The Winter Adventure Guide
Beachcomb for Treasure
Photograph by Sadie Dayton
Summertime is for seashells, but an off-season shoreline yields rewards, too: serenity, for one, plus interesting marine bits turned up by winter storms. On this 11-mile-long barrier island 40 miles northeast of Boston, and at the beautiful Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, beachcombers can find mermaid purses, sea glass, wave-carved wood, and man-made flotsam such as lobster traps and old rope. Veteran beachcombers especially love the unusually large clam and mussel shells. Plum Island fan and beachcombing author Deacon Ritterbush keeps her favorite pieces of lavender, blue, and white sea glass in a shell she found here. “The thing I like most about beachcombing on Plum Island is the peacefulness,” she says. “Half the treasure you find is spiritual; the other half is pocket treasure.”
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, 6 Plum Island Tpke., Newburyport, 978-465-5753, fws.gov/northeast/parkerriver.
Shoot the Chute
Photograph courtesy of Camden Snow Bowl
Name a national championship that will let you compete with zero experience. Stumped? Consider the two-man team from Tennessee that once placed second at the 2005 U.S. National Toboggan Championships without ever having seen snow. February marks the 20th anniversary of the contest, which draws 400-plus entrants to the legendary Camden Snow Bowl on the Maine coast. Awards go not only to the fastest but also to the best costume, the oldest team, and more. You don’t have to be a player, though: Rent a toboggan and ride down Ragged Mountain on the two-foot-wide, 400-foot-long track (bring your own and it’s free). And enjoy the view—the mountain shows off the rocky harbor of Camden.
U.S. National Toboggan Championships, 2/5–2/7; 20 Barnestown Rd., Camden, ME, 207-236-3438, camdensnowbowl.com.
Drive Your Own Sleigh
Photograph courtesy of allegra farm
Okay, back-sleigh driver—you take the reins. John Allegra will give you the horse, the sleigh, and the know-how to drive your own sled. His training course consists of five one-hour classes ($75 each) that teach everything from harnessing the horse to steering and controlling the carriage. For the first couple of lessons you and Allegra will stay close to the farm (which is home, incidentally, to the Horse-Drawn Carriage and Sleigh Museum of New England), but once cleared for takeoff you’ll have more than 500 acres to roam. Don’t have room on your calendar for five trips to Connecticut this winter? Pencil in one visit to the farm, reserve a ride with Allegra on any of his 60 horse-drawn vehicles, and get a lesson as he drives. He’ll also come to you: For an extra fee (depending on location), Allegra will haul horses and carriages as far north as Maine and as far south as Maryland.
Entrance at 69 Town Rd., Colchester, CT, 860-680-5149, allegrafarm.com.