Residents searching for outdoor adventures need only look as far as Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. 

Every Saturday, two different programs are being featured in the park; a guided snowshoe program in the afternoon and an astronomy program in the evening. 

Brennan Rumancik, Southwest Parks program coordinator, explained that the snowshoe program begins at 2:00 p.m. and cycles on a four-week rotation. 

“They're all kind of special in their own unique ways,” he stated. “For example, we have Bird Detective, If These Hills Could Talk, The Abdominal Walk and then we have Frosted Forest as well.  

“Bird Detective is all about birds within the park, If These Hills Could Talk is a really cool program that showcases the history of Cypress Hills, Frosted Forest is all about the trees within Cypress Hills and how they kind of react with each other, and then the Abdominal Walk is a unique program, it was brand new last year, it's kind of more of a fiction type of event, so it's really unique.” 

The program is designed for all levels of experience. Snowshoes are available at the park although they do ask that participants wear boots and dress appropriately. 

If there is not enough snow to utilize snowshoes, the program will be offered as a winter hike. 

In conjunction with the snowshoeing program, individuals can also partake in an astronomy program later in the day, at 7:30 p.m. 

“It's called Light Up the Night Hike,” Rumanick elaborated. “It's a really cool hike, you get to hike through the Lodgepole Pines. You finish at a nice big open area, sit around the fire, and then listen to some tails with our park interpreter. They go through different constellations in the night sky and talk about ancient tales too, so it's a really cool program. Cypress is really famous for their dark sky preserve and their astronomy, as they have an observatory that runs in the summertime. So, it's a really cool program for the park.” 

He added that registration is not necessary, however it does help with preparations. 

“It definitely helps our numbers because we do have limited snowshoes, so if you're bringing your own, that's great, but if you happen to miss the deadline, which is 24 hours in advance to pre-register, no worries, you can still show up at the programs and we'll definitely take you on a neat little tour of Cypress Hills.” 

Both the snowshoeing program and the astronomy program are free of charge. 

If temperatures are below -26°C with the wind chill, the program may be cancelled, or an alternative or shortened program will be offered. 

For more information, or to register, click here.