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Winter can often make you feel like it is time to hibernate and just wait for the warm sunshine of spring. In the Catskill Mountains at Frost Valley YMCA, families make the most of the season, enjoying outdoor winter sports and activities that encourage indoor family fun.

Some of their most popular winter events include Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend, Presidents’ Weekend and Week, a Women’s Wellness Weekend, or any weekend that works for your schedule.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend
With the holidays behind you, take a three-day weekend to truly enjoy winter. Even after a mild start, by January the Catskills should be a winter wonderland. Weather permitting, activities include snow tubing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing through the picturesque grounds of Frost Valley. Go ice skating on Lake Cole (bring your skates). Others learn how to ice fish or cut the ice, which historically was a longstanding tradition in the Catskills.

When you are ready to head indoors, there are a variety of activities just waiting for your family. Climb the rock wall, enjoy the indoor floor hockey arena, take aim on the archery range, or create a new masterpiece in the arts and crafts studio.

Presidents’ Weekend and Week
Whether you have a whole week to explore, or just want to visit Frost Valley for a few days during Presidents’ Weekend, a variety of accommodations are available. All the winter fun of Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend is available in February as well.

Presidents’ Week Family Camp encourages guests to take part in many fun adventures. You can also play broomball on Reflection Pond or take guided nature hikes to High Falls. Do you know what happens to a waterfall in the cold? Get your cameras ready. At night, take to the stars with the observatory. The fireplace practically beckons you to grab a good book and a cup of cocoa and read for a while.

Family Winter Weekends at East Valley Ranch
Spend a weekend of winter fun at East Valley Ranch to enjoy the splendor and snow of winter in both February and March. Visit the ranch the weekends of February 12 through February 15 or March 4 through March 6 to explore winter with cross-country skis or snowshoes. Frost Valley YMCA staff will teach you survival skills for the cold, including shelter building, how to start a fire in winter, and campfire cooking techniques. You can also learn to track animals in the snow and how they adapt and thrive in this unique environment.

Women’s Wellness Weekend
As winter turns to spring, Frost Valley becomes a refuge for women to have a wellness weekend of their own by giving them three days to press the pause button. From April 1 to April 3, women will come together to educate, empower, and enliven themselves in the serene, supportive environment at Frost Valley. Throughout the weekend, women will explore the life roles they play — from daughter, friend, wife, and mother to over-stressed career woman. Through inspiring lectures, discussions, exercise, journaling, creative arts and movement, and guided nature hikes, they will come to know themselves in new ways.

Carmel Dorn, group and family retreats staff member at Frost Valley, sums it up: “Winter weekends at Frost Valley are a wonderful way for families and friends to experience new and fun activities together, surrounded by nature and away from the stresses of daily life. We’ve truly got something for anyone, whether you enjoy taking in the beautiful Catskills scenery on a nature hike, expressing your creative side in our crafts studio, or simply relaxing.”

Learn about all the winter activities available each weekend and how to book the specialty weekends. Registering in advance is required as spots fill up quickly.

Frost Valley YMCA
2000 Frost Valley Rd.
Claryville, NY 12725
845-985-2291, ext. 450
​reservations@frostvalley.org
www.frostvalley.org

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