OHIO — Just because it is cold out doses’t mean you have to stay indoors.
You can borrow snowshoes at The West Woods Nature Center in Geauga County.
The snowshoes are available for free to Geauga Country residents. If you are coming from out of town, there is a $5 fee.
Trevor Wearstler is an outdoor education specialist for Geauga Park District. He said the best time to go snowshoeing is when there’s at least four inches of snow on the ground and as a rule of thumb, the deeper the snow, the better for any snowshoe adventure.
Wearstler said snowshoeing is a great way to enjoy nature in the winter.
“It will extend your hiking season,” he explained. “If you are used to getting out in the parks on a daily basis but you don’t like walking in the deep snow, snowshoes will help.”
Not only is snowshoeing a fun activity it is also a great exercise.
“Just walking on the flat ground in snowshoes for about an hour is low impact and can burn up to 500 calories in an hour,” he said. “So, you would have to do a lot more walking or running to get the same amount of exercise.”
You can rent the snowshoes every day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
They have snowshoes available for people of all ages and sizes.
