Greetings, fellow adventure-loving parents! 🌦️ We have 5 kids and live in a little ski town in the mountains of Norway. Getting outside as a fam is one of the best ways to stay connected, curious, and energized, no matter the season. While it may be easier to head outside on sunny summer days, the magic happens when we embrace all types of weather. With a little planning (and the right gear!), every season has something beautiful and unique to offer in terms of outdoor family activities. Here are our family’s fave ways to make outdoor time a part of our lives all year long. In any season, the memories you’ll create with these all-weather family adventures are worth every minute. 1. Fall: Bike Rides to School There’s something special about being outside during autumn. The cool breeze and the colorful leaves make it a season full of wonder! Our daycare is 3 miles (5 kilometers) from our home, so we like to pile the little ones in the bike trailer and leave home early. It’s a fun, fresh start to the day before the snow covers our route! 2. Rainy Day Adventures (Yes, Really!) Rainy days can be fun! With raincoats, boots, and umbrellas, we’ll head out and splash in puddles. We stay close to home so drying off and warming up is easy. Plus, there’s nothing like a cozy warm-up in some fuzzy blankets once we’re home! 3. Late Autumn: Ice Skating As the weather cools down, we often have freezing nights before the snow starts to fall. If it’s cold enough for long enough, the local lakes freeze and make great spots for ice skating! (*Make sure to gauge the thickness of the ice in advance to avoid danger.) We have also had friends create their own ice rink in their backyard in the wintertime – a great way to bring the ice skating and hockey home! 4. Winter: Hit the Snowy Trails Snow opens up a whole new world of family activities. We often head out to sled with our “snowracers,” make a snow fort or snowman in the yard, or head to local spots for skiing, snowboarding, or snowshoeing. If you’re worried about the cold, remember: prioritize wool and fleece over cotton…and layers are your friend! Pro tip, from our family to yours: How to dry kids’ winter gear? After a rainy or snowy day, a shoe dryer like the Hedgehog Dryer ensures everyone's gear is warm and dry for the next day's adventure. Hedgehog Dryer dries shoes, gloves, boots and gear superfast – a family outdoor gear essential. 5. Magical Northern Lights One of nature’s most amazing gifts in the darker months is the Northern Lights! Caused by charged solar particles interacting with Earth’s magnetic field, they can light up the sky. They are most common in northern areas, and we have been fortunate to see them from our balcony in Hemsedal, Norway. With only 5 hours of daylight in our darkest months, it’s cool to have a reason to look forward to the darkness! 6. Sledding…on our Rooftop?! Our house is built along a hill, so the rooftop isn’t far from the ground. In the wintertime, we can slide down the roof into a huge pile of snow! If you sit on a plastic bag, you can really get some great momentum…admittedly, a bit scary for me, but the kids love it! (*not suitable for all homes! Ours is nestled against a hill and a deep snowbank.) 7. Spring: Still Snowing, Still Skiing Where we live, spring is still snowy, but the days are longer and brighter, the snow is slushier, the birds are singing, and everything just feels a bit lighter. We love a family cross-country ski trip (Dad pulls the little guys in the “pulk,” or sled) with breaks for snacks. Norwegians love tangerines and other fruit; open-faced sandwiches; soups; pre-made cinnamon rolls, waffles, or pancakes; hot chocolate or coffee, and “Kvik-Lunsj” (like “KitKat” in the US). 8. Summer: Water you Waiting for? Our family is at its very happiest in the water. We love swimming in any body of water: lakes, rivers, swimming pools, water parks, oceans…you name it! We recently took a trip to the fjords and tried efoiling for the first time – the kids were awesome! Norwegian water tends to be cold, so the kids also have wetsuits they can wear if they need extra layers. 9. Berry Picking: Very, Berry Fun My husband and I both come from berry-picking families – I joke that we all have the berry-picking gene! Wild strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cloudberries, lingonberries…you name it, we like to find it! Berry picking provides a little dopamine boost – gratifying and also delicious. After we get home, we then clean and sort the berries and come up with ways to use them – from blueberry muffins to raspberry jam and cloudberry cream. 10. Hikes—Year-Round I used to think of hikes as a summer thing, but now we do them all year. In colder months, we pile on the layers and head out together to a spot where everyone can run around. We have a “meis” (baby carrier/backpack) for our smallest child who recently learned to walk. With a few snacks, a thermos, and a little creativity, we turn a simple activity into an adventure every season. Getting outside all year is a way for our family to find little escapes, whatever the weather. When we learn to embrace the elements and take care of our outdoor gear, we’re teaching our kids to do the same. And as a bonus, we’re creating traditions and memories that they’ll carry with them forever. What are some of your year-round outdoor family activities? Drop a comment below; I’d love to hear your ideas!
