XC Skiing - Woods Hollow Nature Preserve

After 15-20" of local snow in the past few days, getting out today was a must, despite the cold temps and biting winds. We settled on Woods Hollow, a small nature preserve north of Ballston Spa, managed by the Town of Milton.

We skied along the old Ballston Spa reservoir on a nature trail, then up into some pine plantations with very wide trails. It's a popular place for walking in all seasons, and ski tracks don't last very long here.



From there, we continued along the back of the preserve, and set out on the Green Loop (see map), a much less used trail by walkers, and a little backcountry-ish in its skiing feel. On the way back to the car, I couldn't resist going down the biggest available hill, and would have had a good ride had my binding not snagged a hidden downed branch, sending me head over heels.

We were out for about an hour and the skiing was excellent. We're considering someplace a little more exotic for tomorrow.