The winter blues are a very real downside to living in the Rocky Mountains. The freezing cold weather and short days make it easy to slip into seasonal depression. Especially when you have young children!

My favorite way to fight back is by spending time outdoors. Enjoying the serenity and beauty of winter. People assume that everyone up here is a ski bum. Even as a local, skiing is a very expensive hobby. As a parent you then have to include child care costs. You could take turns with your spouse, but in my opinion that defeats the point of family time. Either way it’s not practical for our family nor our budget!

Our favorite way to get outdoors in winter is snowshoeing! We’ve made it a little tradition to spend our Sundays showshoeing together as a family. It’s extremely easy, affordable and a great family activity. You can either use a carrier (I love our Ergobaby 360) or pull your kiddos on a sled. Another fun alternative we are investing in next winter is cross country skiing. Both options give you the ability to utilize the free trails! We splurged on very high quality snowshoes + poles (MSR Lightning Ascent) but it isn’t really necessary. Second hand would work just fine!

Snowshoe Sundays give me something to look forward to every week. It’s a great exercise and I love our quality family time. It’s also a great opportunity for a photo shoot! Last Sunday we checked off North Tenmile Trail from our list. My goal is to share pictures and an honest review of the kid friendly hikes we take in Summit County. I hope that the list we compile will give other families the confidence to explore the outdoors, even in winter!

North Tenmile Creek Trail

kid + dog friendly
6 miles out and back
relatively flat (the first third or so is uphill but not too steep)
heavily trafficked, snow shoes weren’t necessary for the first half

I would rate this trail as moderate. It’s flat enough that you can pull a child behind on a sled. You can continue much farther than the trail is marked. However, it’s not as trafficked and the terrain gets tougher to manage. It’s mostly covered with trees which is great for sun + wind protection. We will definitely be back next fall to see the aspens and water features (creek, lake + waterfalls)