Snowshoeing and Nordic skiing intro drew 11,250+ participants to 80 venues.
Winter Trails Day 2008 attracted more than 11,250 participants at approximately 80 US locations. That is was a 25 percent increase over 2007, when just over 8,000 attended, even though organizers pared the number of locations from 120. Look at those numbers again: about 4,250 more people at 20 fewer sites.
Winter Trails Day is a free-to-the-public event coordinated by SnowSports Industries America (SIA) in conjunction with the Cross Country Ski Areas Association (CCSAA) and the American Hiking Society (AHS). "Free" meant use of equipment and often a guided snowshoe walk was offered at no charge. It is put on to attract newcomers to the pleasures of winter sports. In my view, snowshoeing is an ideal cross-over activity for Nordic Walkers.
The vast majority of venues hosted Winter Trails Day on Saturday, January 17, and while cross-country skiing was also available at the Nordic Centers, most of the participants tried snowshoeing. Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, CO, and the Campbell Creek Science Center near Anchorage, AK, held theirs a month later. RMNP hosted the largest event, a snowshoe-only introduction on February 16 that drew more than 1,000 participants.
If you live in the snowbelt and haven't yet tried snowshoeing, keep your eye on this blog or in your local paper for next year's dates.
Photo by Biege Jones, Winter Trails Day.
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