enjoy nature, without dealing with bugs, heat, and humidity. In this blog post I’ll go over six different eco-friendly winter activities for you to try this season.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that I’m not just all about sustainability when it comes to the environment, but also when it comes to finances! Being in a debt free journey myself, I’m always looking for ways to have fun and adventure at a low cost, while also being environmentally friendly.

I evaluate these activities based on three criteria: Cost, Accessibility, and Environmental Impact. The ranking for these criteria are

• Cost: Lowest $ – Highest $$$
• Accessibility: Least accessible (1) – Highly accessible (5)
• Environmental Impact: Lowest Impact (1) – Highest Impact (5)

Snowshoeing

Cost: $-$$ 

Costs associated with this activity are primarily for the equipment, snow shoes. Used snow shoes can be found at various sporting goods stores, but can also be purchased new for low to moderate prices from various stores and online vendors. 

Accessibility: 4

If you have a pair of snowshoes and snow on the ground, you’re pretty much ready to go! However, you may need to drive to a nearby municipal park or trail system if you live in a more urban setting. Unfortunately, this is not the most accessible winter activity for handicapped individuals which is why snowshoeing was given a 4.

Environmental Impact: 1 

Snowshoeing can be done with or without trails. Just make sure you don’t get lost if you’re trailblazing! Not to mention, snow shoeing is my favorite time to do some wildlife tracking since signs are much more visible.

Ice Skating

Cost: $

Similarly to snow shoeing, all you need for this eco-friendly winter activity is a pair of ice skates! You can easily find them used or new at sporting good stores.

Accessibility: 3

There are a few different options for ice skating. The most nostalgic is ice skating on a pond or lake. This obviously requires living near or driving to a frozen body of water, and safe ice conditions.

Next, there’s skating on an outdoor rink. Growing up, my elementary school would make outdoor rinks in the athletic fields that were free to the public. When I was renting an apartment my last year of college, my town had an outdoor pavilion where they made a free public skating rink in the winter. I have fond memories of both these outdoor ice skating experiences.

Lastly, there are indoor skating rinks typically in larger towns or cities. These facilities schedule public skating days for a small fee, and having ice skates available for rent if you don’t own a pair.

Again, this winter activity is not as accessible to handicap individuals, and combined with the need for a venue, whether it be pond or manmade, ice skating received an accessibility score of 3.

Environmental Impact: Variable 1-3

This depends if you’re skating on a pond which would be no impact, an outdoor rink which would be low, or an indoor rink which would have a higher impact due to building footprint and utilities to maintain ice, lighting, etc.

Fat Tire Biking

Cost: $$$

Okay so this is a winter activity I have never actually tried before. However, my husband and I have been thinking about it and starting to look into bikes. And I have to say, it is expensive to start!

Fat tire bikes range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, require vehicles/racks for transportation, and the gas to get where you’re going. (No I’m not biking on the roads in winter when snowbanks eat half the lane and driving conditions are riskier)

Accessibility: 1-2

Combined with the cost, equipment needs, and lack of options for handicapped individuals, it’s no surprise that I’m giving this winter activity such a low accessibility score.

Environmental Impact: 2

While mountain biking and in this case, fat tire biking is a fairly environmentally friendly activity, there are a few concerns.

The first being the need for trails cut through the woods or other open areas. This isn’t a major concern as existing parks and trail systems are often multiuse, including biking.

The bigger concern is the potential for rutting in the trails, since the tires apply more concentrated pressure than snowshoes or snowmobiles. Rutting can cause erosion both on and off trail, but again, trail systems usually receive some form of maintenance through volunteer efforts or grant opportunities.

All together, these concerns are minor, keeping the overall environmental impact for this activity low.

Christmas Light Walks

Cost: $-$$

This may be a more holiday specific activity, but is an annual tradition for my husband and I. The nearby outlet mall, primarily the LL Bean Headquarter Campus, provides a “Northern Lights” display each year throughout the holiday season. We grab dinner, some drinks, then walk around to see the lights.

However, this can be completely free if you eat dinner at home and bring your own hot chocolate in a thermos. And if you want to skip the cost of gas and/or parking, this can be done in your own town or neighborhood.

Accessibility: 3-4

This fun holiday activity can be done walking around your own neighborhood, or you can drive to a more densely populated area where lights are more abundant and likely put up by the town and/or businesses. However, this would depend on you having access to transportation somehow, whether your own vehicle or a ride share service. If doing this in town, this can be a handicap accessible activity, although if there is snow on the ground that could be challenging for wheelchair users. 

Environmental Impact: 2-3

Lights require energy. And while I don’t have any solid numbers to back me up, it’s safe to say that most of these lights are likely plugged into the grid which gets a large portion of energy from burning fossil fuels. That said, with LED technology, Christmas lights have become extremely efficient.

If you’re driving around to look at lights or driving into town to park and walk, there’s some additional fuel consumption. And while it might be negligible for the individual, that can add up when multiplied by everyone who partakes in this festive tradition.

Nordic Skiing

Cost: $$-$$$

Skis can be purchased used for low cost or starting with a lower cost pair, but can easily cost upwards of $1000 for skis alone. Combined with boots, bindings, and poles, prices can increase to own equipment. Additionally, skis need maintenance (i.e. waxing) which increases the costs as well. 

Accessibility (variable): 2-4

This is highly dependent on where you live and the type of skiing you like to do. I prefer groomed courses, and am fortunate to have one in the town I live in. Many ski resorts offer rentals, so this makes the sport both more affordable and accessible.

If you prefer the back country experience, more akin to snowshoeing, this is more accessible as it doesn’t require formal trails, but would more likely require you to purchase your own set of skis.

Lastly, there is a handicap accessible version of this sport for disabled individuals, referred to informally as sit-skiing, or more properly as para-nordic skiing. 

Environmental Impact: Again variable, 1-3

Depends on the type of skiing. Back country requires less formal trails and would have a lower impact compared to professionally groomed trails which require motorized equipment to maintain (typically snowmobiles) and are usually much wider.

For skis that use wax (glide and/or kick wax), especially for public trails, trace amounts of those waxes that sometimes contain harmful chemicals get deposited on the snow and has the potential to accumulate (again, more of an issue for professional trails as the use is higher and more concentrated). 

Side Note: I have to say I might be biased because cross country skiing is my favorite winter pastime. I joined my high school racing team having never set eyes on a pair of xc skis before, but that didn’t stop me from learning and having fun!

Snow Tubing and/or Sledding

Cost: $

There’s a few ways to partake here. One being buying a cheap sled from the store, an old fashion tire inner tube, or heck even a trash can lid and heading to the biggest hill in town. I remember growing up one of the local schools had the best hill for sledding in my $5 blue torpedo sled.

There are snow tube parks that provide large inflatable tubes, motorized lifts, and groomed hills for a more all-inclusive snow tubing experience, but do have a moderate hourly fee, usually around $20.

Accessibility: 4

Again, if you have snow and you’re own sled, just find a hill and you’re good to go! But if you’re going to a snow tubing park, you’ll have to have transportation to get there. Many of these parks make their own snow if temperatures are cold enough, making it less dependent on natural conditions.  

Environmental Impact: 1-3

If going old fashion and taking a tube or sled down a hill and walking back up, this activity has basically no impact!

If using groomed trails, it’s likely that they use snow guns to provide enough snow base which consumes a lot of energy, lifts to bring riders/tubes back to the top of the hill which also requires power, and use motorized equipment like snowcat groomers or snowmobiles.

In conclusion

There’s no shortage of options for outdoor fun in the winter months. So get outside and try one of these eco-friendly winter activities this season!