Snowshoeing at Fahnestock Winter Park

Over the past couple of years, my husband and I have become hiking fans. I personally prefer hikes that lead to a waterfall or a scenic view. But when winter comes, I usually become a homebody since I dislike the cold. For several years snowshoeing has been on my winter bucket list. I figured it was like hiking, but in the snow. And it’s a good activity to get me outside in the winter. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much snow this winter. I also didn’t want to invest in a pair of snowshoes to potentially discover that I don’t enjoy it. After the most recent snow storm, my husband and I finally went snowshoeing at Fahnestock Winter Park.

Fahnestock Winter Park is located on part of a New York State Park (Clarence Fahnestock Park) in Carmel, NY. It is open only in the winter and has approximately 12 miles of groomed cross country skiing trails, three snowshoeing trails and a small sledding hill. With a small café onsite as well, it makes a perfect place for a winter weekend visit.

We arrived at 11 AM and had to wait to park. If you have your own skis or snowshoes you pay the trail fee at the parking booth. If you are renting equipment you pay the rental fee and trail fee at the rental office. While the parking lot is large, the park gets a lot of visitors. Especially the day after a decent snowfall! Once we parked we put on our snow pants and hats and headed to the rental lodge.

Although the rental office is busy, they have a process in place that moves the line quickly. There is a rental form that you can complete with the available pens while you wait on the line. Once you make it to the register you pay and get your day pass. Then another employee grabs your rental equipment. There are several benches in the room and most people leave their boots or shoes under the benches while they ski.

The snowshoes easily attach to your own boots or footwear. The heel swivels from the snowshoe frame, making it easy to walk. This was our first time using snowshoes and we found them fairly easy to walk in.

Fahnestock Winter Park has three snowshoe trails: an easy, moderate (Ojugwan Path – orange) and more difficult (Appalachian Way -blue). We opted to try Ojuwan Path, since it was close to the rental office.

This snowshoe trail is marked for easy navigating. It only got a little confusing when we discovered we had to climb the stairs adjacent to the sledding hill to continue the trail. This section of the trail was the most challenging, since it was uphill. Overall, there were no “wow” sights to be seen on this snowshoe trail, but everything looked beautiful covered in snow.

Although the Ojuwan Path crosses Route 301 and then proceeds around the campground, we opted to end our hike early. We stopped at Route 301 and walked through the park entrance back to the rental lodge.

If you are hungry, there is a cafe onsite that sells a few lunch items, plus muffins and baked goods, chips and beverages. There are tables outside the cafe where you can sit and eat.

Snowshoeing takes a little getting used to but has a quick learning curve. If you’ve never been snowshoeing, Fahnestock Winter Park is a great place to go since they offer rentals at a reasonable price. Our next adventure will be trying cross country skiing at the park, since they have rentals and several trails.

The Details:
Fahnestock Winter Park
1570 Route 301
Carmel, NY 1050
website

Open: Operating schedule is weather dependent.
When there is snow the park is open daily 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Rates: **The Empire Pass and Golden Park Pass are not accepted at this park
Trail Pass for skiing and snowshoeing: $12/adults, $10/seniors (62+ and kids under 17)
Sledding Pass: $3/person
Ski Rentals: $18/adult, $15/junior (under 17)
Snowshoe Rentals: adults – $15/day or $7/hour, juniors (under 17) $14/day or $7/hour
Sledding Tube Rentals: $4/hour
Baby Sled Rental: $20/day or $7/hour

Tips:

*Arrive early! The park gets busy, especially after fresh snow fall.
*There are bathrooms and changing areas.
*There is a café onsite that sells snacks, hot cocoa and chili.

Snow Tubing at Windham Adventure Park

Snow tubing is a fun, family-friendly winter activity. There are a limited number of places in the Hudson Valley where you can enjoy this activity (check out my post for a listing of them all). Over the recent holiday break, our family traveled to Windham Adventure Park in Windham, NY to go snow tubing.

Travel

Windham Adventure Park is located in Windham, NY. This is part of the Catskill Park in Greene County. The Adventure Park is .25 miles west of the Windham Mountain skiing resort. Living in northern Westchester County, Windham Adventure Park is a two hour drive. It is one of the farther snow tubing locations in the Hudson Valley, but is a doable day trip.

Tickets

When you arrive at the park you go to the lodge to purchase your tickets. Tickets for snow tubing cost $25 per person for a 3 hour tubing session. Windham Adventure Park is the only snow tubing park that does not take reservations or allow you to pre-purchase tickets. Their website states that they, “will not sell out of tickets….purchasing tickets is based on a rolling basis so your 3-hour time block starts upon your arrival time.”

You are given a printed ticket that must be affixed to your jacket, which has the date and time of your ticket purchase. Your tubing session ends three hours after the time printed.

