Snowshoes

The town's Park and Recreation Department is starting a program to provide snowshoes to residents so they can explore the winter trails for free. There are men's, women's, and youth sizes available under the loaner program. Residents can call ahead to reserve the shoes, and must return them by 8:30 a.m. the next day. For more information, call the Park and Recreation Department at 978-443-1092. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

BETHEL, Maine — Nestled in a scenic mountain valley near the banks of the Androscoggin River, Bethel has long been a popular hangout for alpine skiers and snowboarders. Less well known, but as impressive, are the area's dog-sledding, snowmobiling, and ice-fishing opportunities. However, the town's true hidden attraction is its abundant variety of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing terrain. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran, enjoy camaraderie or revel in solitude, there are trails calling your name.

About 4,000 B.C., historians believe, people in Central Asia grew tired of sinking thigh-high in the snow. It was around then, roughly the same era the wheel was invented, that humans first strapped some kind of flat extenders to the bottoms of their feet and traversed the winter landscape by floating atop the snow. Six millenniums later, snowshoeing is, of course, no longer a matter of mass migration and survival. But it is exploding in popularity, having evolved from a utilitarian way to get from your cabin to your fur traps into a recreational winter sport with rapidly growing...

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermonters are a hearty lot. After a morning on the cross-country ski trails at Morse Farm, they line up at the snack bar where signs offer hearty bowls of chili and steaming cups of hot chocolate. But almost everyone — adults and children alike — opts instead for a swirled cone of maple creemee, as soft-serve ice cream mixed with maple syrup is called in these parts. That is just one of the advantages of hitting the trails at this maple sugarworks established in 1948 and now run by father and son Burr and Tom Morse, the seventh and eighth generations of...

EAST MADISON, N.H. - Kevin Tilton removed his snowshoes after finishing the nearly 5-mile course through the woods and along a mountain lake in about 37 minutes. “It was like beach sand out there,’’ he said following a fourth-place finish in last Saturday’s Pooh Hill Scramble at King Pine Ski Area, part of the Granite State Snowshoe Series. Tilton, a 28-year-old mountain runner from North Conway, is a frequent top-10 finisher in challenging summer races like the Mount Washington Hillclimb, but shifts gears to snowshoe racing in the winter.

We have had some gray and heavy days down in the flatlands, and, of course, the only satisfying escape is to head for the hills. But that's not always possible, and so the minimalist way is, mercifully, always here. All we need is snow. This winter, we've had ice dams backing water into the north side of the house, snow so impacted by wind and plow that we get stuck trying to get down the driveway, and colds and injuries. It's the kind of winter that gets even snow lovers contemplating a southern escape.

WEATHERSFIELD, Vt. - I had never been snowshoeing and wanted to give it a try. But preliminary research in a few basic sporting guides had not been encouraging. "Don't worry if you develop "mal de raquette" (French for pain of the snowshoe) during your first jaunt or two," advised the author of "The L.L. Bean Guide to the Outdoors. " "Undue straddling and excessively long strides stretch muscles and leg joints, resulting in pain in the hips, thighs, and sometimes in the knees. " This didn't sound so great.

STOWE, Vt. -- Sweat pours from my face as I squeeze through a narrow chasm of rock, looking for the next tree root to grasp and haul my body upward. My feet dangle helplessly as they try to find traction on the slippery surface. I finally make it to semi-level ground and look across at the sharp cliffs carved out of Smugglers' Notch. We're slowly making headway on the Hell Brook Trail. It has been eight years since I last tackled Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield. I remember it being a steep but steady ascent, a formidable challenge but certainly no...

Janet Pesaturo, with the Animal Trackers of New England (formerly Nashaway Trackers), will lead a hike through the areas surrounding Little Chauncy Pond on Saturday. Pesaturo will offer tips on how to track and identify animals using footprints, fur, and food left behind, and other tactics. The areas around Little Chauncy provide a wide variety of habitats, from forests to swamps to wet meadows, and the chance to see evidence of rabbits, deer, squirrels, coyotes and otters. This event is best suitable for older children and adults.

EVENTS Norwell: Bring the family and your snowshoes for a family snowshoe walk, and join an adventure through the woods around the Science Center. Look for animal tracks, learn about winter plants, and then go inside for hot chocolate. Snowshoeing abilities of all levels welcome, including first-timers. Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m. South Shore Natural Science Center, Jacobs Lane. $8 parent/child pair (family maximum $16), $5 members (family maximum $10). 781-659-2559, www.ssnsc.org. Plymouth: Join the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra for its annual Simply Classic Gala.

