It’s winter. It’s cold. The past few days, it’s been especially cold. So it takes a little incentive to get outside these days, at least for me.
Access to free snow shoes seems to do the trick!
While planning an upcoming winter weekend adventure in Truro, @FirehouseIron mentioned that the community centre in the town has 30 pairs of snowshoes that they rent for free. Upon further investigation, I came across Hike Nova Scotia’s Snow Shoe Guide, a really handy list of places you can rent snowshoes in the province – both free and paid.
As it turns out, there are a number of Nova Scotia community centres that offer free snowshoe rentals during the winter. We picked the one closet to us, the Gordon R. Snow Community Centre in Fall River.
I had emailed ahead a few days prior to reserve two adult pairs. Pick-up was easy. I had to sign a form and let them know when I would be bringing the shoes back – no deposit (although some centres do charge a deposit – up to $25 for a group rental that you get back upon return). We had the choice between two different types of snowshoes, and went with the old school wood and leather.
There are a few trails to choose from in the area, but it was our first time out this winter and we don’t know our way around Fall River very well, so we opted for the on-site trail – a small sheltered loop around a lake.
We could have used a bit more snow, but we had fun getting a little fresh air and seeing some new sights. It was a pretty great way to spend Sunday afternoon.
There are lots of great trails and parks to explore in Nova Scotia this winter. Find the full list of places to loan, rent, and buy snowshoes from Hike Nova Scotia HERE.
If you want a guided snowshoe, Shubenacadie Wildlife Park offers free snowshoe excursions every snowy Saturday and Sunday. Tour the on-site wetlands in the snow. Read about that adventure HERE.
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