XC Skiing - Woodford State Park, VT

After this past week, we have ugly grey snow that you can walk on top of, and lots of grass showing through. We had planned a snowshoe outing today, somewhere farther north on better snow, but then I heard the news. The higher elevations of the Green Mountains in southern Vermont got 8-10" of new snow as we were getting rain in the valley. And since Woodford State Park is only a little over an hour away, we changed plans and went skiing instead. And it was the right decision!



The new snow amounts were a little less than expected, maybe 6", but this was on top of a very deep and firm base. The backcountry trail around the reservoir had been skied by someone who started out counter-clockwise, but turned around and returned the same way. Breaking trail beyond that point was no problem at all.



The woods were beautiful, and the skiing was some of the best we've had anywhere this year. We especially enjoyed some of the snowy tunnels through the pines along the western side of the reservoir.



Reaching the campground on the eastern side of the reservoir, we skied out on the campground road. No motor vehicles are allowed in the park in winter, so the roads are unplowed and very nice to ski on. We met several other groups coming in as we headed out, on a splendid sunny Vermont afternoon.