{"id":1056,"date":"2015-11-18T08:22:59","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T14:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/wp-lib\/?p=1056"},"modified":"2026-03-19T11:39:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:39:42","slug":"5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Family Fun Winter Activities in Leech Lake"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s hard to believe with this unseasonably warm weather that winter is right around the corner. But before you know it, we\u2019ll be bundled up and shoveling\u00a0snow. But that doesn\u2019t mean you have to be trapped inside your house all winter. Here are some of our favorite winter activities to keep you busy and get\u00a0you out of the house.<\/p>\n<p>1) Ice fishing<\/p>\n<p>Leech Lake is the third largest lake within Minnesota\u2019s state boarders. It is great for walleye fishing and the expansive lake won\u2019t make you feel\u00a0crowded while out on the ice. Ice fishing doesn&#8217;t just have to be for adults, it can be a great family outing as well. The Minnesota DNR has a great ice fishing <a href=\"http:\/\/files.dnr.state.mn.us\/recreation\/fishing\/fawweb\/minnaqua\/icefishing\/icefishingfrenzy.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">activity book<\/a> to get your little ones familiar with ice fishing terms and safety. Be sure to check in with the <a href=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/fishing\/leech-lake-fishing-previous-reports.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">weekly fishing reports<\/a>, so you know what to expect when you are out on the\u00a0lake.<\/p>\n<p>2) Snowmobiling<\/p>\n<p>With miles of trails groomed specifically for snowmobiling, Leech Lake is a perfect place for your next trip. We love snowmobiling on the <a href=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/activities\/minnesota-hiking-trails.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Heartland<\/a> and Paul Bunyan State Trails. Those two trails alone have over 150 miles of trail to be explored by you this winter, and connect to multiple other trails. After a long day of snowmobiling, warm up while checking out some of Leech&#8217;s Lake local restaurants. Many restaurants will cater to riders with parking and even have a heated spot to store your gear.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mobile-maps-files.dnr.state.mn.us\/file\/Snowmobile_Trails\/NW%20Snowmobile%20Quad%20Map.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Check the trails<\/a> before you head out so\u00a0you can get enjoy the best of snowmobiling.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/wp-lib\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015.01.29_snowmobile-ad.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1058\" title=\"Snowmobiling on trail\" src=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/wp-lib\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015.01.29_snowmobile-ad-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Snowmobile in Leech Lake on miles of snowy, groomed trails\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>1) Cross Country Skiing<\/p>\n<p>The hundreds of <a href=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/wp-lib\/2013\/01\/leech-lake-cross-country-ski\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">miles of trails in the Leech Lake<\/a> area offer cross\u00a0country skiing to all levels of skiers. We love to go cross country skiing on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fs.usda.gov\/activity\/chippewa\/recreation\/wintersports\/?recid=26620&amp;actid=91\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chippewa National Forest<\/a> trails as it offers skiing of all levels. In the Walker area alone, you can enjoy miles of groomed trails on the Heartland trail, the Shingobee Recreation Area and the Goose Lake Hunter Walking Trail. You may just even see a red fox or a white tailed deer. Remember, if you are 16 years old or older you must purchase a ski pass to ski on any trails in Minnesota state parks or forests. Get moving this winter and enjoy\u00a0the beauty of winter from the woods.<\/p>\n<p>2) Sledding<\/p>\n<p>The Shingobee Recreation Area isn&#8217;t just for cross country skiing. The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.longville.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ski-shingobee.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shingobee Hills<\/a> was originally one of the first downhill ski areas in Minnesota, but is now enjoyed\u00a0in the winter by sledders. The hill is fairly steep, so you can start closer to the bottom of the hill and work your way up as you are feeling a little\u00a0more adventurous. On the weekends, you can warm up after sledding in the chalet at the bottom of the hill.<\/p>\n<p>3) Ice Skating and Hockey<\/p>\n<p>If it&#8217;s too cold to go spend the day outside, but you are still looking to get moving and out of the house, The <a href=\"http:\/\/walkerareacommunitycenter.com\/\">Walker Area Community Center<\/a> has you covered. You can watch a youth hockey team, participate on an intramural team, or skate for fun. \u00a0Rental skates are available for just one dollar and you can purchase a skating card (good for 12 sessions) and use the indoor rink for $50.<\/p>\n<p>Many of our Leech Lake resorts are open year round, and are looking forward to see you this winter. <a href=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/lodging\/profiles.aspx?amenities=Open%20Year%20Round\">Plan your winter vacation<\/a> now!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/wp-lib\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/robin-on-frozen-tree-cs.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1057\" title=\"robin-on-frozen-tree-cs\" src=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/wp-lib\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/robin-on-frozen-tree-cs-266x300.jpg\" alt=\"Robin on berry tree branch in winter woodland in Minnesota\" width=\"266\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s hard to believe with this unseasonably warm weather that winter is right around the corner. But before you know it, we\u2019ll be bundled up and shoveling\u00a0snow. But that doesn\u2019t mean you have to be trapped inside your house all winter. Here are some of our favorite winter activities to keep you busy and get\u00a0you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58,81,60],"tags":[265,266,267,151,154,268,269],"class_list":["post-1056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-vacations","category-leech-lake-activities-2","category-mn-fishing","tag-ice-fishing-mn","tag-ice-skating","tag-leech-lake-mn","tag-leech-lake-snowmobile-trails","tag-snowmobile-minnesota","tag-winter-getaway-minnesota","tag-winter-vacation-minnesota"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>5 Family Fun Winter Activities in Leech Lake - Leech Lake Tourism Bureau<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You don&#039;t have to be trapped inside your house all winter. Here are some of our favorite winter activities to get\u00a0you out of the house!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Family Fun Winter Activities in Leech Lake - Leech Lake Tourism Bureau\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You don&#039;t have to be trapped inside your house all winter. Here are some of our favorite winter activities to get\u00a0you out of the house!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leechlake.org\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Leech Lake Tourism Bureau\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-11-18T14:22:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-19T16:39:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"fsol\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"fsol\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"fsol\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/015a5cac75c6ed2435294dc9dfe700bf\"},\"headline\":\"5 Family Fun Winter Activities in Leech Lake\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-18T14:22:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-19T16:39:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":577,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/wp-lib\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/2015.01.29_snowmobile-ad-300x199.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ice fishing MN\",\"ice skating\",\"Leech Lake MN\",\"leech lake snowmobile trails\",\"snowmobile minnesota\",\"winter getaway minnesota\",\"winter vacation minnesota\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Family Vacations\",\"Leech Lake Activities\",\"MN Fishing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/\",\"name\":\"5 Family Fun Winter Activities in Leech Lake - Leech Lake Tourism Bureau\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/5-family-fun-winter-activities-leech-lake\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/wp-lib\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/11\\\/2015.01.29_snowmobile-ad-300x199.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-18T14:22:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-19T16:39:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leechlake.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/015a5cac75c6ed2435294dc9dfe700bf\"},\"description\":\"You don't have to be trapped inside your house all winter. 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