We often speak with people living in places like California, Arizona, and Florida that cite West Michigan’s winter as the first objection to relocating to the area. But the truth is, every state has an “indoor” season. In Arizona, you spend the summer going from air conditioned house, to your (remote started) air conditioned car, to your air conditioned office. We may do the same thing in Michigan in the winter, but the difference is we can still go outside and enjoy the season.

During the month of December, we’ll be exploring West Michigan’s “indoor” season and all of the things that make it great. If you recently relocated and this is your first winter in West Michigan, we hope it might become your favorite season of the year!

I am not a morning person. Never have been. I’m also not a big fan of running for exercise. I used to do it begrudgingly, but I avoid it now like the plague. I hate running and I’m not a morning person. So I definitely never wake up early to go running. And especially not on a cold, West Michigan winter morning.

Until I discovered cross county skiing.

When I started working at Hello West Michigan, I was certainly not an avid cross county skier. I did it a couple of times on vacation as something novel. But when my aunt gave me a vintage pair of CC skis and my coworker told me about some CC skiing spots nearby, I thought I’d give them a try.

I was hooked immediately. It didn’t matter that it was below freezing out. I loved the crisp, whooshing air as I moved faster on my skis than I ever could have running. I enjoyed looking at the woodsy, winter wonderland that surrounding the trail. There were also the rare moments you’d see the shy winter sun. Normally getting me to do a 30 minute run would be like pulling teeth. But my ski sessions easily exceeded 90 minutes and I enjoyed every minute.

But it turned out my aunt’s vintage ski boots were a size too small and major blisters ensued. Not to be deterred from my newfound winter activity, I set in search of an affordable place to rent skis. My coworker told me about Pigeon Creek, an Ottawa County Park in West Olive. They have $8 CC ski rentals for 2 hours and groomed, lit trails. It’s not a secret spot, so it gets pretty busy in the late morning/early afternoon. So when I started taking my sister as my skiing buddy, her early rising self suggested we leave Grand Rapids at 8:00 a.m. so we can be first on the trails.

I can tell you that there is no way I would ever agree to an 8:00 a.m. run…. on a Saturday… in the middle of winter. But strap me into some skis and I’ll be awake with bells on. I will concede that the plus side to getting up early, besides having the trails to ourselves, is we finish early enough to grab post-ski breakfast at Wolfgang’s.

Now that the calendar has turned to December, and we’ve gotten a few light dustings of snow, I’m greatly looking forward to my favorite outdoor activity during our “indoor” season.