Janice Waugh is author of The Solo Traveler's Handbook , publisher of Solo Traveler , the blog for t

IF YOU VE NEVER seen snow , you should definitely hotels in tempe arizona experience it at least once in a lifetime. And Canada is just the place to do it! Read my First time visitor to Canada, eh? for route and itinerary suggestions, and this post for specific ideas on how to have fun in the Canadian snow.
Layers, down jackets, lined and water-proof boots, warm hats and gloves or mittens, snow mobile hotels in tempe arizona suits when you have the right clothes on, you can easily keep the cold at bay while you are enjoying the beauty of snow covered lakes, fields, mountains and trees. Read on to discover the other secret and lots of ideas for making the best of a Canadian winter!
The other secret is to pay attention and observe the differences that winter and snow make to outdoor activity. The atmosphere is quieter in the snow. The air is clearer. On crisp, cold days the snow crunches beneath your boots, and the sun sparkles off it. On warmer, more overcast hotels in tempe arizona days, the snow becomes slushy and you can feel enveloped hotels in tempe arizona by the forest. So, don t be afraid hotels in tempe arizona of winter and the snow get prepared and embrace it! There are a lot of different activities hotels in tempe arizona to try and various ways to approach winter. Read on and find out how Canadians embrace winter followed by some suggestions from Via Rail Canada and a sampling of Canadian Signature Experiences to try. If you doubt that snow is beautiful, click here to see more images from Snow Artist Simon Beck.
Oh Canada! This blog post is part of a three-part series written hotels in tempe arizona for my readers and followers in India. Part 1, First time visitor to Canada, eh? outlines two Canadian itineraries, starting from either Vancouver or Toronto. hotels in tempe arizona Part 2, Winter in Canada: What  to do? offers visitors some great ideas for experiencing snow. And Part 3 is about How to find vegetarian food in Canada .
When you grow up up in Canada, where the cold of winter hotels in tempe arizona blankets the country for about half the year, you have to learn to embrace it. And it starts early. I can remember my parents making a skating rink on our front lawn in Montreal, Quebec, when I was a child, and snow drifts as high as the car in the driveway. I learned to ice skate on special two-blade children s skates at about the same time I learned to walk. Weekends at our family cottage near Orillia, Ontario meant snowmobiling and cross-country skiing across the frozen lake. Though truth be told, I often escape to India for part of the winter, I do know how to enjoy it while I m here!
When the temperature drops and the snow starts hotels in tempe arizona to fall, we get ready for adventure. As proud Canadians we embrace the cold and take advantage of all the fun winter activities that our country has to offer. Snowboarding is always our go to winter sport. When we re home we grab a seasons hotels in tempe arizona pass and when we travel, we make sure to add a trip to the ski hill in to our itinerary. Whistler is our favourite winter wonderland with Olympic snowboarding runs and awesome snowboard parks. hotels in tempe arizona It has big back country hotels in tempe arizona skiing in deep powder and leisurely slopes for a relaxing day on the hill. Add in snowmobiling, taking a spin on the bobsleigh track and dog sledding and you ve got yourself the ultimate winter vacation destination.
Dave and Deb  are a travel couple who live by the motto adventure hotels in tempe arizona is for everyone hotels in tempe arizona Married for 17 years, they ve visited over 80 countries on 7 continents. They aim to inspire people to follow their dreams and push their boundaries at their travel blog, T hePlanetD.com.
My partner, artist Gary Blundell, and I live near Algonquin Park in central Ontario, hotels in tempe arizona Canada. Our log cabin and studio is a bucolic and wonderful place most times of the year, but in winter it becomes something extra special. Like the sunrise over the Ganges, or the mist that hangs around Machu Picchu, a rural Ontario full moon with snow is a wonder. When it is very cold the trees make sounds like gongs, echoing throughout the forest. Our world in the winter becomes magical, and the sublime beauty of a full moon on the snow turning what feels like the whole world into diamonds seems ancient, and makes us feel part of something greater than just the sum of our own lives. hotels in tempe arizona Winter is the time of year when we can see northern lights, see the thickness of the Milky Way, and follow tracks made by foxes, snowshoe hares and deer.
Victoria Ward and Gary Blundell  of Hotspur Studio are landscape inspired painters who live in the Boreal Forest in central Ontario, Canada. They have exhibited across hotels in tempe arizona Canada and internationally with over 50 galleries. Their work can be found in public and privates hotels in tempe arizona collections throughout the world. Victoria also writes a weekly blog  State of the Arts .