The Experience

Windham Adventure Park Snow tube lanes

Windham Adventure Park has 5, 650-foot long snow tubing lanes. However, during our visit, they were only using 3 of the lanes due to social distancing. There were also only 2 employees at a time launching the tube riders on the 3 lanes, which slowed down the process. More staff were posted at the bottom of the run, the conveyor belt, and stacking tubes at the top. When you arrive at the parking lot, you’re already right near the lodge and ticket window. You are also at the top of the hill and can start snow tubing right away.

There are no height restrictions as long as a rider can sit in the tube by himself/herself. Windham Adventure Park only has single tubes. However, the employee will attach the tube straps together so you can ride with two, three and even four connected.

Before the employees give you a push down the hill, you will be asked if you want to go straight or spin. Depending on the employee, your spin may be more energetic than others.

After you tube down the hill, there is a conveyor belt “magic carpet” that brings you back up the mountain.

We recommend arriving for the 11 AM opening. We noticed that as the day went it got more crowded and the lines got longer. At 1:40 PM, the lines were the longest of our visit (pictured above). On average, it was almost a 30 minute wait per run.

We stayed for almost the entire three hours. We had a snack break (in our car) to warm up and a bathroom break. Our visit started at 11:20 AM and we got 5 runs in.

The Lodge

There are restrooms inside the Lodge. There is also food available inside at “The Drop Zone” for purchase. They sell pizza by the slice or you can order a whole pie. They also sell chicken noodle soup, beef chili, nachos chips with cheese, chicken tenders and fries and more.

At this time, they are only accepting credit cards for payment. There is also no indoor seating available, so be prepared to eat out in the cold or in your car.

Overall

We had a fun time at Windham Adventure Park. This is great option for a last-minute snow tubing excursion since they don’t pre-sell or sell out tickets. However, be prepared for crowds and long lines.

The Details:
Windham Adventure Park
360 County Route 12
Windham, NY 12496

*Call (518) 734-4300 for more information

Price: $25/person for a 3 hour tubing session

Dates/Hours: Open weekends now through February 21st and holidays. Fridays: 5 PM – 8 PM
Saturdays: 11 AM – 8 PM
Sundays: 11 AM – 4 PM

Tips:

*Dress warmly. One of the biggest complaints the kids had was that they were cold. We packed snow pants, but didn’t end up wearing them – which we should have. The tubes were snowy and wet.

*Try to arrive for the opening. They don’t start selling tickets until the opening time. As it gets later, it gets more crowded.

*Bring snacks/food if you don’t want to buy food from The Drop Zone. There are very few food choices in the vicinity.

The kids snowmobile track is currently closed. When available, children 6 and older and weigh less than 120 pounds, can ride Arctic Cat snowmobiles around an oval track for an additional cost.

Snow Tubing in the Hudson Valley

Winter has arrived in the Hudson Valley. The temps are cold and we did have some snow at one point! Even if you don’t ski or snowboard, you can still enjoy some outdoor winter fun. Snow tubing is a fun activity that requires no special equipment or skills, just warm clothes!

We were planning on going snow tubing this past weekend, but the Christmas storm melted all the snow! We are going to hold off on going until we get more snow. However, most of these places make their own snow and are operating. As always, check directly with the location for up-to-date information. Here are some of the places we found where you can go snow tubing in the Hudson Valley.

Holiday Mountain (Monticello)
99 Holiday Mountain Road
Monticello, NY 12701
(845) 796-3161

Holiday Mountain snow tubing sessions sell out quickly. Be sure to call (845) 796-3161 to book your session. Snow tubers must be 44″ tall.

Cost: $20 for a 2 hour session. Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling (845) 796-3161.

Sessions: 2 hour sessions on Friday, Saturday, Sundays and holidays

Hunter Mountain (Hunter)
64 Klein Avenue
Hunter, NY 12442

Hunter Mountain has tubing lanes that are almost 1,000 feet long, the longest of any of the destinations listed. Children have to be at least 36″ to snow tube. Tickets have to be purchased 48 hours in advance of your intended date.

Cost: $25 for a single tube, available for any rider over 44″
$35 for a double tube, for an adult and child between 36″ and 44″

Sessions: 2 hour sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Mount Peter (Warwick)
51 Old Mount Peter Road
Warwick, NY
(845) 986-4940

Mount Peter has a multi-lane 600 foot snow tubing run with a carpet lift to get you to the top of the mountain. Riders must be at least 42″ tall to ride in a single tube. They have tandem tubes for those riders 36″ – 48″ that can ride with an adult. Online reservations/ticket purchasing is highly recommended. For children under 42″ tall, Mount Peter has a Little Tikes tubing hill.

We went snow tubing here several years ago and had a blast! You can read more about our experience.

