“Winter Feels Good” is the snowsports industry’s promotional slogan, and Winter Trails Day 2013 on Saturday, January 12, provides an easy way to sample outdoor activities that demonstrate why so many Coloradans love winter and snow. Colorado, in fact, is the only state to host three major FREE opportunities to try equipment on your own or join a group tour. There are two snowshoeing venues and one cross-country skiing venue. Echo Lake along Colorado Hwy. 103 between Bergen Park and Idaho Springs is the site of a snowshoe-only event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. hosted by REI. This FREE snowshoe festival features hundreds of demo snowshoes for adults and children, guided hikes, snow activities, outdoor gear displays and free giveaways. For more information, call 303-756-3100. Registration for the Keystone Nordic Center’s FREE one-hour beginner lesson at 10 a.m. is closed because it has filled up, but if you interested an able to arrive by 9:45 a.m., you might try 970-496-4275 to see whether there have been cancelations. The season’s final Winter Trails Day snowshoe event on January 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is at the Glacier Basin park-and-ride in Rocky Mountain National Park, just outside of Estes Park. It features free snowshoe tryouts, winter safety seminars and a Challenge Clinic from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The event is also FREE, but a National Parks pass of some sort of single-day entry fee is required. For more information, call 970-577-9900 or 800-443-7837.
