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Congrats! You, like many others in this city, have just taken a job in Madison. You’ve got a big ole brain and have likely found yourself working in tech, healthcare, research, or some combination of them all. One thing you’re struggling to wrap around though is how you’re going to make this winter weather thing work. Take a deep breath, winter is a lot of fun here. We’ll show you how. Here’s our local’s guide to surviving your first Madison winter.
Cross Country Skiing
Bare with me for a second and let me tell you a tale. What feels like a lifetime ago, I was an athlete living in Park City, Utah. At the base of where I did my sport was a cross-country ski trail. Driving up the winding road to where I trained I’d think, “Man, that looks like absolute butts. I do not want to cross-country ski.” Happily, I now admit how wrong I was. Cross Country skiing is the winter equivalent of riding a bike. Anyone and everyone can do it and it’s a really fun way to get out. In Wisconsin, we cover a range of body shapes and sizes and the really awesome thing is, I’ve seen them all in the woods gliding along. At the end of each winter, Courtney and I wish we’d just gotten a few more miles in. We’ve introduced a lot of friends to it and have yet to find anyone who doesn’t enjoy it.
Skiing and Snowboarding
Okay, so maybe you’re not sold on cross-country, and that’s okay. There’s a lot of great skiing and snowboarding in the area too! Again, with a little practice, anyone can do these activities and have a good time. I’ve skied only a handful of times and have pretty much always snowboarded. You’ll have fun doing either so I don’t think you can go wrong. Skiing might be a more friendly initial learning curve with amazing coaching cues like “pizza” or the more daring, “French fries.”
Ice Skating
Have you ever seen those little Christmas Villages people spend a ridiculous amount of money on come the holiday season? Well, usually there’s a little ice skating scene and I’m a firm believer that scene was inspired by Madison’s own Tenney Park. Beautiful walking paths, bridges over the pond, and well-maintained sheets of ice make this a destination for folks just learning all the way to pick up hockey games. Tenney is an experience and most Madisonians will echo the same sentiment that a lot of us learned to skate on that pond. It’s a special place. Another great location for a winter skating experience, pictured above, is The Edgewater in Downtown Madison.
Sledding
Okay, so if you’re reading this article, you probably don’t come from a winter wonderland. You have to go sledding. Go to Olin Park, the hill is massive but sledding of all ages is quite welcome there. If you want something even more extreme, head to Cascade Mountain just outside of Madison, they have giant tubing runs that make for a good time with a couple of buddies.
Stay Inside
Okay, maybe you moved here and it’s the first time you’ve seen snow. Maybe you’ve moved here and it’s the first time you’ve seen a temperature that starts with a minus sign. I get it, winter can sometimes be a little bit brutal. While I think getting out and getting your blood flowing in the winter is amazing, I also understand some days, we just want to relax. Fortunately, Madison has plenty of options for a good time indoors from mini golf to concerts to museums to beverages. Madison has a lot of good to offer. I don’t think you’ll have too hard of a time finding it.