Every winter for the last two and a half decades, hundreds of dedicated educators and volunteer leaders in dozens of communities across the country have helped local kids strap on snowshoes for the very first time and head out to explore their local snow-covered winter wildlands. With record low snow at many SnowSchool sites, this was a uniquely challenging season for the program. But the SnowSchool community is never short on adaptability and creatively. Despite the low snow the SnowSchool network was still successful in connecting thousands of kids to the outdoors in winter. This continues a multi-decade effort, and since 2001 the SnowSchool network has engaged over half a million kids in SnowSchool.

To all our educators, volunteers, members and supporters, thank you, this would not have been possible without you.

A Snow Drought Winter

This winter was undoubtedly challenging due to the historically low snowpack. But unlike skiing or other winter activities, the presence of only a skiff of snow still enables SnowSchool outings to happen… with adjustments. SnowSchool educators described how they adapted:

“A few days we led nature hikes, rather than snowshoe hikes. Although just to give the kids some experience with snowshoes we had them play a relay race game across piles of snow (from plowing the parking lot) that still remained. One of the advantages of the low snow year was that the cross country ski trails were not opened. Normally those ski trails limit where we can take the kids snowshoeing. This year we could follow animal trails wherever they went.”
– Cascadia Conservation District

In other places it was a matter of timing. The Idaho Center for Outdoor Education delayed SnowSchool by a few weeks until the snow arrived.

Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships in Tahoe city commented:

“We were very lucky. Snow arrived just in time after the New Year. If we didn’t get snow I would have driven up to higher elevations and filled some coolers with snow.”

Even in one of the leanest snow years on record, the spirit of SnowSchool never melted. Proving once again that while winter conditions may change, the passion of educators, partners, and our community, and the impact it has on students, remains unwavering.

Photo by Greta Wilkening, Stokes Nature Center

A Top SnowSchool Concern: The Increasing Barriers to Engaging Underserved Populations

Did you know that the average American child only plays outside 10 min a day but logs 44 hours of screen time a week? This statistic is likely increased for underserved populations and during winter months when kids are most often sedentary. That’s why at SnowSchool we are working to counteract this trend by creating a positive first-time experience in winter wildlands and getting kids outside and active during the winter. With surveys in from our major SnowSchool sites we estimate that the program engaged over 35,000 youth this season. And of the students who went snowshoeing this year we estimate that two-thirds (70%) were first time snowshoers, and that over half (55%) of SnowSchool participants came from underserved populations (Title 1 schools and under represented populations). But continuing to reach underserved communities was cited as a top concern from SnowSchool sites, with transportation (the cost of a school bus) and replenishing winter gear/equipment as the biggest needs.

SnowSchool kids in the sun in January of 2026. Photo Credit: Tim Grayson, Wasatch Mountain Institute

Photo by Heidi Lupo, Pinecrest Expedition Academy

Creating future stewards of snow to river flow!

A big goal of SnowSchool is helping communities better understand mountain snow, the source of 80% of our annual water supply in the Western US. Towards this goal WWA hosted the 6th annual National SnowSchool Conference with over 70 educators and community leaders in attendance to learn more about our unique experiential curriculum, NASA citizen science opportunities and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. And through our Snowpack Prediction Challenge, thousands of students across the country analyzed snowpack data from their local watersheds in a manner that transformed their learning experience from a field trip into a 4 month science exploration!

“Our SnowSchool students were able to take what they learned about snowpack and SNOTEL sites and apply it to their daily lives. Many of them come from ranching and farming families, so they could see firsthand how this year’s snowpack affects water resources and what that means for their livelihoods.”
– Mari Lin Carroll, SnowSchool Educator, Montana Discovery Foundation

These days many of us who love the outdoors are acutely aware of the fact that the continued existence of America’s public lands is not guaranteed. There remains little doubt that support for public lands is precariously balanced, and largely dependent on an engaged populace who have experienced these places and understand their ecological and experiential value. If you’re needing some inspiration and hope for the future of wild snowscapes check out “SnowSchool Grows Up” Episode 1 and Episode 2 and this interview from SnowSchool students at the Idaho Center for Outdoor Education.

To all our educators, volunteers, members and supporters, thank you, this SnowSchool season would not have been possible without you!

SnowSchool Stories

Learning Without Limits: How SnowSchool Helped Bring Winter Education to Deaf and Blind Students

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What happens when you remove barriers instead of lowering expectations? This spring, fifteen students from the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind discovered that winter can be one of the greatest classrooms of all during a SnowSchool adventure.

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Could this winter become the next great Super El Niño year? Scientists think it's possible! At a moment when many federal science programs are facing cuts, the potential arrival of a Super El Niño underscores just how valuable—and vulnerable—our forecasting systems have become.