A tribute to my "backyard" ski trail

Season ending thoughts about a cherished place.

Mar 17, 2024

A crazy winter compels me to reminisce about my favorite local trail.

Winter never really arrived this year. We had some mediocre spurts of wintry weather that fizzled and the snow melted into an icy slush. I kept wishing for a true nor’easter with a dump of 3 to 4 feet that would remain until April. When we did get some snow, I felt the urge to drop everything and “chase the snow.” I have been chasing the snow all over in the past few years. Although winters like this are frustrating, it has taught me to live more in the moment and enjoy each and every ski I can get in.

Greenwood Park - a hidden local gem easy to chase to

Every year, I pray for enough local snow to enable Greenwood Park to open for cross country skiing. Located just 30 minutes from my house, the staff at Greenwood maintain an established network of ski trails. In the winter, the trails are groomed. Greenwood offers rental equipment and a quaint warming lodge.

Since the Park is off the beaten path and not widely known for cross country skiing, it does not attract a lot of skiers. In fact, most times I go, I see less than five other skiers or I am the only one skiing. What more can I ask for? Well, maybe just enough snow every winter to keep the trails at Greenwood open more.

Catching up with old friends

On those rare days when I do run into other skiers, most likely it is someone I know. On this day, I skied up to Paul, who I haven’t seen in over 5 years. He was wearing a fleece top with a “Tug Hill Tourathon” badge. Paul and I are long-time Tug Hill Tourathon finishers - a cross country ski event held annually (when there is snow) in the Winona State Forest on the Tug Hill plateau. In the past, both of us have used the trails at Greenwood for Tug Hill preparation. Today, we reminisce about past Tourathon events when the “lake effect” snow swept onto the plateau and dumped feet of snow for days. Those were the good ole times.

The Lake Trail - an excellent warm-up loop

Every year, I look forward to my first glide on the Lake Trail which takes me around Greenwood Lake. The Lake Trail is a loop trail and I like to go in both directions - each way has climbing and fun downhills. My favorite direction is clockwise - starting with a glide across the dam where I can soak in the views across the lake. As I pass the end of the dam, I head right and climb up the hilly trail into the woods. With enough snow on the trails, I usually ski up the hill without using the herringbone technique. The herringbone technique is when you spread your skis out in front in a V-shape and slide forward on each stride to ascend the hill.

After a short climb up from the lake, I arrive at the top of the ridge of the Lake Trail. Here, the trail widens and levels out nicely. I stop to soak in the views across the lake. A perfect place to listen to the sounds of the forest and soak in the solitude. I feel blessed and savor the moment.

After gliding some more on the ridge, I come to the biggest downhill on the Lake Trail. With enough snow, I can easily fly down the hill without any brakes. At the bottom of the hill, the trail flattens out and follows the shoreline back to where I started. A nice warm-up loop.

In December 2020, we received almost 4 feet of snow in 24 hours. I headed out to Greenwood as soon as the roads cleared and the trails were packed. I was in snow heaven that year.

The outer loop - steeper climbing to the upper ridges

When the snow is good and my ski muscles are warmed up for the season, I like to ski the entire outer loop (clockwise direction) of Greenwood. This loop usually takes me about 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete, depending on how I feel.

Starting at the dam, I head left and climb the Evergreen Trail. The trail is steep enough to require a herringbone the entire way up accompanied by a lot of huffing and puffing. At the top of the Evergreen Trail, I stop to catch my breath. I make a sharp left turn on the Pine Ridge Trail and continue to climb up even more until I reach another steep turn to the right. Finally, I am at the top of the Park’s outer ridge. I stop again to catch my breath and soak in a canopy of tall pine trees. I remind myself that the rest of the outer loop is mostly downhill from here.

I ski effortlessly along the Pine Ridge Trail and reach the rolling Woodland Trail - a popular trail for those skiers who seek it out. Most of the time, I am alone.

In all my years of skiing at Greenwood, I rarely see another skier on top of the Pine Ridge Trail.

After a sharp left turn onto the Outer Loop Trail, I gingerly navigate a long downhill trail. If the snow is not deep enough, this trail can be treacherous and not easy to ski down because it is narrow. Once I arrive at the bottom, I ski across a wooden bridge with views of a snowy marsh on my left. I stop to rest for a few minutes at a trail intersection for hydration and fuel before I continue on to finish the rest of the Outer Loop Trail.

The Outer Loop Trail provides a diversity of terrain for an excellent endurance workout.

A forestry management project at Greenwood

During the winter of 2023 - 2024, many pine trees were harvested and removed. I am not sure why but I think it may be for safety reasons. The trees had grown very tall and were situated near the picnic and swimming areas. Also, a ski trail went right though the middle of the tree plantation area. Hopefully, when the project is completed, the ski trail can be restored.