- Bridge Michigan took reader suggestions to help form the Michigan Dreaming Winter Bucket List
- The list is made up of 12 activities that can be done throughout our state in the colder months
- From trying out dog sledding to racing a cardboard sled, the items on the list embrace winter rather than run away from it
The winter can be a little divisive in Michigan.
When the snow starts to fall, some residents lace up their boots and don their mittens, while others think putting a bathrobe on over their pajamas counts as getting dressed for the day.
Clearly, there’s a bit of a disconnect.
But here at Bridge Michigan, we wondered if it would be possible to inspire those who would rather not leave their houses in the colder months to want to embrace the season for the special opportunities winter provides.
Enter the Michigan Dreaming Bucket List.
We used reader suggestions to help us put together a list of a dozen Michigan cold-weather activities that we think have the power to change the way you feel about winter in our state.
Already a big fan of December through March? Well, think of this list as the icing on your ice cream cake.
Enjoy.
12 — Race a cardboard sled
It’s a bulldozer! It’s a plane!
Nope. It’s just another contraption sliding down the hill in the Cardboard Sled Competition at Battle Creek’s Februhairy Festivus.
The event was started in 2009 by the Battle Creek Metropolitan Area Moustache Society (BCMAMS).
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The official rules are short: Sleds can only be made out of cardboard, paper, adhesives and paint (along with harmless decorations). Some of the finished products show up looking really sleek. Others, not so much.
Dozens of teams, young and old, “compete” in front of hundreds of spectators on the Leila Arboretum Society grounds. The objective? Go any amount of distance downhill in the cardboard contraption you assembled.
Do you have what it takes? There’s only one way to find out.
11 — Cross-country ski the trails at Hartwick Pines State Park
Hartwick Pines State Park, one of the largest in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, is known for its old-growth pine forest.
In the winter, visitors can cross-country ski a combination of three interconnected trail loops, with distances ranging from 3 miles to 7.5 miles each. The groomed trails run through the forest, open areas, on the flats and through rolling hills.
Equipment is not available onsite but can be rented nearby at the nonprofit Forbush Corner Nordic Cross Country Ski Center, which connects to Hartwick Pines through the Weary Legs Trail and offers more than 15 miles of its own cross-country trails.
The Hartwick Pines website says its visitor center and the upper section of its parking lot have closed through the end of the year for renovations, but the park’s unit supervisor, Michael Signorello, told Bridge Michigan the park will make sure skiers have access to the trails.
Remember, because it’s a state park, you need a Recreation Passport to enter Hartwick Pines in a vehicle.
10 — Attend an ice fishing competition
We all know ice fishing is a popular pastime in states like ours where inland lakes freeze over in winter.
But did you know it’s a competitive sport with Olympic ambitions?
Last year, Michigan hosted the World Ice Fishing Championship on Tamarack Lake in Lakeview, about an hour north of Grand Rapids. Bridge Michigan attended the practice rounds and it was thrilling to watch how quickly the teams pulled in fish with tiny palm rods that are about the size of a piece of spaghetti. The competition was catch-and-release for the first time as it tried to show the International Olympic Committee it could be more sustainable.
While the sport still hasn’t been added to the Olympic Games, a big announcement was made earlier this year. USA Ice Fishing has made Lakeview the permanent site of the USA Ice Fishing National Championship.
Next year’s event is set to run Feb. 19 to 22. If it’s anything like last year’s World Championship, spectators will be invited onto the ice to cheer on their favorite anglers and food, beer, wine and children’s activities will be nearby.
9 — Play pond hockey on Belle Isle with the Detroit Ice Boiz
On any given winter Sunday, if it’s cold enough for stable ice, you might catch a group of people playing pond hockey on Belle Isle, a river island park in Detroit.
And the cool thing? You’re invited.
This grassroots group, led in part by Dima Iavorskyi, is known as the Detroit Ice Boiz. The group’s gatherings, and the elaborate prep work that goes into making the ice safe and smooth, are documented on social media.
Teams are randomly assigned by separating sticks into groups. Contact is discouraged and players try to keep the puck on the ground for safety reasons. Equipment beyond skates and a stick is minimal.
Would you rather be a spectator? Bring your favorite beverage and line up for a hot dog.
“In the winter, stuff slows down and it’s easy to just get depressed. But if you’re tailgating on the ice with the grill and a hundred hot dogs, you can’t really go wrong,” Chris Chiaravalli, one of the core Detroit Ice Boiz, told Bridge Detroit last winter.
8 — Try the alpine luge track at Lucy Hill
The Lucy Hill Luge Run outside Marquette in the Upper Peninsula has the only competition track for alpine luge in the country.
Alpine luge is known for having a natural track that follows the contours of a hill. It’s a little different from the Olympic luge, which has an artificial, often refrigerated track.
Lucy Hill is run by the nonprofit Upper Peninsula Luge Club. The track is used by US athletes training for World Cup and World Championships in Europe, but the bottom section is used as a beginner track and is open to the public.
The club says the lower section is fit for “all ages and abilities” and the club offers free training and equipment for those who sign up. The hill can also be reserved for private parties.
If you’re looking for a different kind of luge opportunity farther south, the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park on the west side of the state has an Olympic-style luge track that it says first-timers can handle.
7 — Watch sleds duke it out at the I-500 Snowmobile Race
In the winter of 1968, as the legend has it, the official pace car of the Indianapolis 500 sat inside a car dealership in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. A group of business people were admiring the car and it wasn’t long before they started to wonder if a snowmobile could run 500 miles like the sportscars in the famed race that took place eight hours south of them.
