10 Mistakes People Make When Hiking in the Winter, According to Outdoor Pros Who Really Like… Hiking in the Winter

If there’s one misconception I’ve long held about hiking in the winter, it’s that, well, you shouldn’t do it. To me, hiking has always been a fair-weather thing—something for a balmy spring day, or a brisk fall one, or even a breezy summer one (provided it’s not sweltering). But winter? To me, the blustery conditions and cold temperatures simply presented too large of an obstacle to enjoying the substantial time in nature and aerobic activity that hiking entails. So you can imagine my intrigue when The Ranch—a Malibu, California-based wellness retreat famous for its lengthy daily hike—invited me to experience a preview of its soon-to-launch program in New York’s Hudson Valley… in November.

To back up a bit: The initial decision to launch a new Ranch location within driving distance of New York Cityhinged on the area being hike-able year-round, in order for guests to be able to partake in the same daily hike as their counterparts have always done at the sunny Malibu location. The idea was to demonstrate that with the right gear and clothing, you actually could reap all the physical and mental health benefits of hiking during the winter, contrary to common misconceptions.

Read more of this article written by Erica Sloan here.