Julie Fredrics of Apple Valley gives her son Brett, 4, a push on a kicksled at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. "This is the first time we've tried these; they're a good workout," she said. (BEN GARVIN, Pioneer Press)

We have an 8-year-old who wants to careen down hills on skis and a toddler who can barely walk in her overstuffed snowsuit. So, we were delighted to finally discover a winter activity the entire family can enjoy together - kicksledding.

Kicksleds look like miniature dog sleds with skinny runners that extend a few feet behind a low seat. They require less skill than skis or skates and go a heck of a lot faster than snowshoes, which makes them perfect for little kids.

My two boys spent an hour and a half on a recent Sunday afternoon pushing two maple kick sleds around an icy plowed track on Schulze Lake at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. There, you can rent kicksleds by the hour.

My husband dubbed the sled an Inuit jogging stroller, though a more apt name would be a Lapland stroller, since the kicksled originated in Scandinavia. They are still used today in small towns in Sweden, Norway and Finland where sidewalks and side streets are not plowed bare, sanded or salted, but instead left covered with a layer of packed snow. People use them in place of a stroller or bicycle to transport everything from babies to the weekly groceries. Ice anglers use them to cart equipment to their fishing holes and couriers have used them to deliver mail on the frozen waters of the Finnish archipelago.

Racing also has become popular in Scandinavia in the past couple of decades; lightweight kicksleds with steel runners can get up to 25 miles an hour on ice tracks.

We weren't

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approaching those speeds on Schulze Lake. But we had a blast.

"This is more of a hit than I thought they would be," said my 8-year-old as he ran panting behind his sled and then jumped on the runners to glide for 15 yards. The brothers raced each other. The grownups raced each other. We pushed the toddler. The toddler tried to push one. We learned the best way to sustain speed is to stand with one leg on a runner and kick with your other leg, as if you're riding a scooter.

Lebanon Hills purchased 10 kicksleds three years ago from Country Ways, a Minneapolis company that imports them from Quebec, Canada. With their maple frames and woven rawhide back, they look more like dog sleds than some of the sleek racing models you can also find online.

Lebanon Hills staff wanted to provide a recreation option for those winters when we had hardly any snow. Unlike snowshoes and skis, which the park also rents, kicksleds can be used on the ice.

At first, people didn't know what to make of them, but they're catching on.

"They're great for families with toddlers who aren't able to ice skate yet," said Katie Hoeschen, the park visitor center coordinator. "This way, everybody can still skate together. And the kids just love having a kid-sized sled."

Three other families had taken sleds out on the ice the day we were there, including a mom and grandmother who were taking a brisk walk around the lake accompanied by a 5-year-old on a kicksled and a teenage boy who was getting pulled on his sled by his dog.

Gary and Larissa Rudashevsky had propped their 18-month-old daughter, Ella, in the seat under a blanket where she sat complacently with her arms jutting straight out from her sides as her father pushed her around the lake. They had come the day before to snowshoe and had tried pulling Ella behind them in a conventional sled, but she didn't like it.

"I think this is more stable and more fun for her," said Larissa Rudashevsky, who was skating alongside the sled.

"And for me, this is perfect," said Gary Rudashevsky. "This is great exercise."

Maja Beckstrom can be reached at mbeckstrom@pioneerpress. com or 651-228-5295.

FAMILY OUTINGS THE SCOOP

What: Kicksled rentals

When: Rentals available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays (last rentals out at 4 p.m.)

Where: Lebanon Hills Visitors Center, 860 Cliff Road, Eagan

Cost: $5 per hour

Information: 651-554-6530

Target audience: All ages, especially good for groups with young kids

Avoid: Not getting a sled. Call ahead to see if it's busy.

Crowd pleaser: Racing around the lake

Tip: Check out what else Lebanon Hills has to offer. Rent snowshoes ($5 for adults and $3 for kids per hour) or skis, boots and poles ($7 for adults and $5). Stop in the visitor center for hot cocoa and other drinks, board games, nature displays and a toddler play area.

Learn more about kicksledding at potku.fi/kepopas/kepopas_eng.htm