This week marked our 3rd snowfall of the season, and winter technically doesn’t even start for another week (December 21st). The cold weather, snowy trails, and depressingly early sunsets have most people going from home to work (or school) and back again with little to no time spent outside in nature. But with a little planning and a slightly different approach spending time outside, even on cold winter days, it can still be enjoyable. Below I’ve compiled a list of 10 ideas to help you enjoy nature in the winter. 

1.Suit up. As the Scandinavian saying goes, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Never have truer words been spoken. If well dressed, I have happily enjoyed days outdoors in sub-zero temperatures. While outfitting yourself like a polar explorer can quickly become quite expensive, a handful of targeted apparel purchases can make all the difference. My three biggest suggestions: 1.) a windproof/waterproof outer jacket, big enough to layer various shirts, fleeces, vests, etc. underneath, 2.) insulated pants with an outer wind-and weather-resistant material (I have a pair that’s about a size too big, which allows me to add an extra pair of fleece leggings underneath and super cold days), and 3.) warm, waterproof shoes with good traction, which will not only keep your toes dry and warm, but will also help prevent slipping in icy conditions. 

2. Tweak you schedule. Daylight is a dwindling commodity this time of year. If you’re like me, you spend the prime sunshine hours in an office, only to exit the building to full on darkness after 5pm. This time of year I make an extra effort to get out for an early morning walk prior to work. This often means waking up half an hour to an hour earlier than necessary, but the minor amount of lost sleep is more than adequately made up for by the overall increase in my sense of happiness and well being from having spent some time outside in the fresh air. If that’s not possible, can you take a walk outside during your lunch hour? 

3. Find a room with a view. For the especially frigid days, or during my least favorite weather: ~35 degrees and raining, going outside even with the right clothes may not seem appealing. For those days, you may opt to observe nature through a protective pane of glass. Grab a seat, cozy up with a blanket and a warm beverage, and watch the world outside. You’ll be surprised what kind of shenanigans the birds and critters will get into right in your own backyard.

4. Become a birder. It may seem like an odd hobby to pick up in the middle of the winter, but winter birding has a number of benefits. First, you’ll get to see and know species that are only here during the cold season, like the common goldeneye, the ring-necked duck, and eiders. Second, you’ll get clear views of shrub and forest birds while the branches are bare. I tend to throw in the towel by May when it comes to birding because I get frustrated that I can hear birds that I can’t find high in the leafy canopy. And finally, birds are interesting and active year round. Perhaps your true passion is butterflies or wildflowers; the winter is a hard time to observe those organisms in their full glory. Not so for birds. They’re out there right now doing interesting things for you to see. 

5. Learn to love lichens. You likely pass by dozens of species of lichens every day and don’t even notice them. These fascinating “combo organisms” (lichens are a composite of two different species: a fungus and an alga) are present year round, making them perfect subjects for winter study. They grow on soil, rocks and trees. In fact, most of what you think of as tree bark is likely a variety of lichens covering the tree’s surface. 

6. Read. For those days when you can’t physically be out in nature, your mind can explore the natural world through books. For a winter themed title, I recommend Bernd Heinrich’s Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival. Alternatively, this is a great time to study and review various field guides to hone your species ID skills for warmer months. 

7. Track animals in the snow. The goings and comings of most animals are unseen to most of us. But with a fresh coating of snow, the maze of wildlife trails becomes visible to us. Just this morning I passed by turkey, coyote, deer, squirrel and mouse tracks in the snow in the Bourne Town Forest. Most larger mammals prefer to take the easiest path from point A to point B, which often involves utilizing man-made hiking trails. If that’s the case, you can often follow a particular animal’s trail for some distance along the trail you’re already on. It can be interesting to follow the tracks off trail as well, provided it is safe and permissible to do so. If you follow a particular track for a while and you’ll start to find evidence of different behaviors: a place where the animal dug in the ground (I once found cached food along a coyote trail that I was following), a section where their pace quickened or slowed, a place where the animal bedded down to rest for a time, etc.

8. Take a hike. Getting outside for a hike, or engaging in some other active outdoor activity, such as cross country skiing or snowshoeing, can quickly warm you up even on the coldest days. 

9. Keep a nature journal. One of the greatest things about this activity is that it can be adapted to your desire/tolerance for being out in the cold. I often bring home seed pods, sea shells, or dried flower heads and document them in my perpetual nature journal inside. On sunny, calm days, however, it can often be enjoyable to bring my sketchbook and materials outside and draw in the field.

10. Embrace your inner child. As adults, the sight of snow often invokes anxiety about driving in unsafe conditions, annoyance at the knowledge that we’ll have to shovel the driveway and scrape off the car (again!), and fear that the grocery store will be annoyingly out of milk and bread. But can you remember back to a time when snow meant time off from school, and fun days of sledding and building snowmen? Even if you’re too old for snow angels (although, in my opinion, there’s no such thing as being “too old” for anything if it makes you happy), don’t forget to stop and appreciate the beauty, sparkle, and magic of falling snow.  

What other ideas and methods do you have for enjoying nature during the cold season?