If the recent bout of frigid temps have kept you indoors, we don’t blame you! Going to a park on a bitter-cold day may seem counterintuitive, but it shouldn’t! The Great Parks of Hamilton County offer lots of different activities during the winter — and yes, many are indoors, too! So bundle up and enjoy the beauty of the season at your neighborhood Great Park!
Here are 6 ways to cure cabin fever with Great Parks:
1. Go sledding
When the white stuff hits, grab your sleds, boots and snowsuits and hit the slopes! There are several awesome places to go sledding; recommended areas are located at Miami Whitewater Forest (Overlook off Harbor Ridge Drive), Sharon Woods (Cardinal Crest Meadow Shelter) and Winton Woods (Butterfly Bluff Shelter).
2. Hit the trails
There’s nothing quite like a winter hike – you’ll see the parks in a whole different way, and get to see birds and animals you’ve likely never seen before! The Great Parks have lots of kid-friendly trails, so bundle up and take a hike!
3. Play inside!
Great Parks have two of our favorite indoor playgrounds: Adventure Station at Sharon Woods, and Parky’s Playbarn at Parky’s Farm/Winton Woods. Admission is just a few dollars per child, and guarantees an afternoon of active indoor fun regardless of how cold it is outside!
4. Try geocaching
Just like hiking, geocaching is something you can try year round. Never tried it? Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location. Go on a winter scavenger hunt that will keep you moving!
5. Let Fido off-leash
Dogs get cabin fever, too — and Great Parks’ dog parks are here to help! Miami Whitewater and Otto Armleder feature some of the best dog parks in town, so grab your boots (dog parks are notoriously muddy) and hand warmers and let Fido burn off some winter energy!
6. Take a new class
Great Parks offer classes all year long, and during the winter, you’ll enjoy some of their sweetest offerings: maple harvesting demos, Valentine’s Day activities and even a syrupy-sweet weekend-long festival! During the winter, you’ll also enjoy sweet off-season prices: admission to Highfield Discovery Garden is just $2/person!
This winter, bundle up and enjoy all the Great Parks have to offer — we promise even the most acute case of cabin fever will be cured!