Winter in Northeast Ohio is underrated. The average temperature in November is 50 degrees, December is 40 degrees and January is 35 degrees. Approximately 10 days a month are sunny and when it snows it is truly beautiful. All throughout the winter season, Holden Forests & Gardens encourages you to bundle up and join us at the outdoor gardens and woodland trails at the botanical garden and the arboretum. We are going to tempt you to venture outside and provide you with outdoor exploration and exercise activities to battle any sort of winter blues and cabin fever.

All it takes to have a wonderful winter is a new attitude, proper winter clothes, a friend, a favorite podcast or audiobook and/or family members to join you.

New Attitude

A key to having a healthy and happy season is to get outside at least two or three times a week in nature. That’s right: we must all make a commitment and plan for it.

Proper Clothes

There’s a wonderful Norwegian saying- “Det finnes ikke darlig klaer!”which translates to, “There is no bad weather, only bad clothes.”

So, take inventory of what you and your family members have in terms of warm clothes and get ready to wear winter layers.

Winter One Hour Series

We’ve come up with a list of outdoor experiences and exercises that you can do in one hour. You may even find that two hours have by in flash. You can enjoy these experiences at both the Arboretum and the Botanical Garden.

Light Therapy Walks- When the sun is out this winter, it’s time to hop in the car and head out for a walk or hike. Walk your 10,000 steps with us. Even one hour of sunshine is a noted mood-booster.

Winter Forest Walks- Do you want to walk for 30 minutes? Or do you have an hour or two? We have a trail map you can tailor to the amount of time you want to spend outdoors. Our wooded paths are visually stunning without leaves. Come and see for yourself how beautiful trees look when they are bare.

Snowfall Snowshoeing- When you wake up and there’s new fallen snow, what’s the first thing you are going to do THIS winter? Yes, that’s right, grab your new snowshoes or your snow boots and blaze a trail of your own at the arboretum. We have snowshoes at the visitor’s center you are encouraged to rent out to explore the grounds!

Bird Watching- Without leaves on trees, birds are much easier to spot in the forest and can often be found searching for winter berries to snack on. Pick up a pair of binoculars and come see what you can spot at on our campuses.

Search for animal tracks- From chipmunks and squirrels to elusive coyotes, fresh snow provides a road map for animal tracks. What tracks can you and your family spot in the snow?

We will keep you motivated and enticed all winter long at https://holdenfg.org/.

See you in the trails!