Student Field Trips
Preparing For Your Winter Field Trip
A great field trip starts with a little preparation. Here's everything you and your students need to know before you arrive.
What To Expect
Get Ready For A One-Of-A-Kind Field Trip
Our staff will help manage your schedule while you're visiting to ensure every student gets to try each winter sport with adequate time. Groups larger than 30 students will typically be broken down into smaller groups and rotated through each activity. Muskegon Luge staff will provide teachers and chaperones with a tentative schedule, which will show the times each rotation begins and ends.
How To Dress
We want kids to enjoy their time at our park and that starts with dressing appropriately. Keep in mind that even though it's cold outside, students will be active and will overheat if they are overdressed. When you overheat you sweat and that can make you feel even colder when you start to slow down. The best advice is to wear layers that can be taken off when you're active and put back on when you aren't. These items are also very important to remember:
- Winter hat that covers ears
- Insulated gloves, not finger gloves
- Insulated boots that will keep feet dry
- Snow pants
- Coat
Please note that we do not have indoor space for students. Students will have access to indoor restrooms. We have warming tents beside our lodge and ice rink that will help take off the chill but they are not warmed to indoor temperatures. We have bonfires and outdoor heaters throughout the facility.
What To Bring
Students are welcome to bring their own winter sports equipment, but it is not necessary. We will provide all necessary equipment in a full range of sizes. The most important thing to bring along is good food. We have a concession stand available for beverage and snack purchases, but it's best that every student brings a nutritious meal from home or provided by the school. Eating well will help keep you warm! Students will have a scheduled lunch rotation, but they are also welcome to snack throughout the day as they will be burning a lot of energy.
Ideas For Packed Lunches
- Sandwich
- Granola and protein bars
- Fresh fruit and veggies
- Portable yogurt
- Insulated thermos with warm soup (reheating not available)
What To Expect From Each Activity
The goal of your field trip is to introduce students to winter sports they may have never tried before. We believe this is important because most people typically become less active in the winter time and this can have negative effects on their mental and physical health. When we teach kids these sports and give them access we are equipping them with a tool that will help them care for their own health for the rest of their lives.
Our core activities or ice skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and luge. We will also occasionally offer broomball and sledding as an activity for students.
Ice Skating
Ice skating is typically the most popular activity because many students are already familiar with ice skating. Students may ask if they can just ice skate and skip other rotations, but we prefer to challenge them to try the other activities.
The most important thing to remember for ice skating is to tie your skates as tight as possible. We generally give students recreation skates (similar to a figure skate but with a stiffer boot) because these skates are much easier to tie. Muskegon Luge staff will be able to help tie skates for students but it's also great to have the help of teachers and chaperones, especially with younger students.
Students should be prepared to tell staff their shoe size so they can wear a skate that fits them properly. Loose fitting skates will lead to a poor skating experience. Oftentimes, kids…. especially adolescent boys…. will want to inflate their actual shoe size. Please explain the importance of wearing the appropriate size equipment.
To aid students in skating we have trainer bars rinkside for students to use. Students can push the trainer bar in front of them to help stabilize themselves on the ice.
Cross-Country Skiing
Cross-country skiing is the most strenuous activity we offer and therefore may require some extra motivation from teachers and chaperones. Muskegon Luge staff will provide group ski instruction which will show the students how to use the equipment and general technique of cross-country skiing.
Students will wear our cross-country ski boots with bindings that attach to the skis. It is important that students get appropriately sized boots so they can ski comfortably. Ski boots come in European sizes. Your students should know their U.S. shoe size so they can tell our staff who will convert that size into the European size and get them the correct boot.
Snowshoeing
Snowshoeing is a form of hiking. Snowshoes are strapped on overtop of your regular winter boots. Snowshoes displace your weight over a larger surface area so you can trek through heavy snow more easily. They also have a cleat on the bottom to help with traction on icy terrain.
Our snowshoes come in a few general sizes. Our staff will match up the appropriate shoe with the student based on their body size. Students do not need to know their shoe size for this.
Our staff will guide your students on a snowshoe hike, typically to Lake Michigan, where they can see the icebergs forming on the lake. Your snowshoe guide will also point out interesting natural features like the sand dunes, wildlife and any other points of interest encountered along the way.
Ice Luge
Luge is our most unique winter offering. In fact, there are only four luge tracks in the entire country and our track is the only place in the country where students can try the sport as part of a field trip.
Our luge track is 650 feet in length with four banked curves that students will slide through. Our staff will train each student on how to position their body on the sled, how to steer the sled and how to stop. Students will reach top speeds of about 30 mph.
Each student will be outfitted with a helmet, forearm pads and a luge sled. These items are inspected daily by Muskegon Luge staff.
Parents and teachers should be aware that there is an element of risk in the sport of luge. Actually, there is some level of risk in all of our activities, but because of the speed involved in luging the risk of more serious injury is greater. Although rare, especially with child-sized participants, some participants have occasionally been injured on our track. The most common injuries we see are minor bruises and lacerations. The most serious injuries have been broken bones. When students follow all instructions provided by staff and wear the provided safety equipment, the risk of injury is greatly reduced. All of our luge staff have received extensive training in how to teach students how to luge successfully and avoid injury. Staff has also been trained on how to effectively handle medical emergencies on the luge track.
Luge Waiver & Size Requirements
All luge participants must meet our minimum weight and height requirements of 65 lbs. And 48 inches tall. Luge participants must also have a waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian. Our waiver and insurance are provided by USA Luge, the National governing body of the sport of luge. Teachers will be assigned waivers at the time they place their reservation for a field trip. Waivers can be emailed to parents and signed digitally. Muskegon Luge staff will assist with managing waivers prior to your visit.
Accessibility And Adaptive Sports
At Muskegon Luge we strive for universal accessibility for all of our visitors. This means that absolutely anyone can access our entire facility and offerings regardless of disability. We have incorporated adaptations to each of our activities that make it possible for people with disabilities to participate. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but rather, a process of discovery where we work with participants (and their parents and teachers) to figure out how to address their needs.
If you have a student with a disability we welcome you to discuss this with our staff prior to your visit. Our staff will work with you to come up with a solution that will allow them to have as great of experience as their peers.
Plan Ahead
Weather Conditions And Cancellation
All of our activities in the winter time are completely dependent on natural snow and consistent temperatures below freezing. Our staff monitors weather on an hourly basis. In the event of warm ups or a lack of snow, we are occasionally forced to cancel or postpone field trip reservations. If weather does not allow us to carry out our operations at the time of your visit our staff will contact you with as much advance notice as possible to help you plan accordingly.
Check Current ConditionsGet Prepared
Videos To Share
Show these to your students before the trip so they know exactly what to expect once they arrive.
Ice Skating 101
Snowshoeing 101
Cross-Country Skiing 101
Luge 101
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Plan Your Field Trip
Get your students ready for a day of winter adventure at Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park.
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