One of the great historic outdoor winter sports that has been made new again is snowshoeing. At one point in Canada's history going back into the 1800's many communities had organized snowshoe clubs.

The 6th Annual Snowshoe Raid: Navigating Ontario's Blue Mountains
Snowshoe Magazine
... not to mention they have very nice winter athletic apparel, again well-suited to the conditions of the event.” The course is centred on the Blue Mountain Resorts near Collingwood, Ontario. Miller called the selection of that location a “no-brainer” ...Find more information on Collingwood Ontario....and Ontario Snowshoeing Getaways

Snowshoeing Tips

Snowshoeing—a boomers new sport with new lightweights

With ageing bones and the aches and pains of hips and ankles, and a reluctance to falling while skiing, I decided to try out the new ultra light metal snowshoes, and to my surprise they provided a lot more stability, and a confidence level that made me feel comfortable.

Combined with cross country ski poles, I could go off traditional hiking trails into the bush or across a lake with ease. The poles really give you that added sense of control, and provide some upper body movement similar to cross-country skiing.

Where does the Word "SNOWSHOE" Come from?

Europeans arriving in New France around 1604  gave snowshoes  the name of "Raquette" because they looked like a tennis racket, which is the ancestor of the tennis we know now. In English they simply call it "Snowshoe" as the word describes well the object.

More History of Snowshoeing from GV Snowshoes

Paul Carpentier, La raquette à neige, édition Boréal Express, 1976, 115 p.
Jean-Marc Lamory, La raquette à neige, édition Didier Richard, 1995, 112 p.
Clubs Alpins Jeanne D'Arc, La raquette, Imprimerie de l'avenir national, 1937, 75 p.
William Osgood & Leslie Hurley, The snowshoe book 3rd edition, 1983, 135 p.
William Osgood & Leslie Hurley, The snowshoe book, 1974, 133 p.
Phil Savignano, La raquette, édition Trécarré, 2001, 53 p.
Gene Prater, La raquette, édition Marcel Broquet, 1983, 215 p.
Sally Edwards & Melissa McKenzie, Snowshoeing, 1995, 123 p.

A complete summary of the snow shoe history by GV Snowshoes, also see recent
story. Weatherwatch: Snowshoes date back to Asia over 6,000 years ago