Winter in Boston

by Kate Thrane

photography courtesy of Mini Time

Winter in Boston is fabulous and presents a lot of opportunities for the hardy to take part in outdoor activities that are fun and good exercise. Skiing, snowshoeing, skating and snow tubing and snowboarding are all terrific ways to stay active and soak up the sunshine while braving the elements. Whether you are a novice or experienced, here is a list of places where you can learn a new activity or improve your winter sports skills.

Skating at Frog Pond

You can twirl around the ice on Frog Pond in the heart of Boston Common seven days a week. Rentals skates (both hockey and figure skates) are offered for $12. You can altervatively bring your own and even have them sharpened on site. The cost of admission is $6. Lockers are available to store your posessions, and skating lessons are offered on a private, semi-private or group lesson basis. Frog Pond Café is open for the season and offers a delicious menu to warm you from the inside out! For more information see bostonfrogpond.com.

Skating at Kendall Square

Skating in Kendall Square is another outdoor experience with an 8,400 square-foot rink open seven days a week. Just two blocks from MIT, the rink kicks off the season on Saturday, December 15 with their annual Holiday on Ice Celebration. The event showcases a 2 p.m. skating show featuring professional skaters. Admission is free to all visitors that day, but it typically costs $3 for students with an $8 skate rental fee and locker fees of $1.

Snow tube

Less than an hour from Boston, Nashoba Valley’s Snow Tubing Park is a huge facility offering 18 lanes of groomed lanes that you can zip down on your tube and ride bank up the hill on one of the parks four lifts. Two-hour passes are available for around $35 and are available on a first come, first served basis. Snow tubers can enjoy the snack bar located in the comfortable lodge after they work up an appetite on the slopes.

Skiing and Snowboarding

Also available at Nashoba Valley Park are fantastic hills for skiing and snowboarding. Season passes are available to college students for $199 and can be used seven nights per week from 5 to 10 p.m. Nashoba offers everything you need including lessons, rentals and The Outlook, a restaurant and lounge where you can rest, eat and warm up after a day on the slopes. Further information is available at skinashoba.com.

Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing

13 miles outside of Boston, you will find the Weston Ski Track, which offers 15 kilometers of groomed trails where you can Nordic ski and snowshoe seven days a week along the Charles River. Added fun, test out the 2 kilometers, which are lighted for nighttime activities. Lessons and rental equipment are available and there are locker room facilities. Information is available at paddleboston.com.