The answer, as we know today, is “yes.”
In the International 500, or I-500 for short, snowmobiles race 500 laps around a 1-mile-long ice track in Sault Ste. Marie in the winter. The race typically takes more than eight hours and drivers can go faster than 100 mph.
This winter, race week happens Feb. 1 through 7.
6 — Go winter rafting
Outside of the Menominee River in the UP, Michigan isn’t really known for its white-water rafting, which is a good thing in the winter. Many Michigan rivers, especially in the Lower Peninsula, are relatively calm, which is precisely what allows you to bundle up and hop into an inflatable raft and float down a river when it’s freezing out.
Winter rafting provides a unique vantage point and experience — and, odds are, you won’t even get wet!
Jordan Valley Outfitters in East Jordan offers a winter trip down the Jordan River that includes a hot drink and possible sightings of beaver, otter, deer and foxes.
Big Bear Adventures in Indian River offers a winter rafting trip down the Sturgeon River that flows under the canopy of snow-covered cedars and can include a stop to get out and search for Petoskey stones.
Sturgeon River Paddlesports in Wolverine encourages you to bring your smartphone and “something in the thermos to warm you up” for their Sturgeon River trip.
Pine River Paddlesports Center in Wellston is all about the choices. When you take a trip with that outfit down the Pine River, you can either have the guide in a raft with you or you can canoe alongside the guide. Once you get out at your destination, you can either get a ride back to your car or choose to hike a couple miles along a river trail back.
Prices for winter rafting trips range from $12 to $60 and outings usually last an hour-and-a-half.
5 — Watch skiers fly at a ski jumping competition
On Pine Mountain in Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula, there is a really big ski jump. The slide is 176 feet high and the ride is 1,032 feet long.
Every winter, the Kiwanis Ski Club hosts athletes from around the world as they come to compete in the Continental Cup by willingly climbing to the top of the jump and skiing off the end of it.
Yes, the goal is to go as far as possible, but jumpers are also judged on style.
While skiers fly more than 450 feet off the end of the jump, spectators are tailgating down below. Fans can reserve tailgating sites where they can hang out in makeshift shacks. Private portable toilets are also available for a fee.
The dates for this winter’s competition are set for Feb. 20 to 22.
4 — Snowshoe through wineries
In Michigan, some vineyards have trails that run through them, and some trails even connect a handful of wineries together.
In the winter, you can explore those trails and the scenic views surrounding them with snowshoes (and, if you’re so inclined, a slight buzz).
Dablon Winery in Baroda, about an hour-and-a-half outside Grand Rapids, offers guided snowshoe hikes a couple times a season that explore the area’s rolling hills.
Another winery, Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay outside Traverse City, has trails you can check out anytime in the winter if you have your own snowshoes or you can rent a pair from them on snowy Saturday afternoons.
If you’re setting your sights farther afield, Grand Traverse Bike Tours leads multi-mile “Vine to Wine” snowshoeing excursions through trails that connect three wineries in Suttons Bay. The tour includes snowshoe rentals, a boxed lunch and stops inside wineries, though the wine itself is not included in the ticket price.
3 — Explore Eben Ice Caves
Under the right winter conditions, if you go to the Rock River Canyon Wilderness in the Hiawatha National Forest about 30 minutes from Munising, you will find ice caves.
The Eben Ice Caves are formed by snow melting off cliffs and creating marvelous walls of icicles that you can walk behind.
They’re stunning, but for that particular sight-to-behold, it’s not simply about the destination, but the journey, as well. And word on the street is that the trail to those caves can be quite difficult.
It’s not that far, about 1.5 miles out and back, but expect to climb up and (possibly slide) down steep hills on your way there and back. Wearing metal spikes that attach to your shoes is highly recommended. Still, you might get lost. If you do, you could wander into a nearby, less crowded ice cave like these hikers did.
January and February are usually the best months to visit. You can find directions here and additional tips for your outing here.
2 — Learn to climb a frozen waterfall
At Michigan Ice Fest in the Munising area, you can learn to climb a frozen waterfall even if you have zero climbing experience.
That’s it. That’s the whole blurb.
Oh you want more?
Basically, for around three decades, the festival has been a hub for ice climbing enthusiasts to gather in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The event draws some of the best ice climbers in the world who give talks and take part in the festival’s social events. But Ice Fest also serves as an introduction to ice climbing for people who are curious but uninitiated.
Throughout the festival, several ice-climbing classes are taught, including the most popular one, Introduction to Ice Climbing. During the class, which is available at multiple times, a seasoned instructor takes a small group of people out to an icy location with some gear and they are taught how to climb, given two possible routes. Last year, that class cost $165 per person.
This year’s festival dates are Feb. 11 to 15.
1 — Try dog sledding
Michigan is a great place to watch sled dog races — the UP 200, the Midnight Run, the Jack Pine 30 — but have you ever thought about trying out dog sledding yourself?
At Nature’s Kennel in McMillan, you can. Take a ride with sled dogs guided by a seasoned pro, learn to drive a dog team yourself, or do a little of both!
Half-day trips last 10 miles long. Expect to pay a couple hundred dollars per person.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated at 12:45 p.m. Oct. 30, 2025 to reflect that an ice climbing class cost $165 per person last year. That cost was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.
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