Winter Fun
Here are some great ideas of things to do on a winter day!
Ashland is The Historic Mural Capital of Wisconsin.
View all the Murals in Ashland County.
Take the Mural Walk Tour and play the Scavenger Hunt game.
Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. Walk around the exhibits and trek to the top of the observation tower. Bring a sack lunch and enjoy your lunch at the center. Then borrow some snowshoes and snowshoe the boardwalk area out back for FREE!
Ice Skating:
Grab your ice skates and head out to:
~The East End Skating Rink and play hockey, broomball, or just skate around.
~Open Skating on Wednesday nights at the Bay Area Civic Center.
Sledding & Tubing:
Get a sled and find your way to the hills behind the soccer fields at Northland College. When you’re done sledding, take a break inside at the cafeteria and have lunch and coffee. After that, explore the campus and see if anyone has built any large snow creatures/creations yet. If they haven’t, begin one if you’re feeling adventurous.
~Mt Ashwabay has a tubing hill.
Cross-Country Ski:
With 2 trails in Ashland and many more in the surrounding area, you will have hours of trails to explore.
If you don’t have skis, they can be rented at Solstice Outdoors.
~Ashland Ski Trail behind Memorial Medical Center.
~Chequamegon Bay Golf Club Trail
~Copper Falls State Park Trails
~Penokee Mountain Trail
~Mt. Ashwabay Trails
~Mt. Valhalla Trails
Snowshoe or Hike:
~Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center trail behind the center (borrow snowshoes for free!)
~Copper Falls State Park
~Houghton Falls
See if there are any activities at:
~The Vaughn Public Library
~Chequamegon Food Co-op
~Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center
Downhill, Cross-Country Skiing & Snowboarding
Spend the day at Mt. Ashwabay skiing.
They have food and drinks available, or you can bring a sack lunch.
Grab your favorite game and go to a coffee shop and enjoy your afternoon. Or play a game that they have there.
Spend an afternoon on Main Street and get a historical view on Ashland by making a lengthy stop at the Ashland Historical Society Museum.
Ice Fishing:
Go ice-fishing with a local fishing guide or by yourself. Stop in any of the local bait shops and they will be sure to direct you to the right location.
Waterfalls: Winter is a wonderful time to view the beautiful ice formations and see the waterfalls in our area.
Copper Falls State Park, Morgan Falls, Houghton Falls, Lost Creek Falls, Sis
Snowmobile:
Ashland County has some great trails to ride. If you don’t have a sled, call our office and we can help you find one.
Go to a park. Ashland has wonderful parks with playgrounds. You could even build a snowman, an igloo or make snow angels.
~Maslowski Beach Park
~Prentice Park
~Kreher Park
~Central Railyard Park
See if there is a sporting event going on:
~Hockey game
~Basketball game
~Gymnastic meet
~Chequamegon Theatre Association play
~Sleigh & Cutter Rally (Feb.)
~Cross-Country Ski Race (Feb.)
Check out the 950 locomotive by the old Depot building (320 Depot Drive)
Visit the local museums and cultural centers
~Ashland Historical Museum
~Washburn Cultural Center
~Madeline Island Museum.
Geocaching. Check out our site for more information and directions on geocaching.
Check out the historic buildings on Main Street. Walk in the stores and ask what is historic about their building. There are some great stories to be told.
Go to the Bretting Center. They have pool, fair hockey, basketball courts, board games and xbox games.
Go to the artesian wells and fill a water bottle with clean, crisp, fresh water.
Fill water balloons with water, add some food coloring and freeze them outside. After they are frozen, remove the balloons and you have beautiful colorful snow globes!
Drive around at night and look at Christmas lights… before Christmas, of course.
Check at the Splashland Water Park at the AmericInn. Small fee applied.
See if a matinee or movie is playing at the Bay Theatre downtown Ashland.
Visit the local fish hatcheries in Bayfield and Iron River.
Visit the world record Black Bear on Grant Street in Glidden.
Check our website to see if conditions are right for the following:
~View the ice caves
~Take the ice road to Madeline Island