Snowshoeing There’s a lot going on in Fernie over winter, and if it’s proving a little too much and you fancy experiencing a winter wonderland out in the wilderness, snowshoeing could be what you’re looking for. Strap on a pair of snowshoes and you can walk through powder like magic. Dozens of trails within a stone’s throw of the center of town can lead you deep into the wintery woods around Fernie, treating visitors to peaceful silence and time for contemplation.
There’s an abundance of trails around town, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to experience the best of what snowshoeing has to offer - the chance to hear absolutely nothing at all thanks to the blanket of snow that covers the Elk Valley over winter.
Snowshoeing isn’t an exclusive activity: you don’t need to do much training to do it, and you don’t need much in the way of physical ability to enjoy it. If you can go on a walk in the woods, you can go snowshoeing. You’ll need to be kitted out given it is still the wild, and the cold, so be sure to be well prepared with all your cold-weather clothes in layers, and maybe something warm to drink
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while you’re out there.
There’s plenty of stores in town that offer snowshoe rental, so you don’t have to come to town fully kitted out.
If you’re after ideas on where to go snowshoeing, the Visitor Information Center is the place to go. There you can find up-to-date maps of all the trails around town. If you fancy doing some research before you ask, look into trails in the Fernie Provincial Park, on Mount Proctor near Fairy Creek Falls or the Fernie Alpine Resort. There are also Facebook groups dedicated to the sport that are Elk Valley specific.
If you don’t want to get too serious, the trails in the Ridgemont area to the southeast of downtown are easy to travel on- so really you don’t have to go far to enjoy a fantastic snowshoeing experience.
