New year, new you! Or at least the chance to try some new things. This January guide will hopefully help you find reasons to get out of the house, whether you want to enjoy some outdoor winter adventures or stay cozy with some indoor activities.
For the Outdoor Kids
My New Year’s resolution is to get outside more in the wintertime, and Madison makes it pretty easy to pick up a new sport like snowshoeing. There are a lot of great trails in Dane County to explore, and you can rent shoes and poles at places like the Wisconsin Union.
If skating is your thing, hopefully the ice at Madison rinks will be ready for you to lace up your skates. You can enjoy hot chocolate and other treats in the warming hut. Tenney Park even has a Skate Cinema party on Feb. 8 so you can twirl while you watch “Frozen II.”
Or, you don’t need any special equipment at all to go walking in the woods, like hiking some (or all) of the 38.5 miles of the Ice Age Trail in Dane County. This is also a great time of year for bird watching, and Madison Public Library offers birding backpacks with binocs and field guides to check out.
For the Indoor Kids
The new Freezing Man Festival is the big concert draw in January, but don’t sleep on the annual Wisconsin Fests featuring top local acts at the Majestic Theatre and High Noon Saloon. Grouped by genre (Wisconsin Metal Fest, Wisconsin Hip-Hop Fest, etc.), it’s a great way to see your favorite Madison musicians and discover some new ones, too.
Feeling like you’re juggling a lot this winter? The performers at MadFest Juggling Extravaganza on Jan. 18 at the Barrymore Theatre know how you feel, bringing together top local jugglers with pros from all over the world, showing how versatile and artistic the circus skill really can be.
Cinephiles should check out the UW Cinematheque, which returns with the college students in January to bring new, classic, and unusual films to the big screen. The series kicks off with Madison’s premiere of the buzzed-about epic “The Brutalist” on Jan. 23, and also includes a tribute to director Sam Peckinpah and classics like “Seven Samurai” and “Umbrellas of Cherbourg” that demand to be seen in a theater.
Restaurant traffic tends to die down a little after the holidays, which is why local spots try to lure diners in with Madison Restaurant Week from Jan. 19-24. Participating restaurants like Bandit Tacos, Cadre, and Merchant will offer three-course dinners starting at $30, and many will also offer three-course lunches starting at $20.
Book lovers should get a jump on their 2025 reading lists with the Grown-Up Book Fair at The Sylvee (Jan. 25 and Jan. 26), which is like a Scholastic Book Fair for adults. Grab a cocktail at the bar and peruse shelves stocked by a bunch of local indie bookstores.
