A Guide for Parents (and Grandparents) on How to Cure Cabin Fever

Once the snow starts falling, there are two things New York families can count on—cold season starts with a sniffle or a sneeze, and cabin fever begins soon after with a yawn and a chorus of, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do,” from the kids. Then parents wrack their brains for ways to entertain them.

Like bears, many of us have a tendency to hibernate during the cold winter months, staying inside where it’s warm and dry and not venturing outside until the first sign of a spring thaw. But by taking the time to search out some new and different family activities, you’ll discover that winter in our neck of the woods offers plenty of cures, even for the worst cases of cabin fever.

Have Some Fun Indoors

Trade the inside of your own house for indoor activities that give you and your kids the opportunity to burn off some of that built-up energy.

Lasertron Interactive Entertainment Center in Amherst offers a challenging game of Cyber Sport, a combination of lacrosse, hockey, and basketball played on teams while driving specially-made vehicles that look like bumper cars.

Encourage your teenagers’ passions by taking a class with them. If your teen loved to help make dinner with you as a child, consider taking a cooking class at the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua. Their state-of-the-art kitchen space is fantastic, and the friendly chefs encourage creative use of ingredients.

Local colleges and universities offer concerts, interesting talks and programs, movies, and sporting events all winter long. Many of these are open to the community and either free or low cost. Older teens will especially like being a part of campus life, so this is also a great way to explore some higher-education options close to home.

Another way to sneak some education into a family outing is to plan a trip to one of New York’s many historical sites and museums. Consider the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls. There you’ll find the Wesleyan Chapel, the site of the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 and a local haven for antislavery activity. Some of the historical buildings on site are closed in the winter, but tours of the Wesleyan Chapel are offered daily throughout the year. Another good option is the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, a national historic site.

Embrace the Cold Weather

Once you’ve ventured out past your own living room, try your hand at some of New York’s numerous outdoor activities. Those of us who are more daring can go downhill skiing, snowboarding, or tubing at Greek Peak Mountain Resort in Cortland. Or spend a day cross-country skiing and snowmobiling on the groomed trails of the Finger Lakes National Forest in Schuyler County. Sledding at Rice Hill in Trumansburg on the park’s one massive hill is a thrill for all ages—and when you get tired of that, there are frozen ponds there on which to skate or play pick-up hockey.

Nature centers are another wonderful way for families to enjoy the outdoors. Beaver Lake Nature Center in Liverpool has trails that you can hike in any season, including 9 miles of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails and a mix of habitats that encourage all sorts of bird and animal sightings. The Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca is also open year-round, offering staff-led winter programs, nature trails, and live reptiles, mammals, and birds in indoor and outdoor enclosures. Be sure to climb up the center’s unusual six-story tree house, TreeTops, for a different view of the world.

But if tree-climbing and speeding downhill on a snowboard don't sound like your idea of fun, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the outdoors in the wintertime. Bring your binoculars to Sapsucker Woods (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) in Ithaca for a winter hike and bird watching on the nature trails. Inside the free visitor center, you'll find an observatory and interesting interactive exhibits that everyone in the family will enjoy. If you'd rather look at rock formations, Mendon Ponds Nature Park in Rochester boasts excellent examples of glacial geology, which are easier to see in the winter when the trees are bare.

. . . So try some of these ideas this winter when there's 'nothing to do,' and you'll have just the cure for your family's cabin fever.