Another year has passed and the first snowfall has hit Ottawa. I refuse to be a scrooge about winter. So here is my 2019/2020 Winter Bucket List!
If you’d like to take a look at past year Winter Bucket Lists you can find them here:
So how do I plan on accomplishing some of these items? This year I’ll give you a little bit into the planning of my buckets lists.
Step 1: Make List
Step 2: Count how many free weekends you have in the winter
Step 3: Schedule events out
Step 4: Go enjoy winter!
Ice Fishing: I’ll simply google ice fishing Ottawa when it’s cold enough to go and then start researching different outfitters around the area.
Build a Quincy: I spelled it wrong in my photo above but didn’t have the energy to change it. I found this fun video on youtube so we’ll attempt this in our backyard!
Cross-Country Skiing: My gear is so old, I’m going to attempt to trade it in for newer gear or just donate it and then rent equipment with MEC to go out since it’s not in the budget this year to purchase new gear. I have so many trails near our house, this I can easily do on a weekend where we don’t have a ton of things going on.
Winter Camping: My husband, Mike and I only like winter camping if the temperature is between -10 and -20 celsius. Colder than that and it’s uncomfortable, warmer than -10 and you actually get a little damp in your sleeping bag in the tent. So this one we’ll have to play fairly by ear and watch the weather network.
Snowshoeing: I’ll probably get out and do this way more than skiing since we have our own pair of snowshoes… Let’s see how many times I can convince the hubby to leave the warmth of our house to go snowshoeing this year!
Snowball Fight, Make A Snowman, Snow Angels, Make a Puzzle, Bake Cookies and Make Apple Cider: These are all impromptu things that we can fit in at any time.
Cabin Weekend: There are several amazing places in and around Ottawa. I may try to book in with Cabin Escape in March if they have weekend availability. Unfortunately, the Raven House cabin we stayed at last year isn’t renting out this year (they said maybe late winter) so I’ll just scour AirBnB for amazing finds. We had an amazing time winter camping in a yurt a few years ago at Terra Perma so I went ahead and booked their Earth Ship for the Family Day long weekend! I’ll share a link after we stay there.
Winter Photo Shoot & Sparkler Photo: This is going to take coordination, hiring a photographer and ensuring they can pull off the sparkler photo!
Polar Bear Plunge: There is an organized one benefiting the Special Olympics. Or I can just go to Le Nordik and jump in the cold pools lol.
Snowboarding: My friend Jess has already volunteered to come with me, so we’ll just have to coordinate which weekends she’s here in Ottawa and get that planned!
Le Nordik: Same friend, Jess is coming to visit this coming weekend and since I haven’t been to Le Nordik in a while we’re going to head there for a day to relax.
Ice Skating on the Canal: Winterlude happens from January 31 – February 17 so we’ll just have to go down one evening or on a weekend to participate in the magic.
Ice Skating Trail: We headed out to River Oak skating trail last year. The photo background for the winter bucket list image is from our evening skate there. We brought headlamps and had the whole trail to ourselves that night.
Games Night: Last but not least, winter can usually be pretty isolating so I’m going to try and organize a games night for our friends and have everyone over for a few rounds of everyone’s favorite games.