By Jessica Shallow
What a fun experience it is to try kicksledding, or Spark as it is called in it’s originating countries. This was actually our 2nd time kicksledding, but this time it was part of a class that my daughter & I took with another family from our playgroup. We learned a little bit about the history of kicksledding, how to put it together & how to store it, and how to care for it after you are finished. Then we headed outdoors to try it out. The pictures above show the kid size kicksleds, but there are adult size ones as well, which us moms had a chance to push each other around on.
I have to admit that it was more of a workout this year doing kicksledding than last year because the trails still had a lot of snow cover on them and they were not iced over. A kicksled is much easier & faster to use when it’s on ice.
As a group we went through the nature center on some of the trails so that we could get a feel for how to maneuver it and control the speed down a hill.
If you get a chance to try this out, you should. The availability of kicksleds seems to be low, so if you get the chance, take it. And if you live in our area, you should check out Winterfest at the nature center where they will have the kicksleds out again. There will also be horse-drawn sleigh rides, snow shoeing, sledding, games, and a bonfire (roasted marshmallows!) It is a lot of fun!
Jessica organizer of playgroup in Medford, Minnesota
