About Minnesota
Learn how to make snowshoes and snowshoe bindings. Traditional snowshoes are still made very much the way early Minnesotans made them.
Most family vacation destinations in Minnesota include beautiful family vacation resorts, cabins, and dozens of state parks and many other top family vacations spots.
There are several excellent books about how to make snowshoes.
You can also make simple, homemade snowshoes by following the directions farther down this page.
Wooden snowshoes are snowshoes traditionally made from willow branches or other small, flexible, tree branches.
Early settlers sometimes needed to make their own snowshoes as a way to get out of the back country when a sudden blizzard stranded them.
Building Wooden Snowshoes & Snowshoe Furniture will give you the directions needed to make a variety of "professional" snowshoes as well as other rustic items.
Creating traditional snowshoes is a fairly simple process of using webbed material fastened to a frame to make walking in deep snow easier. Traditionally snowshoes were made from bent wood, animal skins and snowshoe bindings of sinew.
Snowshoeing in Minnesota remains a favorite winter sport and, as well, a way to get around when other means of travel are limited by our weather.
The size of the wooden snowshoe you make will depend on your weight. A 200-lb. person needs snowshoes that are about 15 inches wide and 2 feet long. Adjust the length of the cut branches accordingly.
**The teardrop part of your traditional snowshoe should be about six inches longer than your boot.
Information
For personalized travel information call 888-VISITMN (847-4866)
Minnesota Department of Natural resources 888-646-6367
Minnesota Historical Society 888-777-8386
Judith Ramsey - Publisher Copyright © 2005 ~ 2019 All Rights ReservedAmazon Associates Disclosure - We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Photos are provided by our affiliations with Amazon, Trip Advisor, Unsplash, Expedia, and by our content providers.