If you’re looking to do something as a family but need to travel within a school or work calendar, check out these ideas for single-day adventures.

Skiing and Snowboarding: For kids three and up, skiing can be a great way to get a break from being cooped up all winter long. Depending on where you live, hitting the slopes needn’t be a major vacation; pick a mountain within driving distance (it doesn’t have to be a marquis resort, especially with younger kids) and head off for the day. If the price of lift tickets, equipment rental, lessons, etc. is what’s been keeping you from giving it a try, now’s the time to suit up and head outside, as ski resorts across the U.S. and Canada are making skiing more and more affordable through all kinds of deals and promotions, according to Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of WeJustGotBack.com, a family travel website.

Snowshoeing: If your kids can walk without a tumble or fall, they can probably snowshoe. Unlike skiing, you won’t need a bunch of expensive equipment, and snowshoes now come in kids’ sizes (and are available for rent as well as purchase). You can snowshoe just about anywhere there’s snow, and create fun projects for the family like tracking different species of animals. You may want to drag along a plastic sled if the kids get tired and you want to continue on your walking adventure.

Ice Skating: Hitting the ice together is an inexpensive way to have some old-fashioned fun as a family. You’ll have to pay for admission, skate rental (unless you already own them, of course), and maybe a few cups of hot chocolate. Indoor and outdoor rinks are located throughout North America. To find one near you, consult ArenaMaps.com.

Indoor Water Parks: According to Kelleher, “Massive indoor water park resorts are currently a huge trend in family travel.” Because they’re popping up all over the U.S., you may be lucky enough to find one within driving distance from you. Kelleher recommends indoor water parks as a great way to “feel like you went somewhere really warm and different because they keep the air temperature at 84 degrees, and folks are walking around in shorts and t-shirts in the middle of winter.” If you choose to spend the night, you’ll often get water park admission for two days as part of your lodging fee. The one caveat: Kelleher notes that most parks have a minimum height requirement of 42 inches (around the height of an average five-year-old). If your child doesn’t meet the height requirement, he or she may be relegated to a much smaller section of the park (maybe as little as 10 percent). To find a water park near you, refer to IndoorWaterParks.net.

Museums: If you’re looking for a warmer and relatively inexpensive version of fun, winter is a great time to visit a museum, suggests Eileen Ogintz of Takingthekids.com, a family travel advice website. Like the idea but dread the thought of trying to keep your little ones from reaching for everything off-limits to visitors? Try visiting a children’s museum where kids are encouraged to touch and explore the exhibits. For a comprehensive list of children’s museums throughout the U.S. and Canada, check out ChildrensMuseums.org. For something a bit different, but just as entertaining, Ogintz recommends visiting a living history museum like Conner Prairie in Indiana, Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, or Plimouth Plantation in Massachusetts.

Winter Festivals and Carnivals: If you’re willing to brave the cold, there are lots of great winter festivals offering family-friendly activities throughout the winter months. Here are a few highlights:

• The Saint Paul Winter Carnival in Saint Paul, Minnesota claims to be America’s oldest and largest winter festival. Running for just over a week in late January, the festival offers parades, ice and snow sculpting, a hockey tournament, a laser light show, a giant snow slide, and cultural celebrations.
• Steamboat Springs, Colorado hosts its annual Family Snow Festival in mid-late January. It offers plenty of kid-friendly activities, including games, live music, and a featured performer (in 2009, Mitchell Musso of the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana will perform).
• Billed as “New England’s largest winter extravaganza,” the Newport Winter Festival is sure to be a hit with the kids as it includes horse-drawn hayrides, a city-wide scavenger hunt, an ice sculpting competition, a pizza cook-off (yum!), and a children’s fair. 
• The Quebec Winter Carnival is advertised as the “biggest winter carnival in the world.” Taking place for two weeks in early February, it offers a zipline, snow rafting, sleigh rides, ice skating, a dogsled race, a children’s village, snow sculpting and more.
• Winterlude is Ottawa’s three-weekend-long celebration of winter, typically held in early February. Families can enjoy the world’s largest skating rink on the frozen Rideau Canal, a huge playground made of snow (including over 30 giant snow slides), an ice carving competition, and lots more.
• If you’re within driving distance of Wheeling, West Virginia, it’s worth a nighttime drive through the Oglebay Park Winter Festival of Lights. The festival runs from early November through early January and features over one million lights in 50 displays on 300 acres.

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