Hiking in winter? If you are not an alpine or cross-country skier, an ice-climber, or fan of ice-fishing, you may not think of winter as a great time for getting outdoors. But winter holds many advantages over summer as a time for heading for the hills or the woods:

No bugs!

It’s less crowded on the trail.

You can go easy on the sunscreen.

The air is generally clearer in the winter, and you can see more through the trees when they have dropped their leaves.

It is fun to see the prints of the forest fauna: deer, raccoons, rabbits, and all kind of bird tracks.

The woods are magical in the snow; there is a profound quiet in the woods in the winter, especially during and after a snowfall.

Add to all this that you are not sweating nearly as much during a winter hike as you would in the summer, and you do not have to carry a large, heavy bottle of water (a small one will do for a 2-3 hour hike); your pack may be a bit lighter.

Indeed, winter can be a great time to take a hike. And the Southcoast region abounds in lovely parks and nature preserves – but you do need to keep a few things in mind. Even if you are not skiing or snow-shoeing, you will still need a few essential items:

1. Ankle-high, waterproof boots with a non-slip tread to keep your feet dry and stop you from slipping on snow, slush or ice.

2. A sturdy walking-stick or ski pole (to keep your balance on slippery ground).

3. A light backpack in which you can stow an extra layer of warmth, or in which you can stow a layer when you heat up on the trail. In my backpack I also carry: camera, small water bottle, bag of trail mix, tissues, and cell phone.

Now that you have your gear ready, the question is: where to go? One thing that makes for more comfortable winter hiking is to choose a place where you can get out of the wind (I find it is not the cold but the wind chill that can make a winter walk miserable). A mostly-wooded area will keep you protected from the wind. A second very important consideration – especially just after a snowfall – is: where can you park? If the area you have chosen for your destination does not have a parking area that enjoys regular plowing services, your trip might be in vain. Thus hiking in winter takes a little extra thought.

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite local haunts for a casual hike, the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown, RI, at 583 Third Beach Rd. The Norman Sanctuary is less than 20 miles from Fall River (about a 30-minute drive). Its brochure/trail- guide boasts: “385 acres of land encompassing a variety of ecosystems including ridges, forests, thickets, fields, ponds, streams, salt marsh and sandy beach.” Hikers can enjoy twelve different trails covering approximately seven miles. The trails include gentle, level areas – good for cross-country skiing, for younger children and /or more senior family members; and also more challenging areas where climbing and scrambling over rocky outcroppings is required. There are open fields where you can enjoy a big sky overhead, and sheltered, wooded areas where you can get out of the wind.

The Norman Bird Sanctuary is a privately- funded wildlife refuge and environmental education center, open seven days a week from 9 to 5; they have parking lot that does get plowed after a snowfall, and also restrooms at the welcome center. There is a small fee for day use; or you can purchase an individual or family membership, and return for free hikes throughout the year! (It should be noted that dogs are not allowed in the refuge.)

The first time I went to the Norman Sanctuary was last June: I instantly fell under its spell and quickly decided to purchase a year’s membership. I loved its open meadows filled with birdsong, was thrilled to see a doe and her twin fawns leaping through the long meadow-grasses, and entranced by a forest glen graced with wild pink and purple lupines in full bloom. Naturally, a winter hike at the refuge is quite different, but none the less magical. The landscape partially covered with snow, and flecked with puddingstone covered with lichen and moss put me in mind of the landscapes of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia or J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings or Hobbit novels. In fact, Lewis and Tolkien were close friends, and loved nothing more than to go on a long rambles through the English countryside, usually ending at some village pub with a roaring fire, good ale and sandwiches. My own tromp through the Norman Sanctuary kept me thinking of them (but alas, there was no pub with fireplace in walking distance!).

The day started out in the 30’s, but got progressively warmer, and as the snow was melting, I kept thinking of the children in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, who wandered through a land that had seemed to be locked forever in winter, but gradually began to thaw as the lion-god Aslan drew near. As the air had warmed up, I was able to hike the exposed ridges of “Hanging Rock” and “Red Fox Trail,” from which you have a marvelous view of the ocean and surrounding area (including the chapel of St. George’s School and also a country mansion, both of which look so very English). These trails, with their rocky ridges and stubby cedar trees soaring over landscapes of ocean, marshes, and ice-covered ponds seemed so ancient and other-worldly: I kept expecting a faun or hobbit to pop out from behind the next rock or tree!

The sanctuary is much quieter in the winter than it is in summer. Without all the birdsong and traffic noise of the summer, I could hear the ocean much of the time. As for birds, I did notice a red-tailed hawk, a woodpecker, and a nuthatch, and then, as I was returning to the “barn,” as they call the welcome center, I encountered a whole flock of robins (and remembered that a robin had also played a significant role in Lewis’ Narnia story!). Don’t robins migrate South for the winter – if so, what were they doing here in January? So before heading back to my car, I stopped in at the welcome center and spoke with Matt Schenck, the refuge’s naturalist, to ask him about robins. He told me that some robins migrate, and some do not, and that in the winter their digestive systems change over to “winter” mode, allowing them to digest seeds and berries (since they can’t pull worms up out of the frozen ground); we also talked about irruptions of snowy owls, which had been widely seen in the area during the winter of 2013-14 (only one snowy owl had been seen in the area so far this winter).

The Norman Bird Sanctuary has frequent educational programs, as well as a summer day camp; it is within walking distance of Third Beach, and very near the Sachuest National Wildlife Refuge – the whole area is lovely, even if there are no English country pubs in sight (there are, however two wineries nearby). You can find out more from their website, www.normanbirdsanctuary.org.