Snowshoeing’s Hot in Vermont

There are remakes of movies, revivals of Broadway shows and in Vermont, reinventions of entire sports. Vermont’s very own Tubbs Snowshoes, formerly based in Stowe, led a revival of the popular 1920s laced wood shoes that has turned snowshoeing into a sport that our deer-hunting grandfathers would not recognize. 

Snowshoeing shook off its red-plaid-wool-shirt image with a series of high-tech innovations that make hiking, or walking, in snow easy and fun. Tubbs introduced lightweight aluminum snowshoes boasting colorful decking in the early 1990s and two decades later continues to lead the market with snowshoes for men, women and kids of all ages and interests, from backcountry exploration to heart-pumping fitness workouts.

Snowshoeing is the perfect addition to the mix of activities at Vermont winter resorts, out the back door of country inns, along recreation paths and on Nordic ski area’s expansive trail systems. From a moonlight stroll with headlamp to a wine and cheese party in a backcountry cabin, your snowshoes are your vehicles to family-oriented adventures no matter what your level of ability or fitness. Whether self-guided exploration or group oriented tours, you’ll find snowshoeing in Vermont will rejuvenate mind, body and spirit.

Never tried snowshoeing? Vermont’s Nordic ski areas and resorts play host to Winter Trails, January 8, 2011. An annual day of celebration of snowshoeing and Nordic skiing, Winter Trails offers the perfect opportunity to take a walk in the woods, or glide across snowy fields of powder, for free. For a list of participating Vermont resorts, visit….(link to our page on this…)

Vermont’s border-to-border Long Trail system includes high peaks and rolling valleys perfect for snowshoeing. The Green Mountain Club acts as an information source to snowshoers on the latest trail conditions and provides maps directing snowshoers to scenic vistas, mountaintop lodges, and wildlife sites. The Green Mountain Club co-hosts the Green Mountain Snowshoe Fest each year with getting started clinics, nature tracking for kids and an array of guided tours for all abilities. It is a day-long snowshoe event at the club’s headquarters on Route 100 in Waterbury, for details, visit www.greenmountainclub.org