Sapporo, Japan: For seven days in February, the Sapporo Snow Festival hosts a frozen fantasy land of creatures, cartoons, temples and more — some several stories high. All are the legacy of high-school students who in 1950 sculpted six snow statues in Odori Park.

Yellowstone National Park: Old Faithful is a dependable draw at Yellowstone, where its regular explosions of superheated water and steam against a background of snow and ice are awe-inspiring.


The Arctic: Polar bears cast enormous shadows across the Arctic, where the effects of global warming are just one threat that imperils the largest land predator. Stable sea ice allows the bears to hunt across miles and miles of open territory in Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway and Greenland.

Lake Louise, Canada: Deep in Banff's blue kingdom, Chateau Lake Louise beckons like an enchanted castle. Once an 1890 railway hotel, it still serves as a way station for travelers touring the breathtaking summits and ancient glaciers of the Canadian Rockies.

Swiss Alps: Anyone who has read the tale of the orphan Heidi cannot help but have a romanticized notion of Switzerland. And yet, much of the dream comes true when winter descends on the mountain chalets, and resort transportation includes horse-drawn sleighs.

Greenland: Building-sized bergs calved from the Kangerlua Glacier float peacefully near Ilulissat. Literally translated, Ilulissat means "the Icebergs." These massive hunks of ice are a popular tourist spectacle; the Ilulissat Icefjord was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site several years ago.

Any Snowy Place: Snowshoes, once vital tools for fur traders and trappers and anyone who needed to cover areas of deep snow, now are quiet transport for people who want to enjoy nature during winter in Wisconsin or New Hampshire or the Cascade Mountains.

Oregon: A winter rhapsody in notes of ivory and blue, Portland's Multnomah Falls awes onlookers in every season. Its 620-foot cascades earned the admiration of famed explorers Lewis and Clark.

Lake Tahoe: When you tire of world-class skiing and golf, trade those poles or clubs for a sled. Race across Lake Tahoe's wilder side with a team of four-legged tour guides.

 

Sweden: If you think an igloo's impressive, then the Icehotel will astound you. Each winter, 200 kilometers inside the Arctic Circle, artists and a 10,000-year-old river create halls, suites and chapels of ice. In spring, the fairytale hotel melts away.

Antarctica: At more than 12,000 feet, Mount Erebus, the southernmost active volcano in the world, located on Ross Island, provides a spectacular view of the Ross Sea and mainland Antarctica. Just over the crater rim lies a lava lake, bubbling heat in this frozen land.

Seattle: Ballerina swans twirl beneath a moonlight snowfall as the Pacific Northwest Ballet breathes life into the storybook world of "The Nutcracker," with sets and costumes by illustrator Maurice Sendak ("Where the Wild Things Are").

Scotland: A crisp, clear winter day illuminates the mist hovering over Loch Morlich and the pristine snow dusting its banks. Located in the Cairngorms in the eastern Scottish Highlands near Aviemore, Loch Morlich abuts the land grazed by a herd of reindeer that were reintroduced in Scotland more than 50 years ago.

Norway: The aurora borealis appears to erupt from the craggy peaks of Blåmann (Blue Man) Mountain on Norway's Kvaløya Island. The island — one of the largest in Norway — lies above the Arctic Circle in the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Canada: A quiet cabin and a string of lights on a blue night in Alberta's Great White North — there's magic in even the simplest winter scene.

 


Please Vote For Us 		 
Please Join Us