Kim’s Winter Activity Guide

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Kim's Winter Activity Guide

As winter approaches you might be wondering how you can best get out and enjoy the season. Our Outdoor Activity Consultant, Kim, has curated a list of local events and activities that will have you bundling up and falling in love with winter all over again.

These activities connect with so many Pathway Landmarks, from Landmark 1(Explore outdoors together), to Landmark 11, 14 and 17 which all encourage you to try different kinds of outdoor recreation that don’t require gasoline or electricity.

There’s so much to do in Peterborough and surrounding areas this winter.

Winter Activities

Outdoor Skating

The City of Peterborough has plenty of neighbourhood outdoor rinks including Cameron Street Park, Dixon Park, Earlwood Park, Golfview Park, Hastings Park, Kiwanis Park, Nicholls Park, Northland Park, Mapleridge Park, Poplar Park, Stenson Park, Turner Park, and University Heights.

Rinks are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (weather and ice conditions permit)

The Peterborough Lift Lock 

Park right on Armour Road, just south of Hunter Street, and get on the ice within a minute.

Make sure that you see the green flag flying over the canal before venturing onto the ice.

 

Quaker Foods Urban Park

The newest addition to Peterborough’s skating rinks is called ‘The Commons‘ area! It’s refrigerated and has lights for nighttime skating!  

215 Charlotte Street St, Peterborough

 

Lakefield Speed Skating Oval 

The park is open from noon to 6 p.m. on weekdays and full days on weekends. Lessons are available. You’ll find it at 3358 Lakefield Road.

 

Tobogganing at Armour Hill

The legendary hill is in Ashburnham Memorial Park, on Armour Road where it meets Douro Street.

 

Cross Country Skiing

Kawartha Nordic Ski Club offers beautiful scenery along 46 kilometres of classic trails, 27 km for skate skiing, and 2 km for night skiing. There are also nine kilometres for snowshoeing. You can rent skis and snowshoes right on-site.

Address: 7107 Highway 28, Township of North Kawartha

Ski right in Peterborough in Jackson Park with the Peterborough Nordic Club

The groomed route begins at The Trans Canada Trail. The trail will be groomed west along the trail just before the 4th bridge at Atkinson Road. The groomed route is 4km in total. 

 

Outdoor workout

Peterborough’s outdoor gym is in Beavermead Park. The 12 low-impact stations overlook Little Lake. Enter the park at 2011 Ashburnham Dr. and look for the gym near the volleyball court.

There are different fitness stations with several types of exercises, as well as standalone equipment such as a recumbent bike. The gym is also fully accessible for persons with disabilities. and includes a fitness station that accommodates wheelchairs.

Go Ice Fishing

Chemong Lake is a fisher’s paradise and is a great venue to introduce kids to this annual tradition. No licence is required during the family day weekend.

Winter attractions

A half-day farm adventure for the family at Woolley Wonderland Farm in Lakehurst. It’s all outdoors with lots to do. Meet your favourite Frozen characters with Olaf and Elsa, join in the bonfire with hot chocolate, take a wagon or sleigh ride, and pet the miniature farm friends. This event runs until Jan 8.

Animal Friends

Wanderlight Alpaca experiences run through the winter and offer you and your family a chance to meet alpacas and go for a walk with them. Wanderlight Alpaca is located at 874 Lynch’s Rock Road in Lakefield. 

Don’t forget to also visit the animals at the Riverview Park and Zoo this winter. The zoo is located at 1300 Water St, Peterborough, and is open 8:30 a.m. until dusk.

Winter Events

Lakefield’s Polarfest February 3-5, 2023

PolarFest is an exciting family festival, offering something for everyone to enjoy!

Choose from activities including: Opening Ceremony with fireworks display, Snowman Building Challenge, Candlelight Skate, Ice Carvings, and for the brave the BEL Rotary Polar Plunge

Peterborough’s Snofest February 17-20, 2023

As part of this Snofest Event, meet outside in the Heritage Pavilion for a snowy Story Time in the Park with the Peterborough Public Library.  After, warm up inside the Peterborough Museum. Do a simple craft, explore the galleries, and play with the many interactives. Feb 17, 10:30-11:00 and 2:00-4:00

See more of this year’s festivities by checking the Peterborough website for information. 

