Snowshoeing date Ideas
It’s winter and you’ve been wanting to do something iconic for your romantic dates. You’ve been ice skating, you’ve built snowmen, you’ve made snow angels, you’ve even been skiing and sledding because you’re hardcore. But what else is there? How about snowshoeing? Wait? What? What is snowshoeing?
We’ll explain all shortly, for now all you need to know is that it’s the perfect winter date if you’re looking to try something new together, take on the challenge as a couple and then celebrate in style, snowshoeing is something you definitely need to try. So strap on those boots, grab your poles and head out there into the cold!
What Is snowshoeing?
When you hear ‘snow shoes’, cartoon ducks strapped onto tennis rackets might come to mind. But those images were from a long time ago and the sport has moved on a lot since then. And so have the shoes.
Snow shoes are now made of plastics or lightweight metals with synthetic fabric straps and velcro bindings. The tips are also raised at the front like the tips of skis, to help you move more quickly and effectively through the snow.
It’s a more extreme version of hiking which takes place where the hiking trails come to an end.
So why would you want to do this?
Well, for one thing, it’s an amazing adventure. The views you can see when snowshoeing are like nothing else you can imagine and the sense of achievement you’ll get from doing it will be something that will stay with you both forever.
Even better, it’s great activity for burning calories, perfect for getting rid of any extra pounds after Christmas, while the fresh air and exercise will leave you feeling like you can do anything.
- What to wear for snowshoeing?
Apart from the obvious footwear, what do you wear to go snowshoeing? As with any winter outdoor activities, layering is your best friend. Clearly, you’ll be cold because you’re going out into the wilderness in winter, but you’ll also be working hard and when the sun comes out, you could find yourself getting surprisingly warm.
It’s important to have layers that you can add and remove as needed to control your temperature. The worst thing that can happen is to get your clothes soaked with sweat when you’re hot and have it freeze when the temperature drops, leaving you at risk of hypothermia. This is one reason why cotton (which soaks up sweat quickly) is best avoided.
Fleeces, leggings, jackets, hiking pants or ski pants, nice thick shoes and waterproof boots are the essentials for walking in snowshoes. You also need to take care of your extremities, so have good quality gloves and a choice of a nice cute hat and a balaclava for when the weather takes a turn for the worse.
So while you can’t really pull off a stylish look while snowshoeing, you will at least be comfortable and have a good chance of avoiding deeply unsexy things like getting frostbite or hypothermia. There’ll be other dates where you can try to look good.
Snowshoeing date tips
So, you’ve decided that you want to go snowshoeing. Now you need to start planning the trip itself, and we’ve come up with some snowshoeing tips to help you make the most of this adventure:
Work out where to go
While hiking, even in the winter, is a fairly simple process (you look for a trail, you go and walk the trail, you go home again), snowshoeing is a bit more complicated. For a start, it’s potentially more dangerous because you’re going even further into the wilderness and walking through deep snow rather than along a path. But it’s not total guesswork. There are special trails you can visit at ski resorts or Nordic centers, as well as groomed trails in parks.
Snowshoeing is a beginner-friendly sport
Once you’ve got the hang of walking with these really odd things attached to the bottoms of your feet, there’s not much more to learn (though if you want a laugh, challenge your date to a running race in them). However, it’s best to stick to fairly flat trails when you are first starting out as you need to build up your experience and confidence. When you’ve been a few times and are feeling like you’ve got to grips with it, you can start doing more challenging trails or even going off-piste.
Remember it’s a date, not a race
This is so important. Snowshoeing can be hard work and challenging, and it’s quite possible one of you might not enjoy it quite as much as the other. So you need to be patient, empathetic and caring. Make sure it’s fun, rather than a forced march. This is a date, not the military. Take snacks with you that you can enjoy while you have a break. Remember to stop and admire the views as well as checking in with your date.
Make memories
And finally, don’t forget to take your camera so you can take photos of this amazing experience, especially if it’s something you’re not likely to be able to do very often because of where you live. A snowshoeing trip is something the two of you can look back on with pride and you’re like to be able to take pictures of some amazing winter scenery that you’ll want to look at when you’re back home, wrapped up in blankets and with cups of hot chocolate. That’s what a winter date is all about, so get out to the trails and make some memories!
