The weather people have spoken to the measurement people — and the result is an estimated snow dump of up to 20 centimetres across the Lakeland overnight and into Tuesday.
So how are you going to spend your Tuesday snow day?
Fortunately the Lakeland people are known for their resistance to the elements. Lakelanders can finish a camping game of Beers-bie while a swarm of angry hornets dart around them, drawn by piles of beer cans and a frisbee that smells like liquid hops and barley. Lakelanders can go out to start the car on a minus 30 February morning, pull in the garbage cans and shovel the front steps while wearing their pyjama bottoms, a plaid robe and a pair of Kamiks.
So how are you going to spend the snow day?
Many in the eastern side of the region will do the obvious... go skiing. Kinosoo Ridge in Cold Lake is a popular spot. But this week, you'll have to wait a day until the Snow Day snow settles. Due to COVID-19 measures, the ski hill is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. And smart that Lakelanders are, many have already planned their Wednesday hill visit on fresh snow. Again, thanks to COVID, only 150 day passes are issued daily on the hill — and they have to be purchased online. So get them fast.
But downhill isn't the only angle skis can cut through snow. There's a whole lot of horizontal ski trails through the Lakeland — many are groomed, like the cross-country ski trails in Lakeland Provincial Park's Shaw Lake, Cold Lake Provincial Park, Moose Lake, Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park or the Cold Lake Golf Club. Check out the Alberta Parks website for trail locations, or the Bonnyville Nordic Ski Club.
Now come the rapid-fire ways to spend a snow day — with kids or not, depending if schools cancel classes as well.
Go Tobogganing. There are several small but fun hills at Lac La Biche's Alexander Hamilton Park. A nice spot is also in McArthur Park behind the civic building or on the lakeshore hills at Lakeview Crescent. In Plamondon, the Chapelle Society hill is always a popular site. In and around Bonnyville, there's some great sliding spots around Jesse Lake, and the Lagasse Park Hill is a fun winter ride in St. Paul.
Ice fishing. We'd love to tell you where the best spots are ... but a the fisher-folk never tell. Never. But here's a hint. If you've got a lake near you, go to it — and look for those little towns of fishing shacks. They circle the hotspots like the white pelicans do on a summer morning on a Lakeland lake.
Snowmobile the day away. Marked trails line the Lakeland Region. The most well-known, the Iron Horse Trail runs between Smoky Lake and Cold Lake with dozens of side-trails along the way. The Lac La Biche region has some great trails in and over many of the 150 lakes in the region. Wearing a helmet on a snow day is a good snow day.
Go for a walk. Ok, yes, it's the 'less cool' option — but a stroll through the fresh snow on a local trail or even around the neighbourhood is a simple way to get some fresh air.
Build a snow-something. You're never too old to roll up a snowman, pack together a snow-fort or use the white stuff to create the final battle scene from Game Of Thrones, if you're so inclined. Enjoy the day, get creative, get active, get a little cold. It's always nice to warm up with a steaming cup of hot chocolate with, perhaps, a little 'added flavour'.
Snow days are great ways to experience the great outdoors. But c'mon, let's be real — some folks would just prefer to hunker down, wrapped in a blanket with only a little opening for they eyes and the TV remote. If that's you, then enjoy that too. The world outside can wait for you. It's another advantage of living in the Lakeland — you don't have to do it all at once.
Enjoy your snow day in Lakeland, no matter if you spend it on the slopes, the trails, or the sofa.
