I’ve enjoyed skiing at resorts and touring centers, but dislike having to drive a long distance for it. Having lived in a resort town for a time I remember chafing at the limited scope and ceiling of work and careers for year-round residents. And the traffic during holiday and vacation weeks.

One foundational idea for this blog is that the best places to ski XC are those that are ‘out your backdoor’. It’s somewhat aligned with the idea behind the website of the same name, but where that site’s ethos is rooted in a semi-rural vibe, this one’s is NYC metro-centric. Regardless, logistical barriers of travel and cost have often been cited as a drag on efforts to increase awareness and participation in snow sports.

Efforts at lowering the threshold through specific youth programs can be seen in snowsports and ‘silent sports’- see Winter4kids, and Arshay Cooper’s book A Most Beautiful Thing. The real game-change would be everyday skiing for everybody, and that means:

• Put the skiing close to where people live.
• Let people try before they buy.
• Access to the venue without a large cost or commitment.

Addressing cultural or generational gaps to bridge new people into the sport is going to take a ‘this and everything else’ approach, with a lot of consideration for specifics of each locality. But the occasions I went skiing in Europe and Norway made it clear there are resources at the municipal or county level that can ease access to XC ski trailheads. The US will never be like Europe, but we can look to some examples on this continent.

Existing models: criteria for comparison

For the sake of setting a threshold, let’s take one hour as the goal to get to a trailhead from a population center. A short walk from transit to trailhead is important. The mass transit option is key.

No question about it, you have to live in specific places around North America to meet even one criterion, but a few cities have XC trails in or very close to the downtown. From a Reddit thread I noted a list of places and added some that I know of. For convenience, the start point for the purpose of mass transit routing and time was wherever Google Maps put the placemarker of the city . The three main criteria were:

• Groomed cross-country trails or touring center accessible via mass transit from city center, and near enough to downtown that the time required is less than an hour.
• Simple trip to the trail or touring center, and the walk from the transit stop is short (<15min).
• Rentals at trail or touring center.

3 for 3- cities where you don’t need to own a car or skis to go skiing

Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN (see Minneapolis Parks and Recand St. Paul city website, or the Twin Cities Outdoors blog). There is possibly no urban area better suited climatically, topographically, and temperamentally to winter outdoor sports than the Twin Cities. The mass trransit system of the Twin Cities is really good, and the area’s full of people who love skiing. The first World Cup XC ski races in the US since 2001 will be held at Theodore Wirth Park in 2024, and tickets sold out within hours of going online for sale.
Transit directions for: Theodore Wirth Park, Hiawatha Golf Course, Battle Creek Regional Park West, Como Park Ski Center.

Montreal, QC, Canda (see Montreal city website). Montreal has several parks within the city with groomed ski trails, including the reknowned Parc du Mont-Royal that rises aove the downtown. Multiple parks also rent skis. The city itself is worth a trip even if you don’t ski.

Park City, UT (see mountaintrails.org). With a population of just over 8,000, Park City isn’t large but has a pretty compact downtown and there’s a touring center that’s so close to the center of town it’s in walking distance. There are free cross-country trails sind around the hills surrounding the valley. Seems worth a trip sometime.
Transit directions for: White Pine Touring Center, Round Valley trails via Quinn’s Junction trailhead, Round Valley Way/Sunny Slopes trailhead.

Ottawa ON, Canada (see Ottawa tourism site and the National Capital Commission website). Ottawa is a short drive from Gatineau Park, a popular area for cross-country skiing, but apparently did not have an urban ski trail until 2016. A recent article tells the story of a retiree who began grooming a cross-country ski trail in Ottawa, and how the idea blossomed into an organization with grooming machinery and staff. The Kichi Sibi Winter Trail links downtown with some transit stops, so it’s possible to use it as part of a commute. Imagine that.
There are other facilities with rentals and trails in the citty that are accessible by mass transit, but wouldn’t you. know it- Kanata Nordic ski club meets at one that requires a long walk after getting off the bus.
Transit directions for: Mooney’s Bay Ski Centre (Terry Fox Athletic Facility), Wesley Clover Parks.

2 for 3- need to have a car or skis

Quebec QC, Canada (see Quebec city tourism site). Squeaks in to the category becaus the Plains of Abraham and its World Cup trails are in the heart of downtown. However it’s the only place acceessible my mass transit. Several great parks are a short drive from the city, but there’s no mass transit option to get to them. Does not appear to have rentals at the park.

Duluth, MN (see Duluth city website). I’ve heard nice things about Duluth and its placement on the shore of Lake Superior, but a post on the Reddit thread makes me think it’s also worth checking out for the skiing. Trails are in the city, but it takes a good while to get there by bus and the walk at the end can be long. (Update 3/22/24: Spirit Mountain Nordic Center kicks Duluth up to 2 of 3, as a bus stops right there)
Transit directions for: Piedmont trails, Chester ski area, Hartley park trails, Spirit Mountain Nordic Center.

1 for 3

Buffalo, NY (see Erie Country website) For whatever reason, Buffalo doesn’t have a dedicated vaolunteer grooming effort. Several county parks groom when there’s enough snow (which in Buffalo can be a lot), but only a couple are accessible via mass transit from the city, and it takes a while to get there. And as one more negative, the one BKSL club meets at one of the parks for which there’s no mass transit option.
Transit directions for Ellicott Creek, Grover Cleveland Golf Course,

Near-miss

Boston, MA. No trails in the city. Leo J. Martin (Weston) ski track has a lengthy walk at the end of the T, and Great Brook Farm Park can’t be accessed via any mass transit. 
Transit directions for: Leo J. Martin Skitrack.

Edmonton AB, Canada (see Edmonton parks site). While there are parks with trails within the city, they are at some distance from a downtown, and the city itself seems to sprawl, which tends to lengthen transit rides. Lengthy ride on bus and 15-20 minute walk at the end.
Transit directions for: Goldstck park, Gold Bar park.

Fail

Anchorage, AK (see Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage). There’s probably no urban place in the US that lives closer to winter and the wild than Anchrage, but the ski trails are outside the city and there’s no mass transit possibility. Because real wilderness people drive themselves or pay for the privilege of a bush pilot.

Rochester, NY (see Rochester XC Ski Foundation site). The local XC ski club grooms trails at several parks outside the city, but there’s no mass transit option to get to any of them.

Most of the above rely on municipal or state funding to maintain and groom trails, but some have help or participation by nonprofits, clubs, or volunteers. Even a list like of the best cross-country ski resorts by US News, includes some that are parks or run by a nonprofit organization.

Takeaways

Are there lessons from the above? How about these for a start:

1. Club and/or non-governmental/non-profit involvement provides crucial sustained interest and support, but it’s better in partnership with municipal or county government. WIth more of that Rochester could be XC ski heaven,
2. Well-defined boundaries between developed and undeveloped areas allows outdoor spaces and trailheads to be close to downtown, adding a positive in economics and esthetics, as Park City may show.
3. Municipal support is decisive if there’s citizen commitment, as shown by the Twin Cities, Montreal, and Ottawa. That New York City hasn’t scheduled a Winterjam for 2024 shows a lack of both.
4. Th eimpact of land-use governance by local or regional planning agencies must be factored in for success or failure. See the article about the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail in Ottawa.