Dashing Through The Snow Sleigh Rides Are Great Way For Family To Enjoy Bracing Cold Of A Winter’S Day - Or Night

Soon after we met Mike and Lou, we felt like old friends.

We’d learned their family history, saw where they lived - we even knew their weight.

We also knew all their favorite songs. “Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin’?” we sang to them.

We followed that with, “Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too. Come on, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.”

Mike and Lou, 17- and 18-year-old Belgian draft horses weighing nearly a ton each, broke into a trot when we sang “Jingle Bells.” And running ahead of us in the snow path were our other new friends, Babs and Hank, the ranch dogs. They looked back to make sure Mike and Lou were following their lead.

“We use these Belgian draft horses to do farming and other work here in the Red-tail Canyon,” said our sleigh driver (oddly, I can’t remember her name - and she never revealed her age or weight).

The ranch, which offers sleigh rides in winter and hay rides in summer, is only a few miles outside of Leavenworth. The driver told us about the Red-tail Canyon Farm’s owners, Ross and Marianne Frank, who we saw working in the distance when we went past the barnyard.

In addition to farming and providing lodging and activities, the Franks remove logs from their forest with the draft horses, then mill the wood for buildings on the property.

Mike and Lou pulled the sleigh past their beautiful barn made with the farm’s logs. “And that smell - it is our own fragrance, manufactured here on site. We call it Corral No. 5,” the driver joked.

Sleigh rides promise a mild family adventure, but deliver more. Not only are parents and kids of all ages getting a romantic ride through the evergreen and white landscape; they also learn about farm life, history and horse breeds.

Near Leavenworth, where I explored sleigh riding opportunities (Leavenworth seems to be the epicenter of sleigh rides in the Pacific Northwest), we learned about early homesteading and how the nearby town of Plain got its name. (Supposedly, an early delegation sent to Olympia to register another name found it already taken, so they went with something more descriptive.) At Mountain Springs Lodge in Plain, our horse’s names were Topsy and Trinksy. They pulled us through the Beaver Valley bottom land homesteaded 103 years ago by the great-grandfather of the lodge’s owner. W.W. Burgess and his new bride arrived in the valley July 4, 1895, we learned as the sleigh turned a corner at a large oak tree. “Mr. Burgess brought this oak with him as a seedling that year,” our driver told us.

Most sleigh rides include cozy blankets and a hot-cider break next to a warm fire. Since trips are only 45 minutes to an hour long, children don’t have a chance to get too cold.

Sleigh rides are not just for families with kids, of course. All ages enjoy the bracing weather, the sound of the sleigh runners over the snow and the beautiful outdoor scenery. At Eagle Creek Ranch (near Leavenworth, again), couples can reserve a private ride in an antique cutter sleigh.

Another “just the two of you” sleigh ride - a bit farther afield, I admit - is found at Banff, Alberta. The price for a Warner Guiding and Outfitting trip is the same as Eagle Creek, about $100 a couple, but with the exchange rate bringing that down to about $65. And when you consider the fabulous scenery, it just might be worth the trip.

Many of the sleigh rides around the Northwest are at guest ranches that also offer lodging, so weekenders can enjoy immersing themselves in a sleigh/ranch culture.

One warning, however: staying at a ranch makes it even harder to get those sleighing songs out of your head. Just when you think you’ve punched the off-button to “Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin’?” one of your beloved family members will hum a line from “Jingle Bells,” and the “perpetual play” button will again be activated.

IF YOU GO Prices for a 45-minute to one-hour trip range from $10 to $15 per person. Most require reservations. Young children (usually five and under) are free. Methow Valley, Wash.: Sun Mountain Lodge, Winthrop, (800) 572-0493. Also offers a sleigh-ride-and-dinner option. London broil dinner is served in a warming hut along the trail. Adults, $25, children $17. Freestone Inn, Mazama, (800) 639-3809. Twenty-minute sleigh rides, Thursday-Saturday, 5-8 p.m., $7 per person. Early Winters Outfitting, (800) 737-8750. From Winthrop, a 40-minute ride in a heated sleigh, $10 per person. From Mazama, sleigh tours a working ranch, where 85 horses are fed off the back of the sleigh. Adults $12; kids 4-12 $10; toddlers free. Leavenworth, Wash.: Eagle Creek Ranch, (800) 221-7433. Red-tail Canyon Farm, (800) 678-4512. Mountain Springs Ranch, (800) 858-2276. Icicle Outfitters, (800) 497-3912. Sandpoint: Western Pleasure Guest Ranch, (208) 263-9066. Green Gables Lodge, Schweitzer Ski Resort, (800) 831-8810. Banff, Alberta: Holiday on Horseback, Warning Guiding and Outfitting, Ltd., (403) 762-4551.