In a winter that’s seen everything from the sub-zero wind chills of a polar vortex to the nasty rains and thaw of January, it’s a good time to mix things up.

Head to the slopes. Sure.

But it’s also a good time to shift gears while outside during the snows of winter. Instead of boards, try micro-spikes or snowshoes on a short, invigorating soiree in the snow.

Snow is a game-changer, taking familiar hiking trails and turning them into winter trails complete with icy fangs and chandeliers on trees, cloaked-gremlins underfoot and thigh-deep pockets if one ventures off the beaten path (and sometimes on said beaten path).

On a recent mid-week New Hampshire morning with single digit temperatures and a wind chill advisory, my wife and I ventured not too far from North Conway village to one of those places we locals never frequent enough—the auto road up Cathedral Ledge in Echo Lake State Park.

The mile-long auto road is gated in winter, but it was soon evident after we walked around the gate as ice climbers prepared to ascend nearby routes that it gets a lot of use.

With the trees keeping the light breeze at bay, it didn’t take long for my snowshoes to come off and hitch a ride strapped to my pack. Barebooting was easy, though Jan had traction devices underfoot.

We crunched on the snow, and so had others. There were ski tracks and boot prints, pole marks and mountain bike tire tracks. There were web-like footprints where snowshoers had been, and as we ascended another curve not far from the watchful eye of an occasional birch, the road became a snowmobile pathway, its width groomed by the machines.

We made it to the top of the 700-foot landmark cliff. No one else was there. There was silence save for our pounding hearts; no birds, no little scurrying chipmunks or squirrels.

Of course the ledge is a rock climber’s paradise, but it’s also a lofty pulpit to view from the west North Conway’s snowy kingdom of recreational opportunities in the Saco River Valley and White Mountains for those who don’t mind walking.

We did the fence walk with its numerous vantage points out to the fields, waterways, and mountains of the place we call home.

There is much to see, like the nearly 16-acre Echo Lake. Circumnavigating the lake in winter on snowshoes is for most an easy undertaking. Also close to the village, there is no fee to enter the park in winter or traipse around its shore line.

Though we couldn’t see it, Diana’s Baths were also below, hidden in the forest. It too is another easy walk on snowy trails with a White Mountain National Forest recreation pass.

The Green Hills looked majestic. Middle, Peaked, and Black Cap standing tall against the sky. The preserved lands contain 12 miles of hiking trails with some more moderate treks, but a visit through the hemlock and spruce to 22-acre Pudding Pond is a more benign undertaking for novice winter walkers.

We squinted to see the renovated tower atop Mount Kearsarge and then over to frosty Crawford Notch. The village, Cranmore and chalets below looked more like a miniature golf course than a real life weekend getaway for the masses from away.

Even with our looking around, we were up and down in about an hour. More ice climbers were scaling the frosty fingers of winter down below.

And then there is the ultimate prize of an excursion near the village—the short drive to a fine eating spot for a warming lunch indoors after being outside in winter’s clutches.

Image by Marty Basch