Outdoor Winter Sports

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the outdoors. Ski areas in Indiana include Ski World Ski Area, which is east of Bloomington, and Ski Paoli Peaks Ski Area in Paoli. The Pines Peak Family Ski Area in Valparaiso offers nine ski trails served by four lifts. Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg offers 25 tubing runs in addition to advanced and beginner skiing hills. If there’s not a big hill nearby, don’t fret. There’s probably a decent-sized sledding hill in just about every town. Other outdoor activities include ice skating and snowmobiling on trails in Northern Indiana. These trails include Buffalo Run, Heritage, Miami and Potowatomi.

Basketball

In Indiana, basketball is king. Whether it be high school, college or professional, Indiana has an entertaining array of basketball for winter-weary watchers and participants. If you’re in Indianapolis, you can enjoy the on-court exploits of the Indiana Pacers; however, any basketball fan will tell you, Indiana’s passion for basketball can best be felt at the high school and collegiate level. Popular college teams include Indiana University, Purdue , Butler, Valparaiso, Notre Dame and IUPUI. If there’s not a college team nearby, check out high school basketball in just about any town.

Winter Festivals

Since it’s not possible to watch basketball 24/7, Indianans have to find other ways of entertaining themselves during winter.

• Wolf Pack Howl Night - Come howl with the wolves every Saturday evening from December to April at Wolf Park in Battleground. Gather around and sing along with the wolves.
• Dickens of a Christmas - What better way to get ready for Christmas than going to Lafayette and pretending you’re a character in a Charles Dickens’ novel? Other activities include carriage rides, live entertainment, food, crafts and demonstrations from local artisans. The fair is held annually the first Saturday of December.
• Goshen Ice Sculpture Festival - This city-on-the-go ushers in the New Year by displaying artistic ice along its main thoroughfare.
• Parke County Maple Syrup Fair - The last weekend in February and the first weekend in March allows you to taste numerous varieties of maple syrup.

Once you get out of the house, you’ll discover there’s much to do in Indiana during the winter. These ideas should get you started.