Annual Winter Trails Day On January 7, 2012 Offers Free Snowshoeing and/or Cross Country Skiing Throughout North America

Nearly 75 venues held Winter Trails events on Saturday, January 7, 2012. Despite challenging snow conditions across the country, there was strong support for the event series and great media coverage.

Due to the light snow coverage, many event sites needed to get creative and make some last minute changes to their offerings. Several snowless sites offered hiking options on January 7th, but also showcased snowshoes and cross country skis and talked about the two sports and the latest equipment advancements.

Fortunately, not all parts of the country are snowless this year, in fact, many venues reported great snow conditions for their events including Echo Lake, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming as well as several areas across the Midwest.

“Winter Trails had really strong momentum following last year’s event and great partners helping to spread the Winter Trails message, unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate,” stated Reese Brown, the Winter Trails Administrator. “On the bright side, we did have tremendous media coverage and hope the interest generated because of Winter Trails will continue to drive people to try snow sports activities over the next several weeks,” added Brown.

Winter Trails offers children and adults new to snow sports a chance to try snowshoeing and/or cross country skiing FREE at venues throughout North America. There is no charge for the use of equipment or trails. Most locations offer snowshoeing AND cross country skiing. Some locations only offer snowshoeing. Current alpine skiers and/or snowboarders are also encouraged to try an alternative snow sport.