Time for winter sports in La Crosse region

La Crosse could get its coldest weather of the season this weekend, but some like it cold, outdoors. 

The Outdoor Recreation Alliance is scheduling some of its winter activities for the next few weeks, especially to take advantage of the snow that has fallen recently. 

Director Jed Olson of O-R-A hopes to get people on snowshoes for the Wolf Moon Snowshoe Walk, happening in January.

“When you’re just clompin’ around in one inch of snow, it’s not really that cool,” says Olson. “But when you’ve got 4, 5, 6 inches of snow and you can actually float on top and you can get great grip with…the crampons on the bottom, it’s a truly magical thing to get out and do.”    

The ORA website says trails in the Lower Hixon Forest have been groomed for cross-country skiing and hiking.    

Olson says ORA also is working on corridors for outdoor activity to connect existing trails in the La Crosse-Onalaska area.

In La Crosse, it’s finally cold enough to skate outdoors.

The ice rink at the Copeland Park shelter is open, most days from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., with shorter hours on Thursdays, when the La Crosse broomball league has the rink reserved. 

No skating yet at Riverside or Poage Parks.  Flooding of all the rinks will resume on Tuesday.