It’s no secret that winter in Prince George is serious business. Heck, it’s winter half the year up here! We’ve seen snow as early as September and as late as June, but normally it doesn’t stick until November and is gone by April (May if you live in the Hart). So if you tend to hibernate in the winter months or if you’re new to town and this is your first winter ever, we hope our list helps you fall in love with this winter wonderland we’re all living in, no matter what the temperature!
When it’s 30-below
When it’s so cold out it hurts to breathe, throw on your balaclava, toque and gloves, and brave the lake for a quick lake skate or good old family ice hockey game and warm up with a bonfire on the beach, or if you’ve got the set up, or a fishy friend, carve yourself out a hole in the ice and drop your rod for some ice fishing fun with the family. We have so many lakes to choose from in Prince George, just see our last post for ideas on where to go: Prince George: Lake City.
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Skating on Nukko Lake. Photo credit: Renee McCloskey
Not ready for lake skating? Or maybe don’t have all the gear at home? There’s still lots of options, like skating at your local indoor skating rink! Northern BC Moms have you covered with all the indoor AND outdoor rinks for public skating in Prince George. If you don’t have skates of your own, you can rent skates for the whole family at the indoor rinks: Elks and the RMC Arena.
For those more adverse to the extreme cold, there are many options for winter activities when it’s frigid outside. Why not catch a local Cougars or Spruce Kings hockey game? We love watching the Spruce Kings, because they’re young, fast, and scrappy!
When it’s snowing
It’s absolute magic every single time it snows. And if you’ve never experienced snow, get ready for some big dumps in Prince George! Because when it snows, it reaaaaally snows. Every time I see snow in the forecast I find myself joyfully saying, “Snow, Snooooow, SNOW!” and quickly throwing on my coat and sticking out my tongue to catch a few flakes, revelling in the beauty that a fresh blanket of snow brings to the landscape.
The best activities when it’s snowing outside are things you can do at home like: build a snowman or snow fort (the best kind of snow for this is the big heavy sticky flakes), make snow angels with the kiddos, or get out some food colouring and grab an old dish soap bottle and paint the snow. Or heck if you live in Prince George, you’ve got to own a shovel, so why not build a mini sled hill in the backyard!
Once the snow has stopped and the roads have been plowed, we highly suggest packing the family into the van and hitting up one of our amazing sledding hills in Prince George (Rainbow Park, College Heights field, Carney Hill, or up at Hart Highland School). Or, if you’d like to learn how to ski or board, head up to the Hart Ski Hill. If you’re a ski family and looking for a bigger hill, check out Northern BC Moms post on all the best kept secret ski hills in the area.
Winter Experiences
Want to create some really magical winter memories as a family? Winter experiences are where it’s at! You can go for a sleigh ride at Crazy M Ranch or just west of Prince George or Triple D Draft Horses, dogsledding with Coldfire Creek in Valemount, or tubing at Barkerville’s Shamrock Tube Run just east of Quesnel (the best part is, you don’t even have to walk up the hill here as they have a conveyor belt)!
And if you’re really not into winter sports at all, we also spend a significant amount of time swimming at either the Aquatic Centre or Four Seasons Pool, taking art classes at Two Rivers Art Gallery, enjoying the play space at Pine Centre Mall, and exploring at our local museum and science centre: The Exploration Place.
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The play area at Pine Centre Mall.
We hope our best winter activities list helps you fall in love with winter and life in Northern BC and especially in Prince George. One thing’s for sure you can definitely call yourself a true north Canadian once you’ve survived a winter in the north!
Kate of Northern BC Moms
