Here is a small poison ivy shrub that is mostly covered by snow.

In a situation like this, it is VERY hard to spot that this is poison ivy during the winter. Poison ivy shrubs don’t have the reddish hairy roots that the climbing vine has. So there is nothing that screams out POISON IVY. 

If it wasn’t for the fact that this shrub is under the powerlines near my house – and I see it all spring, summer, and fall – I would probably not know it is poison ivy. The dead stalks of poison ivy shrubs have nothing very distinctive about them. So if you see stalks like this in winter, might be best to assume it IS poison ivy and not mess with it.

Of course, if you happen to have a handy SeeLeaf poison ivy test kit with you, you can check it.