XC Skiing - Lapland Lake XC Center

We don't normally ski at commercial cross-country centers, because there are usually enough free places nearby that we don't need either the drive or the expense. But when the local snow is icy and basically sucks, there's nothing like the groomed trails at a center, even at a price.

Lapland Lake is northwest of Northville, in the southern Adirondacks. It gets much more snow than we do in the local area, and it's also well-known for the best groomed trails anywhere nearby, if 90 minutes by car can be considered nearby. For the $18/head price tag, you really do get your money's worth.



We headed out on one of our favorite trails, the one that includes three double-black-diamond loops.



These aren't normally as serious as they're rated, especially compared to others we've been on at other ski centers. But today, the powdery surface also included just enough crunchy stuff to make the downhills really fast, and even challenging in spots. We had no mishaps, so I guess we must be "experts". Naahhh...

I always ski faster at this kind of place, mostly just because I can. With well-groomed tracks, I can really get the motion going and get a good workout. Then every once in a while, I stop and wait... :-) The end result is that I get pretty tired after a couple hours of this intensity level.

We had an excellent lunch in the snack bar, then went out and hit one more black trail before heading home. It was a good day. Tonight and tomorrow, we get more local ice, but maybe some real snow over the weekend. It's been a frustrating winter so far.