Cost:
$35 for a 1.5 hour session weekends & holidays, $25 for the Little Tikes hill
$30 for a 1.5 hour session weekdays, $20 for the Little Tikes hill

Sessions: 1.5 hour sessions, Thursday – Sunday (check the website for sessions times)

Plattekill Mountain (Roxbury)
469 Plattekill Road
Roxbury, NY 12474
(607) 326-3500

Plattekill has two tubing lanes that are 500 feet long. A conveyor carpet lift to get you to the top of the mountain. Children have to be at least 3 feet tall to snow tube. Plattekill only has single tubes, but related parties can go tubing with the tubes together as conditions warrant.

Cost: $27 for a 2 hour session, $79 for a season snow tubing pass
Tickets must be purchased in advance online

Sessions: 2 hour sessions Saturdays and Sundays, 11 AM – 5 PM

Windham Mountain (Windham)
360 County Route 12
Windham, NY 12496
(518) 734-4300

Windham Mountain has six, 650 foot snow tube lanes in their Adventure Park. Enjoy a conveyor ride up the mountain.

Cost: $25/person. At this time, reservations and pre purchasing tickets is not available. It is recommended that you call ahead to check availability.

Sessions: 3 hour sessions, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays

Snow Much Fun in the Hudson Valley!

New York has finally had its first snowstorm of 2020. Once it snows, there’s a very high chance that more snow will make an appearance……still waiting on that though! However, I am not a winter person. As beautiful as snow falls are, I honestly hate winter and the cold! I do like the family to participate in seasonable activities though – since we get to experience all four seasons, we might as well make the most of them! We will hopefully get to enjoy some of these ways to have “Snow Much Fun” in the Hudson Valley this winter!

Quick and Easy Ideas that you can do at your house or nearby:

1.Build a snowman – Buy a snowman making kit to have on hand for the next snow fall. Or collect and set aside a spare hat, scarf and gloves so you are all ready to decorate your snowman when the time comes.

2. Make snow angels – Don’t forget to take a pic of your creations!

3. Have a snowball fight – Make sure everyone has waterproof gloves for this activity! If you want to make perfectly sized snowballs super quickly, you can get a snowball maker kit.

4. Go sleigh riding – We have a big hill at our elementary school that kids love to sleigh ride down. My son has a new sled and can’t wait to try it out!

5. Build a snow fort – I’m not sure that my kids have ever made a snow fort! This Sno-Brick Maker can help construct snow forts!

6. Snow art – The snow is their canvas with these sno markers.

7. Make maple syrup candy – We tried making this many years ago and I burnt the syrup. We are due for another attempt and this recipe looks easy enough.

8. Make frozen bubbles – Take your bottles of bubbles outside and blow them to enjoy some bubble fun. The temperature has to be below freezing for the bubbles to freeze. If you don’t

Ideas that require a little planning and/or travel:

9. Skiing and/or snowboarding – There are many mountains within driving distance to enjoy skiing or snowboarding. Thunder Ridge Ski Area is located in Patterson, nearby in Putnam County.

10. Ice Skating – there are plenty of places in the Hudson Valley to ice skate – both indoors or outside. Check out our ice skating guide.

11. Snow Shoeing – This activity is on my winter bucket list! I’ve never snow shoed before, but it looks like a good winter workout!

12. Tubing – Tubing is a fun activity for the entire family! We enjoyed tubing at Mount Peter, but several ski mountains offer tubing. Most places require you to reserve a time slot, so be sure to plan accordingly.

Activities that require more planning and require travel outside the Hudson Valley:

13. Ice Fishing – Ice fishing is a winter activity that requires a lot more planning and preparation. First, the ice needs to be four inches thick. Second, you need to get a fishing license. Then besides fishing poles, there is also special equipment like ice safety picks, ice cleats, a chisel, rescue rope and more. To find out more information and locations where ice fishing is allowed, check out the NYS DEC site.

14. Snowmobiling – Snowmobiling trails abound in upstate New York. The Adirondacks have several different companies that rent snowmobiles and give tours.

15. Ride a bob sled – In Lake Placid, NY you can enjoy a bobsled experience. At the Olympic Sports Complex, a professional driver helps guide riders down the track at exhilarating speeds of up to 50-55 miles per hour. The ride is only about 40 seconds down 800 meters of the 1,500 meter track. Reservations are highly recommended.

16. Take a dog sled ride – Lake Placid also seems to be the only place in NY state where you can enjoy a dog sled ride. Weather permitting, Adirondack Wilderness Adventures and Thunder Mountain Dogsleds operate dog sled rides on Mirror Lake.

17. Horse drawn sleigh ride – The Adirondacks is the place for winter fun! Country Dreams Farm operates its sleigh rides in Lake Placid. Belgian Draft horses pull you in a sleigh through the woods and fields.