Fast and Firm – Local XC Ski Areas Keep It Rolling

By Alex Kochon

While it hasn’t been a skier’s ideal winter in northeastern New York, we’ll take what we can get. January saw a few decent storms bring several inches of snow, followed by a cold snap in early February that helped it stick around.

Cross-country ski centers across the region have been grooming the same snow for weeks, balancing the fine line between preserving old snow and creating the best ski conditions. It’s a little like making lemonade out of lemons.

The good news is, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, signaling six more weeks of winter – so we’ve got time for more snowfall – and local Nordic ski areas are generally operating at full tilt with most of their terrain open.

Up in Lake Placid, the newly opened Scotts Cobble Nordic Center is open seven days a week with 10 to 20 kilometers of trails track set and groomed for classic or skating. 

“Lights are up; night skiing is awesome,” said Brian Delaney, who came up with the idea to resurrect the Scotts Cobble ski center in the town of North Elba with his wife, Karen. 

The Delaneys own High Peaks Cyclery and have turned Scotts Cobble into a fully featured local hotspot, complete with a rental shop offering skis, snowshoes, and fat bikes, a heated lodge with restrooms and showers, and a part-time restaurant.

The trails are free for local residents and have already attracted vast numbers of children for afterschool programs. According to the Lake Placid News, over 100 kids ages 2 to 17 skied at Scotts Cobble on a Friday in late January, with several dozen volunteers providing hot chocolate, teaching them to ski, helping with equipment, and watching over the bonfire.

Wednesdays are Wing Night at Scott Cobble, with wings and beverages from the restaurant and a roughly one-hour wax clinic. Supporter pins are available for purchase at the lodge or High Peaks Cyclery, with a suggested donation of $20 or more to support the trails and receive a free day of skiing: scottscobblenordic.com.

If groomed trails aren’t your thing, backcountry skiing and alpine touring can be accessed on the adjacent Jackrabbit Trail, maintained by the Barkeater Trails Alliance: betatrails.org.

Just east of Scotts Cobble off Route 73, Mt. Van Hoevenberg had 50 kilometers of groomed trails for classic and skate skiers, with 41 of 49 trails open for skiing as of Feb. 8. In the last month, Van Ho hosted Nordic skiing and biathlon events for the World University Games and Empire State Winter Games, the Lake Placid Loppet is coming up on Feb. 26: mtvanhoevenberg.com.

In Saranac Lake, the Dewey Mountain Recreation Center reported having track set on most of its lower mountain trails, and its groomed upper-mountain trails open with good cover as well. Dewey offers groomed and ungroomed trails, lighted night skiing, ski/snowshoe rentals for all skill levels, and skiing is only $5 per day. deweymountain.com.

As of Feb. 6, the Lapland Lake XC Ski & Snowshoe Center in Northville reported about 30 kilometers of trails groomed for classic and skate skiers with “nice classic track and corduroy.” Lapland Lake has family-friendly lodging on site, a full-service ski shop with sales/rentals, 12K of wilderness snowshoe trails, and a junior tubing hill: laplandlake.com.

The Pineridge Cross Country Ski Area in East Poestenkill offers 35K of groomed trails with 10K for skate skiing, plus 15K for snowshoeing and 5K for backcountry skiing. Pineridge was closed on Feb. 8 following rain the night before but they are looking forward to reopening soon for some nice mid-winter and spring skiing: pineridgexc.com.

You can’t beat daily groomed trails at the above full-service ski centers, a few areas offer free or close-to-free skiing. Brookhaven Winter Park in Greenfield has seen a lot of action over the last month, with nearly 120 women coming out for the first annual New York State Ski Racing Association Nordic Women’s Day on Jan. 28: nyssranordic.org. Brookhaven offers 7.5 miles of ski trails, 2.7 miles of snowshoe trails, weekly races, learn-to-ski programming, and a restaurant/bar. As of Feb. 7, the trails are open but check for conditions: facebook.com/brookhavenski.

Cole’s Woods in Glens Falls offers 5K of free groomed trails and night skiing for skiers of all ski levels: friendsofcoleswoods.org. Fern Park in Inlet offers free ski and snowshoe trails and night skiing for the whole family: inletny.com.

The ADK Cascade Welcome Center in Lake Placid has all 12 miles of their trails open for skiing and snowshoeing. They’re free for Adirondack Mountain Club members or $15 for an adult day pass with rentals available: adk.org/cascade-welcome-center. In Old Forge, the McCauley Mountain Ski Area reported 10K of track set and 20K groomed for skating with a day-pass rate of just $5 per person: mccauleyny.com.

For those of you up for a test of will and speed – or for a fun challenge! – Mt. Van Hoevenberg is hosting the Lake Placid Loppet, a series of classic and skate races on Saturday, Feb. 26. Headlining the event is the historic 50K Loppet on a slightly modified version of the 1980 Winter Olympic course, making it one of the most challenging citizen races in the world – with 1,120 meters of climbing. If you’re up for one lap rather than two on that course, the 25K Kort Loppet is another long-distance option that morning – with 560 meters of elevation gain. 

If you’d like to do the Loppet on a shorter, flatter course, they have 12.5K, 6.25K and 3K Citizen’s Races in early afternoon – and all ages and abilities are welcome! A post-race celebration follows, with live music and a BBQ: mtvanhoevenberg.com.

Several other Nordic ski races and recreational gatherings are on the docket this month, including the Winona Forest Tourathon with 12.5K, 25K and 50K classic on Feb. 25 in Mannsville; Glenville Hills Classic 10K on Feb. 12 in Glenville; Shenendehowa Nordic Classic 4.5K & 7.5K in Hadley on Feb. 18; Great Sacandaga Mini-Marathon on Feb. 19 in Hadley; and Mid-Atlantic Bill Koch Youth Ski League Festival from Feb. 24-26 in Old Forge. Most are sponsored by NYSSRA Nordic: nyssranordic.org. These events welcome all ages and abilities, from novice to expert, for fun, fitness and camaraderie: skireg.com.

Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) of Gansevoort is a freelance writer, editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two who enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks. An avid XC skier, Alex has reported on World Cup and Olympic skiing, and continues to share her passion as a sales and content contributor for curated.com.