It's been a rough winter for snow-lovers like me. There have been few opportunities to ski or play in the snow. In DC we had snow a couple of times, but never as much as even an inch, and it all melted almost immediately. When we visited Michigan at Christmas this year, we could not even find sufficient snow for skiing in Cadillac, normally a great place to ski. We cancelled our annual trip to Lake Placid because of weak snow conditions (they had some, but it was icy and the temperatures were forecast to be above freezing all weekend). We did get out to Canaan Valley for one of the few weekends with good conditions, so I was greateful for that.In this spirit of wishing for a better snow season in 2013, I decided to compile a list of my favorite places for cross country skiing. Later I plan to do a post on places where I would like to ski, in the spririt of my "top 10 places where I would like to backpack" list.
So here's the list, in countdown format:
Runner-up status go to McKenzie ski trails in Michigan and Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia
10. Cadillac Pathway is a trail system just outside the city of Cadillac, less than 2 hours from where my parents live in Michigan. I have only skiied there a few times, but on our most recent visit we experienced excellent conditions, with fresh powder and great gliding through forested, moderately challenging trails.
9. New Germany State Park is in western Maryland, in the mountains of Garrett County. This region rises significantly from the east to nearly 3000 feet, and gets substantial winter snows. The state park has an nice compact system of trails, with some fun downhills and a very scenic stretch through hemlock forest, paralleling a creek. There is a small warming hut with rentals and light food during busy times as well. It's one of my favorite places for a quick trip when conditions are good.
8. Fahnestock State Park is in the Hudson Valley region of New York, only about an hour north of New York City. We have skiied here a couple of times on the way up to the Lake Placid area. They have a nice network of trails through woods, as well as some that go over a frozen lake. The area is highly scenic, and features a mountainous ridge along which the Appalachian Trail travels.
7. Susquehannock State Forest is in north-central Pennsylvania, in one of the least-populated regions of the eastern US. It is heavily-forested and mountainous. I have skied here multiple times with the Wilmington Trail Club. Our excursions usually featured skiing along the Susqhehannock Trail, a long-distance hiking trail that makes a ~80 mile loop through the forest. None of this area is groomed, so the skiing can be challenging if the snow is deep or icy. But in good conditions it's a great place to ski, with scenic and lightly-travelled trails. The image above right is from the Susquehannock Trail in 2007. Also nearby is the Pine Creek Gorge, which features a rail-trail through the bottom of a scenic canyon.
6. Lapland Lake cross country ski area is northwest of Albany, in the southern section of the Adirondacks. The is a groomed ski resort with many miles of fun trails, and an opportunity to ski fast. There are some steep hills that are quite ski-able because of the groomed conditions. Trails wind through hardwood and hemlock forest and along the edge of a large lake. Also nearby is backcountry skiing on the Northville-Lake Placid trail. We have skiied here numerous times with the Wilmington Trail Club.
5. Winona State Forest in upstate New York. This area is a lot like Big M, with a trail system through forested land on varied terrain, in an area with low population density. The trails are groomed by local volunteers. Winona lies in the Tug Hill Plateau snow belt, in the area north of Syracuse, between Lake Ontario and the Adirondacks. Thus it gets buried in snow every winter and conditions are usually quite good. I skiied there several times with groups from the Wilmington Trail Club in Delaware, though not recently. On one memorable ocassion, the snow was coming down so hard that our cars were stuck in the parking lot after we came back from skiing! This trail system does not benefit from any warming huts or day lodges, so trail lunches are brief to prevent freezing fingers!
4. Big M in Michigan. This area is part of the Manistee National Forest, north of my parents house, between Ludington and Cadillac. It's in the middle of nowhere and thus is rarely crowded - I don't think we have seen more than 10 cars in the parking lot. They have a warming hut with a wood stove, which is nice for breaks between loops. The trail system is scenic and has some moderately-challenging sections with some nice hills. Most trails run through secondary-growth woods with moderate-to large sized trees. Volunteers groom the trails when snow depth is sufficient. One of my best memories from Big M was a couple of years ago when several of us were skiing there as snow drifted down out of the ski and we glided through silent woods.
3. High Peaks/Adirondack Loj. The High Peaks region of the Adirondacks has been a magnet for
both summer and winter backcountry travel for many years. When I was a student at RPI I spent making weekends hiking in these mountains. In recent years we have visited in the winter, and I have enjoyed exploring the mountains during winter conditions. The Adirondack Loj (so-named 100 years ago as a result of a "spelling reform" movement) is the base of operations for trips into the wilderness. The snow is deep and the scenery outstanding in most winters. We have skiied and snow-shoed in this area. The High Peaks would rank #1 on this list for scenic value. The photos at right is from one of the trails near the Loj in 2011.2. Whitegrass is a ski resort in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia. This area feat
ures the unusual combination of groomed trails, backcountry loops, and serious hills in one compact area. There are miles of groomed trails ascending over 1000 feet from the valley floor to the top of Bald Knob and the nearby high plateau wilderness area known as Dolly Sods. It's great fun to ski through hemlocks and red spruce in the backcountry regions at the top of the hill, and to cruise down the return trails to the bottom, especially the gradual downhill trail called Powderline. We visit this area 1-2 times per winter, since it's relatively close by. Whitegrass is pictured here.1. Mount Van Hoevenberg and the Jackrabbit Trail. The Lake Placid region is fantastic for skiing, and these two areas combine to form my top ski destination. Mount Van was the olympic ski venue in 1980, and continues to be managed withe a great network of groomed trails - some are easy routes that amble along creeks or through snowy woods, while others have challenging hills and curves. The groomed trail center is connected to several other skiing areas by way of the ~40 mile long Jackrabbit Trail. When we have stayed in the area in the past, we have been close to this trail, which crosses a combination of groomed and backcountry stretches on the way to Mount Van. It's a fantastic place to ski.
Well, that's it for my top-10 list. Later I will post a wish list of places where I would like to ski - with destinations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and various western National Parks topping the list.