Get Out and Play

The Peterborough Museum & Archives’ newest temporary exhibit Get Out and Play: Winter Sports in Peterborough will open on Saturday, December 10, and be on display until March 19, 2023.

Get Out and Play was developed in-house at the Peterborough Museum & Archives, using artifacts, archival images, and stories from its collections. Visitors will see skates, skis, a toboggan, and other winter sports equipment from days past. People can learn about the origins of some of their favourite winter sports, as well as the context of these sports and clubs at a local level

Family Literacy Day

Here is an event that’s fun for the whole family. This is a free event and families can get creative in the craft area,  pick out a book and settle in to enjoy Paddling Puppeteer, Glen Caradus, and his puppet friends as they entertain us with songs and stories about the natural world. Family Literacy Day is taking place at Peterborough Square, on Saturday, January 28 from 9:30-12:00. 

 

Family-Friendly Summer Activities

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Family-Friendly Summer Activities

Getting outside with your baby or toddler is great for the whole family.  A bit of fresh air and exercise can help you and your child calm down, relax and refocus.

A hat, some sunscreen for babies over six months and a water bottle are necessities.

Sweet Summer Fun with Babies and Toddlers

Nancy Doherty, Pathway Activity Consultant

Enjoy time together, forget about the dirty dishes and enjoy some of these experiences:

baby-girl-sitting-in-grass-with-a-handful-of-dande-BN3K3BD

1. A walk around the block may be enough for your toddler, they often like to stop and pick up every stone or stick, as they explore their world.  Outdoors our senses are stimulated; see the colourful flowers, look up at the clouds, hear the chattering squirrels, singing birds, the smell of blossoms, feel of the wind touch the rough bark on the tree.

family-picnic-in-the-park-PXV97PG

2. A picnic in a park or your backyard may be a new experience.  Talk about the ants, the feel of the grass, the blue sky; introduce new words, label the colours you see.

Unrecognizable father with small daughter on a walk in autumn forest, resting and talking.

3. A visit to a stream or creek provides opportunities for watching the water flow, throwing sticks or stones in the water to see a splash, or dipping toes in the water.  Keep your eyes open for frogs and minnows or turn over some rocks to see the crayfish.

Mother sitting next to her son on the floor covered with fur rug and showing him something curious in backyard through big window

4. Set up a tent in the backyard, babies can crawl in and play some peek-a-boo, toddlers may bring their favourite toys and play or listen to a story while enjoying a new experience.

toddler-child-plays-with-water-in-a-basin-DQEBXK5

5. Play with some water, fill up a container that they can dip, dump, and discover in!  Add sponges, rocks, shells, and cups of different sizes.  Toddlers might decide to add some grass or dirt.

Water invites all kinds of discoveries; bathing dolls or toys, add a paintbrush and paint with water, fill up a watering can and water plants, climbing in the bin, and splashing. With support and encouragement from parents, children learn to love being in nature.

Do you know that the Peterborough Family Resource Centre provides programs and supports for families with children 0-6 years of age?  Check out their website or Facebook

Currently, programs are offered virtually but watch for the Summer Schedule coming soon.

Simple Summer Activities

Kim Dobson, Pathway Activity Consultant

Looking for critters in a pond or creek: For some ideas on pond studies and what you’ll find in ponds and creeks, watch the Hidden Life of Ponds with Jacob Rodenburg or Swamped with Nature Nancy. There are so many areas in and around Peterborough to take your net and container and take off your shoes and get looking: Jackson’s Creek, Warsaw Caves Conservation Area, Millbrook pond and trout ponds,  the Back Dam in Warsaw, around the edges of Little Lake and Squirrel Creek. Imagine the Marsh Conservation Area, Miller’s Creek Conservation Area, Hope Mill Conservation Area, and any body of water excluding sandy beaches (you won’t find much life on pure sand).

While you’re there, try your hand at making a sand castle. You can either use the traditional buckets and shovels or try the drip method

More into land activities?

Try disc golf. Peterborough has several great courses: Riverview Park and Zoo, Hamilton Park, Ennismore Waterfront Park, and Viamede Resort. All you need to participate is a frisbee or discs!

