To be very honest, winter and I have had a love-hate relationship over the last 20+ years I have lived in Prince George. Growing up I absolutely loved winter and let’s face it what is there not to like? You can hit up one of the many local volunteer maintained ice rinks and play a pickup game of hockey with your friends, family and neighbours who happen to be there. There are sledding hills all over town and everyone seems to be wanting to feed you hot chocolate as a way to warm up. I wanted it to be winter year round.
Wanting to flee the snow
Then I hit the point of my life where the thought of snow made me want to pack up and fly south for the season. The shovelling, the window scraping and the whole idea of winter driving. Schedules got busy and every part of winter I loved became replaced with cold gloomy days and frustration. At this point I was like – winter UGH! Spring could not come fast enough.
Learning to love winter
Snow is now on the ground in Prince George, and I will admit that for the first time in many years I am trying hard to embrace winter and once again look at all the positives. Having a two year old will do that to you. It was during that first big snow fall of the year I was grumpily shovelling the driveway while my car was warming up and I look over and see Ryan sitting in the middle of our front lawn (how he made his way there still is beyond me) grabbing handfuls of snow and throwing it in the air yelling “SNOW SNOW”. It was this moment that I realized I can’t let my “bahumbugness” rub off on him.
Finding fun activities
So I opened my eyes and saw just how much there is to do in Prince George during the winter months. Those neighbourhood ice rinks are still being maintained by some pretty amazing volunteers and you can still grab some hot chocolate and hit up one of the many 
sledding hills throughout the community. If you have more grace and balance than I do you can spend the day at one of the half dozen ski hills or tour the beautiful cross country trails at Otway. One highlight so far this winter has been a sleigh ride up at Noah’s Ark Adventureland located on Cranbrook Hill. If you still prefer to be indoors there is still a lot to take in between hockey games, performances at Theatre Northwest and so many local restaurants and cafes.
While it is very easy to let the snow and winter get to you, remember “we are winter” and because of that Prince George has tons opportunities to embrace it and be happy, active and busy during the winter months. If you do need a small break from Mother Nature remember WestJet offers a direct flight to Mexico from the Prince George International Airport.
Stay warm and until next time, all the best!
