Becky Pokora

I’m thrilled to see more people get vaccinated every day, but I’m still hesitant when it comes to booking travel. I’m sure someone out there would tell me there are other ways to experience the same natural highs, but despite trying several new hobbies this year, I haven’t found what works for me (at least, not within the other confines of life in general right now). Ones that may be challenging under today’s restrictions or weather dependent (in a very fickle time of year) or coincidentally at a busy time of the week when I’d be preoccupied with other, more responsible endeavors. We collected a list of nearby options and are ordering takeout from a different one each week (yes, with a scheduled list to make it feel more official and to make sure we don’t miss anything along the way).

The American side of Niagara Falls got shafted: we don’t have the same full-frontal views of the waterfalls that Canada boasts. Everything is either a partial view or a side glance…except we do have one major advantage because we have Cave of the Winds, which is the best falls experience on either side of the border. Cave of the Winds is an up-close, bottoms-up view of Bridal Veil Falls, one of Niagara’s three major cascades. Cave of the Winds is located on Goat Island, inside Niagara Falls State Park.

(barebooting is hiking in winter boots but without any other special equipment).New Hampshire in general is great for outdoor recreation, but to get you started I’ve rounded up four trails that are great for Franconia Notch hiking in winter (plus one that’s overrated). If you want to hike all day, you can actually design a loop north to Lonesome Lake (discussed below) or south to the Flume Gorge (mentioned above).Distance: 3 miles round-trip, more or less depending on how far around the lake you walk Difficulty: extra special:Stunning views from the top of the surrounding mountainsSnow-capped trees that make it feel like you’re walking through vanilla-frosted forestThe lake itself, which might even be frozen enough to safely walk across (do not attempt unless you’re experienced on how to check!)This hike is not extremely steep, but it is consistently uphill. You’ll want poles for the handful of brook crossings, both to keep your balance and to confirm if you’re walking on solid ground versus a thin layer of ice and snow with cold water

We had a few options:Quarantine for 10 days at home prior to leaving for NH, assuming we’re traveling via private transportation (e.g. our personal car)Quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in New Hampshire, if traveling by public transportation or if a home-quarantine wasn’t possibleWe’re fortunate enough that quarantining isn’t that inconvenient. This time I’m not relying on my travel meal plan since we stacked a couple discounts to get a great deal on a Hello Fresh kit that we’ll bring with us. We can take advantage of seeing things at off-peak hours and not feel guilty about “wasting” busier hours by returning to our private home. Like our fall hiking trip, I think we’ll be more like 100+ feet from anyone else rather than the suggested six feet.