Family hikes: Whether it’s a walk around the neighbourhood, a hike through Jackson Park, or further afield, like a hike to High Falls, nothing beats a walk in the woods with your family. Take a picnic (food is a great motivator for little ones on a hike) and walking shoes and away you go. Socks and shoes are helpful for stability but also because of the poison ivy and/or insects. Kawartha Land Trust has many areas with trails that are open to the public, from the Jeffrey Cowan property on Stoney Lake to the John Earle Chase Memorial Park on Pigeon Lake. Find maps and directions on the Kawartha Land Trust website

Become a citizen scientist this summer. Contribute to scientific data being gathered all over the world. It’s as easy as snapping a photo of anything from frogs, plants, insects, and posting them in apps like iNaturalist, eBird, Seek, Bumblebee Watch, Herps of Ontario (part of iNaturalist), Leafsnap. These citizen science apps, and contributing to research, have the added benefit of getting your family to observe what is around them, learning the names of these things, and learning more about them, which in turn will hopefully create a context for caring about these living things and taking care of them.

Create a Butterflyway:  Seven steps to creating a Butterflyway from David Suzuki’s website 

  1. Grow native wildflowers, Invest in a tree or shrub, Create a woodpile bug hotel, Leave sunny soil patches for bees,
  2. Provide a water source, Learn more about local bees and butterflies, Create a neighbourhood Butterflyway!
 

Unstructured free time: this is what summer is all about and it’s been proven that unstructured free time outdoors is very beneficial for child development and also for connecting to the environment. 

Unstructured play provides a variety of benefits for child and youth health and well-being, in terms of: physical health and gross motor skills, mental and emotional health, social health and teamwork, learning and attention at school, and resiliency and risk management skills.

The Canadian Public Health Association 
If your child is not used to unstructured free time outside, it might take time to build up their comfort level, stamina and also their imaginations as to what to do with this free time. Start with short time frames and some suggestions and build up to longer times and less “interference”. Most often, if given the time and space, kids will come up with imaginative things to do that you would never have considered. When you think that they are done, and they are saying that they don’t know what to do, give them more time and see what happens. This is often when the magic happens!

Bring the family to a Provincial Park, they are free this summer Monday to Thursday for day use. Provincial Parks in our area are: Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Silent Lake Provincial Park, Emily Provincial Park, Balsam Lake Provincial Park, and further afield Presqu’il Provincial Park.

Get out after dark and stargaze. Several wonderful apps for identifying constellations are: Skyview, Google Sky, SkySafari, Star Tracker and to find out where the International Space Station is, there is even an app for that, called International Space Station.

Even more activities for kids 5+

Nancy Thomson, Pathway Activity Consultant
1.  Geocaching, the world’s biggest treasure hunt!
 
If you like looking for treasures and discovering new places then Geocaching is for you.  All you need is a smart phone or a GPS unit, get an account and decide which treasure hunt you will start with.  There are likely many geocaches close to where you live and there are thousands in Peterborough and the Kawarthas to be found. Go to Geocaching.com and create your account and the geocache options will pop up.  Walk, take a bike or make an unexpected stop while traveling this summer. It is an amazing way to explore the land.

2. Build a Fort

A cool place to beat the heat this summer is in the forest and Peterborough has plenty of them to explore. Jackson Park is the first one that comes to mind and is the perfect spot to build a fort. Let the children figure out what will make forts strong, waterproof, warm at night, and of course stylish.  Please remember to ensure that the fort builders are aware of animal homes and not to cut live branches for their forts as we are sharing the land with so many creatures, big and small.

3. Get on your BIKE and ride!

The Great Trail (otherwise known as the TransCanada Trail) runs right through Peterborough and to the east and west.  There are many sections of the trail that are on old rail trails allowing for easy biking adventures while minimizing exposure to motorized vehicles.  You can bike all the way to Hastings and beyond on the trail, stopping for a picnic along the way.  Or, if you want to go the other way, head west towards Omemee and discover the beautiful lands around the county. Visit https://tctrail.ca/ and see the section of the trail you want to discover.

