Washington, DC – Nearly 75 venues held Winter Trails events on Jan. 7. Despite challenging snow conditions across the country, there was strong support for the event series designed to introduce new partipants to cross country skiing and snowshoeing, and substantial media coverage.

Due to the light snow cover, many event sites needed to get creative and make some last minute changes to their offerings. Several snowless sites offered hiking options on January 7th, but also showcased snowshoes and cross country skis and talked about the two sports and the latest equipment advancements.

Fortunately, not all parts of the country are snowless this year, and many venues held their events as scheduled, including those in Echo Lake, Colo. and Jackson Hole, Wyo., as well as several areas across the Midwest.

“Winter Trails had really strong momentum following last year’s event and great partners helping to spread the Winter Trails message, unfortunately Mother Nature did not cooperate,” stated Reese Brown, the Winter Trails Administrator. “On the bright side, we did have tremendous media coverage and hope the interest generated because of Winter Trails will continue to drive people to try snow sports activities over the next several weeks.”

Winter Trails offers children and adults new to snow sports a chance to try snowshoeing and/or cross country skiing for free at venues throughout North America. There is no charge for the use of equipment or trails. Most locations offer snowshoeing and cross country skiing. Some locations only offer snowshoeing. Current alpine skiers and snowboarders are also encouraged to try an alternative snow sport.