Winter is a time when people generally put away their running shoes, bikes and swimsuits and comfortably settle on the couch ‑- for the entire season. Snow on the ground and a chill in the air provide great excuses for cocooning or avoiding the cold commute to the gym. Well, we hate to burst your warm, cushy bubble, but you can still exercise ‑- outdoors! Snowshoeing is fun, easy and a great way to get your butt outside in the winter.

In fact, snowshoeing has become one of the fastest-growing winter sports in North America. According to a recent Outdoor Recreation Participation Study, the number of people who have tried snowshoeing increased by 300 percent from 1998 to 2004.

Why is everyone so excited about it? For starters, it's a great social activity, it's inexpensive compared to other winter sports and it's a great workout. Claire Walter, Boulder-based snowshoe enthusiast and author of Snowshoeing Colorado (now in its third edition) and The Snowshoe Experience: A Beginner's Guide to Gearing Up & Enjoying Winter Fitness, says that snowshoeing has changed drastically since she started researching the subject nine years ago.

"It went from this weird granola activity to a fabulous recreation," she says. Walter attributes the rise in popularity, for the most part, to advances in equipment.

"The old-fashioned snowshoes used to make great wall ornaments," Walter says. "But modern snowshoes are lightweight and bulletproof. You can theoretically have a pair for life."