4. Canoeing and Kayaking the Canal

A canoe trip doesn’t just have to be in the vast wilderness.  Exploring the Peterborough area along the canal is a really fun and exciting way to spend a summer day.  Whether you start in Little Lake or in Lakefield, you can travel along the canal and stop for a bite along the way, at a local café or the picnic you brought to eat at your favourite lock. If you don’t have your own boat or one to borrow, LiftLock Paddle Co has canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards with a PFD included.  Explore the lock system or just paddle the lakes that make the Kawarthas a destination for many travelers.

5. Beach Volleyball

Bring a hat, some sunscreen and a beach ball (or volleyball of course) and enjoy the sand in your toes as you play a game of beach volleyball. There are 6 courts available for public use at Beavermead Park in Peterborough on a first come first serve basis.  If they are already rented when you get there, there is an amazing playground, field space, and beach as some easy alternatives to your game.  A visit to Ecology Park could also be a quick alternative but it is a worthwhile trip on its own.

6.  The Perfect Solution to a Hot Summer’s Night

One of my favourite memories, when my kids were young, were the nights when we went “off script”.  Instead of a regular bedtime routine, we planned a special evening on those hottest of hot summer evenings.  Packing up a dinner picnic with some cool treats, we headed to a park with a splash pad.  After dinner (instead of bath, book, bed) the kids would have fun in the splash pad, cooling them down after a hot day.  At the park, we would change them into their PJs, read a book, and head home where they would be tucked into bed (likely negotiating for one more book before lights out). Such special memories.

There is lots of fun under the sun, but here is a wonderful activity from our Outdoor Activity Consultant, Kelly, King, that brings you out after dark for a late-night adventure. 

Night Vision Journeys

Kelly King, Pathway Activity Consultant

Did you know? Red light helps to preserve our night vision because of the low frequency it has when it meets our eyes. At really low, or red light, conditions our eyes produce a chemical called rhodopsin which allows us to more easily see in the dark. From the last bright light, we see it can take about 20 to 40 minutes for our eyes to start producing rhodopsin. This means you’ll need to make sure you’re only using your red light and not looking at any bright lights like street lamps, cellphones, or watches for 20 to 40 minutes before you start seeing the benefits of your night vision flashlight!

What you’ll need:

Small piece of plastic (like saran wrap)

Flashlight

Elastic Band

Red marker

What to do:

1. Colour one side of the plastic with your red marker.

2. Cover the end of your flashlight with the red plastic and secure it with an elastic band.

3. Take your red light on your next night hike and note how much more you can see when you don’t have bright lights around you!

Kim’s Spring Activity List

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Kim's Spring Activity Guide

Our Outdoor Activity Consultant, Kim, has rustled up some exciting Spring Activities to keep our Pathway community busy!

1. Kites

learningliftoff.com

As spring can be breezy, it’s a great time to learn about wind and make and fly a kite
 

 2. Help the Birds 

Encourage birds to nest around your property by providing mud and nesting materials.

 

MUD

  • Choose a spot at the edge of a flower or vegetable garden to establish a mud hole. Use a hose or a bucket of water to wet the earth.
  • Squish the soil using your hands, a stick or a shovel, until it reaches a muddy consistency.
  • Try to find clay soil. Don’t worry if the mud contains small bits of grass or other plant fibres. 

NEST LINING MATERIALS

  • Stuff a mesh onion bag with materials such as dead twigs, pine needles, leaves, feathers, moss, dry grass (as long as it’s chemical-free), strips of bark, and plant fluff from plants such as cattails or cottonwood.
  • Hang the bag from a clothesline or tree branch in your backyard.
  • Some materials that were previously recommended for nesting are now considered unsafe. Do not provide hair (human or animal), string, yarn or loose bits of thread, as birds can become entangled in these materials. Likewise, do not provide pieces of felt or cloth, dryer lint, plastic, tinsel, cellophane or aluminum foil; these can be choking hazards or cause internal blockage.

