XC Skiing - Partridge Run Wildlife Management Area

Having pre-skied Cole Hill State Forest yesterday and not liking the conditions there for a Saturday ski trip I'm leading, I went to Partridge Run today to see if things were any better there. It's slightly to the west of Cole Hill (see map below), but more importantly, it's about 500 feet higher in elevation, and also has designated ski trails. Computer snow models showed substantially more snow depth there, but I needed to see the reality for myself.

As I reached the parking area on High Point Road, there was indeed noticeably more snow here. The access trail from this lot had been bare-booted and was a little rough, but once I hit the main ski loop, things improved immeasurably. Snowshoers had courteously packed their trail to one side of the ski tracks, and the ski tracks were pretty good. There was one short stretch where bare ground and running water appeared in patches, but they were easily bypassed. The snow was moist and slow, so the downhills were very controllable. All of last year's ice storm damage had been cleared from the trails, and it was in pretty good shape.

I skied the 4.7-mile loop shown below counterclockwise in about an hour and a half. There's one stretch on an unplowed road that may include snowmobile traffic on the weekend, but it's wide and there's room for everyone. It's also a sweet downhill run. We'll be going to Partridge Run tomorrow instead of Cole Hill, but the bottom line is that we desperately need more snow. Even places like this will begin to wear thin very soon.