EVENTS Norwell: Bring the family and your snowshoes for a family snowshoe walk, and join an adventure through the woods around the Science Center. Look for animal tracks, learn about winter plants, and then go inside for hot chocolate. Snowshoeing abilities of all levels welcome, including first-timers. Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m. South Shore Natural Science Center, Jacobs Lane. $8 parent/child pair (family maximum $16), $5 members (family maximum $10). 781-659-2559, www.ssnsc.org. Plymouth: Join the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra for its annual Simply Classic Gala.

There will be a snowshoe clinic at Bird Park on Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon, weather permitting. The event is free, but preregistration is required by calling 508-668-6136 or e-mailing jhasenfus@ttor.org. Snowshoes will be provided by Eastern Mountain Sports, which is co-sponsoring the clinic, and participants can also bring their own. The clinic will start at the Pleasant Street entrance to the park, which is managed by the Trustees of Reservations, and will feature snowshoeing around the 89-acre property, which has 3 miles of paths.

The city is holding its inaugural snowshoe race at 10 a.m. Feb. 19 at Brooksby Farm. Organized by the Recreation Department, the Sweetheart's Snowshoe Classic - reflecting its Valentine's Day theme - will begin and end near the sales barn at the city-owned property on Felton Road. The 5-kilometer course will loop around the farm and include both single- and double-track trails. In the event of poor snow conditions, the race will be a trail run. Awards will be provided to the top male and female finishers overall and in various age categories, as well as the top couple.

Janet Pesaturo, with the Animal Trackers of New England (formerly Nashaway Trackers), will lead a hike through the areas surrounding Little Chauncy Pond on Saturday. Pesaturo will offer tips on how to track and identify animals using footprints, fur, and food left behind, and other tactics. The areas around Little Chauncy provide a wide variety of habitats, from forests to swamps to wet meadows, and the chance to see evidence of rabbits, deer, squirrels, coyotes and otters. This event is best suitable for older children and adults.

Just because there may not be snow in your backyard doesn't mean you can't get out to try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing as part of Saturday's national Winter Trails Day. Cross-country centers across the country, including many in New England, such as Weston Ski Track at the Leo J. Martin Golf Course, are taking part in the program, which introduces the sports to the masses at a free or reduced rate. "Let people know we have snow," Kevin Horner, Weston's assistant manger and cross-country ski instructor, said yesterday.

The town's Park and Recreation Department is starting a program to provide snowshoes to residents so they can explore the winter trails for free. There are men's, women's, and youth sizes available under the loaner program. Residents can call ahead to reserve the shoes, and must return them by 8:30 a.m. the next day. For more information, call the Park and Recreation Department at 978-443-1092. - Jennifer Fenn Lefferts

Just because there may not be snow in your backyard doesn't mean you can't get out to try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing as part of Saturday's national Winter Trails Day. Cross-country centers across the country, including many in New England, such as Weston Ski Track at the Leo J. Martin Golf Course, are taking part in the program, which introduces the sports to the masses at a free or reduced rate. "Let people know we have snow," Kevin Horner, Weston's assistant manger and cross-country ski instructor, said yesterday.

LYNDONVILLE, Vt. -- Snowshoes on feet and poles in hand, my daughter, my wife, and I take our first steps into the expanse of white leading toward miles of unknown woods. Our long-anticipated snowshoe outing in the fabled Northeast Kingdom of Vermont has begun. My 6-year-old expresses the sentiment that has lingered since I began snowshoeing last winter: "This is just like regular walking, only with big shoes. And snow. " I'll hear a similar description several times during my three days in Vermont, visiting a...

WINDSOR — The Trustees of Reservations is best known as proprietor of Crane Beach in Ipswich. Yet, the environmentally-sound organization maintains more than 100 sites across Massachusetts and some of its finest properties, like Notchview Reservation in the western part of the state, are best seen in winter. Notchview is a splendid 3,000-acre property, sheltered from winter winds by tall spruce and fir trees. The grounds include 25 miles of cross-country skiing, almost half of that groomed, while side trails are favored by snowshoers.

RUTLAND, Vt. — Nestled in Rutland’s northwest corner, Pine Hill Park is a 300-acre oasis for trail runners, mountain bikers, hikers, walkers, and snowshoers. Within this craggy place are 16 miles of trails, Taconic Range vistas, and picturesque ledges over Rocky Pond. Pedestrians can roam the facility, but there is a special walking area near the park’s entrance just for them, while mountain bikers can ride atop thin logs and jump rocks throughout the rest of the network.