3. Create a Wild Bee Sanctuary

For a detailed outline visit this link at the David Suzuki Organization 

  • Fill your yard with flowers
  • Plant native
  • Go organic
  • Add water  
 

b. Make a Bee Bath

Use a shallow plate and place it at the ground level where you’ve noticed bee activity. Place a few flat stones in the plate to create landing pads or islands and safe places to crawl out should they fall in. Add fresh water but don’t submerge the stones. Birds and butterflies will use it, too. Replace the water every few days to eliminate mosquito larvae… more here

Make a bee home

Honeybees and bumblebees live in social colonies, but most wild bee species are solitary. About two-thirds of solitary nesting bees use tunnels in the ground to lay their eggs. About one-third use hollowed-out plant stems or tunnels in dead trees or fallen logs… Want to discover the best homemade housing you can make for bees in your backyard? Read more here

4. Plant a Pollinators Garden 

Check out this amazing resource from Bee City Canada on how to create a habitat. and Follow it up with the Planting for Pollinators blog from Kidsgardening.org 


5. Create a Spring Checklist 

With your kids, make a checklist of things that make you think of spring. Go on a hike in the forest, check off all of the things that you see and feel on your list. Try to ensure that the list is multi-sensory, so things like feeling the warmth of the sun and different smells of the seasons are also on the list. Feel free to add to the lists as you are walking and noticing more things.

6. Colours of Spring

Pick up some paint chips from a hardware store. On your outdoor adventure, hand them out to your kids and see if they can find matches to many different colours. They may think it’s impossible, but this gets them to really look at items to find a match. Remember to look up, blues often match the sky!

If paint chips are not available to you, crayons will work too.

7. Meet a Tree in your Neighbourhood

Have your kids pick a tree that you really get to know over time. They can get to know it in so many different ways (draw, take bark rubbings, look with a magnifier, or use a camera). In the spring, they will be looking for the buds starting to explode into leaves. Most people think that buds form in the spring, but with careful observation, you will see that buds are actually on the tree all winter!

8. Disc Golf

Get your family involved in this fun, active, burgeoning sport. Peterborough has three easily accessible, free courses for you to enjoy. The courses are at the north end of the Riverview Park and Zoo, TASS, and Hamilton Park just south of Jackson Park. In outlying areas of Peterborough, there is one at Mount Julian Viamede and Ennismore Waterfront Park. Or, you can make your own course anywhere you would like by simply identifying objects as your targets. All you need is a frisbee, or a disc, and a good arm! www.peterboroughdiscgolf.ca

9. Take a Hike

Everybody Outdoors! at St. Joseph’s, Douro

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Everybody Outdoors! at St. Joseph’s, Douro

On a crisp, cold March morning, fun was brewing at St. Joseph’s Elementary School in Douro!  Grades 1-4 classes brimmed with excitement for a special morning of community guests and outdoor play.

Principal Julie Selby organized the day around four rotating activity centres.  Mrs. Selby led one centre herself, with a class set of snowshoes; students had a grand time traversing the large schoolyard, and wending their way through the evergreen forest on-site.  There were many pink cheeks and smiling faces of busy explorers!

A second station featured Jacob Rodenburg of Camp Kawartha for animal games and dramatic play.  Students tried ‘stalking’ like foxes to capture the ever-vigilant Jacob-Rabbit, and following animal tracks in the snow.  The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) game ‘Snow Snakes’ was a big hit, with students testing how far their waxed wooden ‘snakes’ could slide over the snow.

Pathway Coordinator Cathy Dueck focused on forest-related fun with an evergreen tree identification relay that had everyone warming up with running, sorting and laughing!  Then, a forest scavenger hunt sent student detectives to find treasures in the forest and store them in egg cartons to show the class.

Puppeteer and musician extraordinaire Glen Caradus led the fourth activity centre, where students were treated to his ‘Plugging into Nature’ puppet show, showcasing the adventures that await us when we turn off the screens and go outside!  Glen also worked his musical magic and had everyone enthusiastically joining in with his rollicking songs.

All in all, a great morning for everyone!

And for their own pre-March Break adventure, the Grade 7 and 8 students spent a day at Kawartha Nordic, learning how to cross-country ski, exploring the trails and building memories.  So exciting to see the Pathway project in action.  Many thanks to principal Julie Selby and all the wonderful staff at St. Joseph’s.