Gallery • 4 Photos

Madison Hays

Anthem Lake, taken on a random picture adventure.

The air is chilly, the streets are frosty, and the roofs are snowy. Winter is here and with it come many new activities. Whether the cold offers a refreshing chill, or an opportunity to spend more time inside, there are many ways to celebrate the new temperature drop.

Escape Room- 

Trying to get out of a locked room with only one hour puts your mind to the test. Escape Rooms are a fun way to solve puzzles in different themes and environments. HD escape rooms in Westminster and Colorado Escape in Northglenn ensure everything is sanitized properly before your entry. This is a great activity that celebrates teamwork and is in a heated room.

Not comfortable leaving home? There is actually an online escape room to try with your friends. There are many websites, such as enchambered.com, where a duo can virtually discuss how to escape the room. Hop onto a FaceTime call with a friend and with only the use of communication and what is on your screen to solve an hour-long puzzle.

Ice-Skating-

Bundling up in your best winter gear during a Winter Wonderland and gliding across the ice is a classic winter activity. Erie introduced a new outdoor ice rink for public skating as well as the ability to book for a private party. The rink is lined with dreamy white lights along with music to jam out to while skating or falling throughout your time slot. With COVID-19, the ice rink includes extra guidelines like the use of hand sanitizer, masks, and a limited number for the capacity to ensure safety to all skaters.

Study Date within a Café-

As the hybrid school schedule gets into a routine for Erie students, so does the workload. Balancing friends, school, and any extracurricular activities can be hard. Joining a friend in a cafe for a coffee or a smoothie and to collaborate on studying or homework allows for both an enhancement in learning (or a distraction) while catching up with your buddy. Cristos Coffee, Cannomine, Otis, and East Simpson are all places to try on your next study date!

Rock Paper Scissors Food-

A trend that has recently become popular on TikTok is where people compete in a round of rock paper scissors in order to determine who gets to choose the restaurant to eat at. This competition lasts for four rounds and includes drinks, appetizers, entrees, and dessert. A four-course meal through rock paper scissors is a great way to try new foods, have fun with friends or family, and have instilled some friendly competition.

New Recipes-

Watch the winter flurries outside while taking out a fresh, from-scratch, set of cookies. From feta cheese pasta to any possible dessert, the internet is full of fun recipes that are easy to make at home. Maybe try indulging in a TikTok food trend or make a celebrity recipe. From sweet, savory, and fresh flavors, the kitchen is a great way to have fun in the kitchen and find a new favorite meal. There are endless possibilities, from creating themes such as a Chipotle dinner, to decorate desserts for the upcoming holiday.  

Taking Pictures-

A picture lasts a thousand words and is a great way to freeze moments in time. Whether it is on a photoshoot for Instagram, a timer picture propped up or against the trunk of a car, or selfies with random filters, taking a picture is a great chance to be silly, laugh, and capture memories with your friends. This activity can be done anywhere at any time.   

Tubing-

If staying in Erie gets a little boring, Echo Mountain is a great place to have fun while staying close. Only 36 miles from Downtown Denver, Echo Mountain has a variety of winter activities including skiing, snowboarding, and tubing. While all three of these are a Colorado classing, tubing is one of the things that makes Echo Mountain a go-to destination. Carried up the mountain by a moving sidewalk, the way down is breezy, breathtaking, and fun. The mountain offers six lanes so the lines will be short and you bring your friends and race them down the mountain. It costs $27 to rent the equipment and use the lanes an hour.

Building a fort and watching a movie-

Wanting to stay at home? Have a movie you have been dying to see? Take some cushions off the couch, grab some comfy blankets, and build a fort. This is a cozy way to spend some downtime, watch a new movie or try an old favorite, and fight the winter chill.

The winter cold could be daunting, but even if the outside weather makes it hard to be outside, there are still affordable activities to spend your time doing this winter.