Somehow the cold doesn’t feel quite so cold when it is really cold. Odd as that sounds, bundled in layers for sub-zero weather – layers of a wool sweater, fleece vest and down-filled jacket, thermal socks, touque and scarf, mitts and boots – dressed properly, the cold becomes cozy.  Add to this a winter activity and winter becomes truly wonderful. I tried snowshoeing for the first time last winter. In the Canadian north, the brighter the day, the colder the weather. hotels in tempe arizona The sun shone through a brilliant blue sky and bounced off the snow on the trail as I entered the woods.
Managing the snowshoes felt a little awkward at first. A wider stride is required so as not to trip over one’s own feet. A slower rhythm is needed to maintain balance on the snow. Both encourage a different relationship to a walk and the woods. A change of pace changed what I saw. From the trickle of water through an icy brook to the call of birds overhead, my sense were heightened and I enjoyed the wilderness in an entirely new way.  I have always loved winter in my Canadian homeland but this day in the north made me fall in love with it all over again.
Janice Waugh is author of The Solo Traveler’s Handbook , publisher of Solo Traveler , the blog for those who travel alone and moderator of the Solo Travel Society on Facebook. On Twitter hotels in tempe arizona she is @solotraveler . She is also founder of Full Flight Press, publisher of The Traveler’s Handbooks series.
Growing up in Canada, learning a winter sport was a rite of passage. For my family skating was the sport of choice. I took lessons as a kid and loved the feeling of gliding across the ice. As I’ve grown up and had my own family, the love of winter sports has fallen to my kids. You aren’t likely to find me out enjoying the cold any more but my boys are big fans of snow forts and skating rink trips. This year they’ll try skiing for the first time and I’m looking forward to introducing them to what has become my new favourite hotels in tempe arizona winter activity: The Apres-ski.
One part delicious nibbles, one part fireplace warm up – there’s nothing that beats the camaraderie that fills a restaurant or lounge after a good winter outing. While they take to the slopes, I’ll curl up with a hot drink or take in spa options, then, after they’re done, we’ll gather to swap stories about our perfect days. Whether you love winter or you hate the cold it brings, the après ski (adult or family options) hotels in tempe arizona means never having hotels in tempe arizona a reason not  to love the season.
Heather Greenwood-Davis is an award-winning hotels in tempe arizona travel writer and publisher of Globetrotting Mama, which chronicles her stories hotels in tempe arizona of travelling around the world with her family. A trip around the world meant she could freelance and see some of the more far-flung destinations that are hard to get to when you need to be home in time for supper with the kids.
The Canadian Signature Experiences collection confers a stamp of quality and recognition. These companies and destinations have been hand-picked by the Canadian Tourism hotels in tempe arizona Commission and are especially recommended for overseas visitors. From staying in an ice hotel, to seeing the northern lights, to skiing at one of Canada s premier ski resorts, to even trying your hand at dog-sledding, these five hand-picked organizations will give you a real taste of the Canadian hotels in tempe arizona experience.
Via Rail Canada , also a Canadian Signature Experience, is Canada s coast-to-coast rail service. Via links 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre network and Via trains can take you from  exciting winter carnivals to vibrant urban cities to isolated hotels in tempe arizona and untouched wilderness. Whatever you choose to see and do, Via Rail  can take you there effortlessly and easily, no matter what the weather. Here is a sampling of Canada s great winter getaways, all accessible from VIA Rail-served destinations. Ideas and descriptions courtesy of Via Rail:
1.  Discover a wonderland of ice.  Maligne Canyon in Jasper, Alberta dwarfs visitors with its sheer walls that tower up to 165 feet, but even more amazing are the frozen waterfalls and wild ice formations hotels in tempe arizona that form in winter. Several operators provide participants with anti-slip hotels in tempe arizona cleats for a guided ice-walking adventure through this ice-sculpted fairytale landscape. Jasper, also a popular hotels in tempe arizona spot for dog-sledding, cross-country skiing and ice skating on mountain lakes, is a stop on The Canadian VIA Rail route. Jasper is also the jumping off point to Banff/Lake Louise, which offers free transportation and tri-area lift tickets to Mt. Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise Mountain Resort.
2.  Urban winter hotels in tempe arizona adventures and more.  Sophistication meets outdoor fun on scenic ice skating rinks, just steps from the chic shops, gourmet eateries and stimulating museums that make Canadian cities so appealing. In Montreal s Parc La Fountaine, ice trails lead skaters through woods and open areas with wonderful city views. Quebec City beckons with outdoor rinks on the Plains of Abraham in front of the Museum of Beaux Arts, and at Place D youville, just across from Old Quebec s Porte Saint-Jean. Vancouver s popular rinks include Robson Square Ice Rink, a glass-domed rink welcoming visitors to skate free in the heart of downtown. Toronto s scenic Natrel Rink, set along Lake Ontario, offers free skating all day an end evening.
3. Ski in Ontario and Quebec.  Blue Mountain Ski Resort, less than two hours from Toronto, hotels in tempe arizona is Ontario