5 Unique Winter Sports You Can Enjoy Up North

Here Up North, we embrace winter and all of the unique opportunities that the snow and ice bring. Lucky for us, we have endless opportunities to take part in the well-known winter sports—we’ve got countless trails for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing and innumerable lakes for ice fishing. But there are other winter sports to love around here, too. Here are five examples.

5 Unique Winter Sports in Northern and Central Wisconsin in Upper Peninsula Michigan

1. Skijoring

Skijoring is cross-country skiing, enhanced by dogs. Humans are connected to their furry friends by a harness, waist belt, and tether. Their combined athletic abilities power them forward. While any size dog can skijor, dogs 35 pounds and larger will be most successful. Want to give it a try? Minocqua Winter Park has a designated 6 km skijoring route; follow the wooden paw print signs on the trails. Skijoring dogs require “tail passes,” which are $3 per day. Their accompanying humans will need to purchase cross-country ski passes.

2. Curling

Curling is a sport played on ice, where two teams take turns to slide granite stones toward a target (called a house). You may have seen this event in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Maybe you’ve wanted to try it for yourself. Did you know that one of the nation’s oldest and largest curling clubs exists right here in our region? The Wausau Curling Club, founded in 1902, boasts over 500 adult members. Its state-of-the-art facility was completed in 2012. It houses eight Olympic curling sheets and hosts women’s, men’s, open, mixed, and seniors’ leagues. The club’s season runs from late October through March. Wausau Curling Club always welcomes new members and also offers Learn-to-Curl sessions. For more information, visit wausaucurling.org.

3. Ice Sailing

Ice sailing powers the winter sports you know and love—with wind! This means sailing, skating, snowboarding, and skiing can be transformed into a whole new experience with the help of the wind and ice. Four types of devices are used for ice sailing: the wing, the kite, the sled, and the sail. The Great Lakes are an ideal location for ice sailing due to their exposure to unobstructed wind and open space. While any frozen lake will do, a highly recommended ice sailing spot is Saint Ignace, right near the Mackinac Bridge, in Upper Peninsula Michigan. You can watch a video to learn more about ice sailing here.

4. Ice Climbing

Ice climbing is like rock climbing, with the addition of ice and cold. This exhilarating sport is perfect for climbers who want a new challenge and are itching to get out there during the Upper Midwest’s long winter months. Using different equipment and various specialized techniques, individuals climb formations such as frozen waterfalls. All ages and abilities can enjoy this sport with proper knowledge and equipment. The Munising area, in Upper Peninsula Michigan, is a popular ice climbing area, as the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline offers amazing ice formations to climb. Guides such as Rock Climb Michigan will plan a safe, exciting, and unforgettable ice climbing trip for you. Visit their respective websites for more information.

5. Fat Biking

Fat bikes are mountain bikes fitted up with low-pressure tires and extra-wide rims that enable bicyclists to ride on the snow, whereas normal mountain bike or road tires would sink. This once-obscure version of cycling has become trendier over the past several years. You can even ride these bikes after the snow has melted. There are many trails open to fat bikes in northern Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula Michigan. Check the Wisconsin and Michigan DNR websites for more information. The region also hosts many fat bike events each year, such as the Fat Bike Birkie (March 12 and 13, 2021, in Cable).