With the warmth of summer gone and the last of the leaves raked, you may feel like saying goodbye to your backyard until spring. However, with the on-going pandemic, sitting inside for months may feel like a special kind of torture. If just the thought of winter indoors gives you cabin fever, don’t fret! We’ve compiled a list of the best winter activities to enjoy in Utah this winter.
Our Best Picks For Backyard Winter Activities
Build a Bonfire
What better way to stay warm and have winter fun in Utah than enjoying a roaring fire? Get snuggly with some blankets, hot cocoa, and smores. Or, if you own a grill, fire it up and enjoy the taste of freshly grilled burgers and hot dogs. Nothing lifts the spirits like comfort food! Besides, with the reduced daylight hours, foods that can cook quickly are best.
Stargaze
Your garden may be devoid of flowers, but the night sky more than makes up for the lack of blossoms. And you don’t need to run out and drop hundreds of dollars on a fancy telescope or binoculars. You can easily enjoy the evening sky with nothing more than your naked eye. Plus, the nights are longer at this time of year. If you’re not a night owl, you won’t have to stay up until all hours to catch a glimpse of all the twinkling wonders. We recommend looking for seasonal constellations that are only visible at this time of year—for example, the constellation of Orion, which you can find in the southern sky. Engaging children in this activity is a great way to get them excited about the outdoors, and they may learn a few things about astronomy at the same time. You can even turn it into a competition! Create a bingo sheet and see who can get five in a row first. Additionally, you could create a scavenger hunt and see who can find all astronomical items first!
Battle Of the Snowballs
There’s no better way to work off cabin fever than with a good old fashion snowball fight. It’s one of our favorite fun winter activities to do in Utah in the height of winter. If you’re worried about getting lobbed in the face, instead of having a back-and-forth fight, build a target. All you have to do is roll a huge snowball, as you would for making the base of a snowman. Use food coloring to create a red, blue, or yellow circle in the middle to aim for. Try walking farther and farther and seeing how far you can be from the target while still making a bulls eye.
Construct A Fort Or Igloo
Repurpose plastic pails you use to make sandcastles at the beach for snow forts. Create a line of snow pillars and mold them with additional snow to create a solid line. Repeat on the layer above until you’ve got yourself a wall to hide behind for those oncoming snowball attacks. Or try creating the ultimate snow fort: a backyard igloo.
Before the Snows Come, Prep Your Yard
Before you’re knee-deep in backyard snow fun, make sure to apply pre-winter fertilizer to your lawn, protect trees and shrubs with dormant oils or burlap wrap, and inject a deep root fertilizer under the soil of your most vulnerable plants. Then you’ll be able to enjoy your fun guilt-free.
Enjoy Your Yard Year-round with Help From Ferta-Lawn
Before the cold and snow sets in, call the experts at Ferta-Lawn. Our experts will make sure your beloved plants make it through winter safely so you can focus on having fun during the long Utah winter. Our comprehensive lawn care program and tree care services nourish your yard and give you peace of mind. Give us a call at 801-295-3057 or leave us a message here. Check out our blog for more lawn care tips and tricks.