By Jill Fennema –

Did you know that you can go snowshoeing at the Pipestone National Monument? They now loan out snowshoes, despite the fact that the park is not 100 percent open to the public due to the pandemic.

According to Natalie Barber, who works at the monument, this is the second winter that they have been loaning out snowshoes. Right now, they have 10 pair and want to see how much usage those get before they purchase more.

Barber said that usage of the snowshoes has really been dependent on the amount of snow that we have. With the mild temperatures we were having at the beginning of winter, snow did not stick around, so the shoes were not getting a lot of use. But when we do get snow, the shoes have been getting used.

“Last winter we had groups and families using them regularly and quite a bit on the weekends – one university even brought out an international group of students who hadn’t been in snow before, so that was a lot of fun,” Barber said. “This winter has been hit and miss due to the lack of snow.”

On Friday, January 29, there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground and this reporter went out to try snowshoeing. I went with a friend who owns her own snowshoes and has some experience. We took three elementary-aged boys with us, who had little or no experience with snowshoes and it was a great adventure.

If you are looking to try out snowshoeing at the monument, know that the information center is not open for tours, but Wednesday through Sunday, there are staff there and they will come to the door if you ring the doorbell. You also do not have to pay a national park fee to walk through the monument. The trails are open and ready for use – whether with snow shoes or in your boots.  There are some slippery areas, so you need to be careful of that if you decide to take a hike.

The snowshoes are free for use. They have a variety of sizes. They also have poles to use – like ski poles to help you on your hike. These are quite helpful, so I definitely recommend them. In fact, if I was just going on a winter hike in my snow boots, I think I’d like to have a set of these poles for balance and for testing snow depth.

Snowshoeing requires a little different gait or walking pattern than regular hiking. You kind of shuffle along in them. It is not like cross country skiing, because they do not slide across the snow. Quite the opposite actually, the snowshoes have metal teeth on the bottom that help grip the snow and keep you from sliding on the trail.