20 of the Coolest Winter Activities in the US

Spend a day in Yellowstone searching for the national park’s wildlife, including wolves, bald eagles, bison, and bighorn sheep.

Picture Whoville but in Brooklyn. That’s Dyker Heights. Blocks of houses brimming with over-the-top lights and decorations are par for the course in America’s most Christmassy neighborhood.

Pair Yuletide festivities with ghost hunting, voodoo, and vampires on this holiday tour with a twist (it’s New Orleans after all).

Go skiing or snowboarding at the most visited, and largest, ski resort in the country.

Explore FAO Schwarz's flagship Rockefeller Plaza store before it opens to the public, with an official toy solider as your guide. But get in quick as this exclusive tour is only available until January 8.

Trek through the Alaskan wilderness to Mendenhall Glacier and use crampons to cross the glacial terrain and explore ice caves, crevasses, and streams.

Explore Fairbanks’ snowy trails by dogsled on a private guided mushing experience. For more, choose a tour that includes a helicopter flight or even a glacier landing and walk.

Get cozy with hot cocoa and jazz-inflected carols on this Boston Harbor cruise by 1920s-style yacht.

Sequoia National Park’s giants are a sight to behold no matter the season, but seeing them covered in snow is something else. A hot chocolate on Bear Hill is a nice added bonus.

An hour outside of Fairbanks, the waters of Chena Hot Springs have been soothing weary travelers for more than a hundred years. The thermal resort also happens to be one of the best places to see the northern lights.

Cookies fresh out the oven bring the festive cheer to this Amish Country holiday tour. You’ll visit a historic farmhouse and stop at three homes to meet the families and talk about Amish Christmas traditions.

Remote mountain trails and frozen lakes are your playground on this snowmobile adventure in the Chena River State Recreation Area.

Cross-country skiing dates back thousands of years as a means of transportation across Europe. Get kitted out and traverse the mountain trails of the Sierra Nevada in South Lake Tahoe.

Check off Chicago’s festive must-do’s, from Millennium Park’s Christmas tree and ice rink to State Street’s holiday windows, and pick up gifts from Christkindlmarket, Chicago’s German-style Christmas market.

Head to northern California's premier whale-watching destination, where humpback and blue whales can be seen as late as December, and gray whales are commonly spotted through April.

Take the Holly Jolly Holiday Trolley around St. Augustine, whose famous Nights of Lights celebration sees the city lit up by millions (literally) of bright-white lights.

Catch fish through the ice, which you can later grill and eat in a cozy heated cabin, while you look for the northern lights. It doesn’t get much more “I’m in Alaska” than that.

Ride a fat bike through the snow with stops at some of Breckenridge’s best craft breweries.

Sled down the slopes at Hidden Valley, an old ski resort in Rocky Mountain National Park that’s since been turned into a designated sledding area.

Elk, bison, and bighorn sheep are some of the winter wildlife you can spot on this naturalist-led tour of Grand Teton National Park.