Cabin Fever Survival Guide

Winters in the Midwest can be brutal. After last winter’s sucker punches weekend after weekend, it might be nice to have a survival guide for making it through what can be our harshest season. This guide goes beyond the obvious of watching movies or sports and eating pizza with family and friends. There’s something for everyone!

Bake as a Family

Cookies always taste better when little hands have helped to make them! Get out your favorite cookie or sweet treat recipe and make them together.

Find an Open Gym

Find out when the area schools or gyms are having Open Gym. Take the entire family and have some time to “play” together!

English Muffin Pizzas

It’s fun for everyone to make their own pizza with the toppings wanted! Use an English muffin for the crust, spread on pizza sauce, top with desired toppings (no matter how whacky!) and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese bubbles! Everyone ends up eating their own creation, no matter how crazy!

Family Game Night

Turn off the TV and get out the board games. What a great way to teach sportsmanship and how to be a good winner and loser. Put some snacks on the table, get everyone their favorite drink, and the entire family will be happy around the kitchen table!

It’s Your Special Night

Make everyone feel special by asking each member of the family to help plan the menu for their special night! One catch—when it’s your special night, you get to help prepare your favorite food and serve it to your family! But everyone else is on clean-up duty afterward!

Courtesy Kevin Jeffrey

Touchstone Energy Dinosaur Playland at the West Acres Mall

Since winter means not playing on playgrounds anymore, this indoor play area is a great way for your little ones to blow off some steam. Be sure to pack socks, as that is one of the rules to play!

Indoor Water Parks

There are several great indoor water parks in our immediate area. The Holiday Inn of Fargo has Shipwreck Bay, a small indoor water park with a pirate ship play area and five small water slides. The Ramada Plaza Suites of Fargo has Coconut Cove Water Park, a small indoor water play area with a 150’ winding slide, as well as a kiddie pool with a dewdrop cascade. The Governor’s Inn of Casselton has a two-story water slide, a five-level kiddie structure, two swimming pools, a lilly pad water walk, water basketball and volleyball, and a large hot tub.
Or if you want to travel out of the area for a weekend away, there are some great water parks near the Twin Cities and in the Grand Forks area. Grand Rios in Brooklyn Park, MN, has several water slides, a lazy river, “toilet bowl” slide, interactive children’s play area, and whirlpool spas. The Water Park of America near the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, offers fun for the whole family. They have a surfing simulator ride, family raft ride, tube and body water slides, an interactive play structure, children’s pool, sports activity pools, hot tubs, and a lazy river. The Canad Inn in Grand Forks has Splasher’s of the South Seas water park. It is the largest indoor water park in North Dakota. It has several slides, activity pools, a lazy river, a kiddie play area, and an adult hot tub. The Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls also has a great water park. It has four water slides, three mini-slides, a lazy river, tipping bucket, wading pool, and 2 hot tubs.

Fun Outdoors

Bundle up and go outside! Go for a brisk walk, go cross-country skiing, go sledding at Dike West in Fargo or the sledding hill at Maplewood Park in West Fargo, make snow people, or have a snowball fight. Better yet, organize a snowball battle via your favorite social networking site. Set the time and place, and watch the snow fly! This list could go on and on! It’s much better than sitting inside!

Attend a USCC Snowmobiling Race

United States Cross Country Snowmobile Racing hosts races in our area. If you’re not happy without going 80 miles an hour on a sled, then you would enjoy watching some of the best amateur and professional snowmobile racers around. Visit www.usccracing.com for the full schedule and make a weekend of it!

The Sports Bubble

When we’re dreaming of warm weather, many of us dream of golf. Grab your clubs and go hit a bucket of balls at the Sports Bubble. Play the golf simulators, take a lesson from golf pro Matt Johnson, and enjoy a beverage and some Pizza Corner pizza. The Sports Bubble also hosts indoor flag football, softball, and simulator golf leagues throughout the fall and winter seasons. Check out the website at www.thesportsbubble.com.

The Children’s Museum at Yunker Farm

Although one thinks of Yunker Farm as an outdoor activity, there are still lots of fun activities to explore indoors at the Children’s Museum. Bring your young children for some creative play and interaction with other children. Check their website for what is new in exhibits for the season: www.childrensmuseum-yunker.org.

Snow Skiing

It’s not Big Sky in Montana, but if you want a day excursion or a weekend to snowboard or ski, we’ve got a few ski areas near us. Andes Tower Hills just outside of Alexandria, MN, is probably the closest geographically to Fargo. Frostfire Ski and Snowboard Area is on the Pembina Gorge in Walhalla, ND, just southwest of Grand Forks. Fort Ransom is southwest of Fargo and is a great place to teach kids to ski. If you’re looking for something more substantial, a weekend trip to Buena Vista in Bemidji or Lutsen in Duluth might be more up your alley!

Climbing Walls

We don’t have any real mountains around here, but we do have a couple of great climbing walls in Fargo that allow us to feel like we’re mountain climbers! The NDSU Wallman Wellness Center has a climbing wall that is 34 feet tall and resembles the geology of North Dakota. It is free standing and is 26 feet long. It’s great for beginning climbers and experts. Check out the website http://wellness.ndsu.nodak.edu/sports/wall.php for climbing wall hours and certification classes. The Scholossman Family YMCA in South Fargo also has a climbing wall that is quite popular with all ages and skill levels. Belay Certification classes are available for this 32-foot high wall that has six different lanes. The lanes are changed quite often to keep climbers challenged. Check out the website www.ymcacassclay.org for more information.

Try Ice Fishing

There are like 10,000 lakes in Minnesota, right? Well, try your hand at ice fishing. There is an entire ice fishing culture in this area. Go to your local bait shop and find out where the hot spots are. Bring an ice auger, your tackle, don the long underwear, and enjoy a day outdoors…or indoors, if you’re lucky enough to go with someone who has a decked-out icehouse!

Winter Getaway on Lake Detroit

The Lodge on Lake Detroit in Detroit Lakes makes a wonderful getaway. You’ll feel like you’re in another world and away from it all! There are many things to do inside and out—from a spa experience to an indoor pool and hot tub to outdoor experiences like ice fishing and snowmobiling. The Lodge offers many inclusions in their packages like a breakfast buffet, but you can add couple’s massages and even a milk and cookies turndown!

A Winter Cookout?

Who says that grilling can only take place in the summer? Fire up the gas grill and have a BBQ! Prepare ribs, burgers, or brats on the grill (someone will have to bundle up and grill on the driveway, of course!) yet “pretend” that it’s summer. Everyone can come to the table in summer clothes, sunglasses, or bathing suits and dream of the warm! Then afterward, have s’mores microwave style. Simply put the bottom graham cracker with the large marshmallow in the microwave for a few seconds, and top with the chocolate and second graham cracker. You’ve just transported yourself back to summertime by the fire pit at the lake. Well, sort of!