The dump of snow this week is likely welcomed by cross-country ski clubs in Greater Sudbury, and the many skiers who have been frustrated by the on-again, off-again winter weather we’ve been experiencing.
And even when the trails have been open, the lack of snowfall and the frequent days of above-zero temperatures aren’t exactly conducive to good trail maintenance.
“Challenging and stressful,” is how Sarah Pilbacka, the operations manager at Walden Cross Country, describes this season.
She described the conditions over the past few weeks as “late March conditions in January.”
“The trails aren’t in great condition — they’re skiable but it’s a lot of icy corn snow,” Pilbacka said.
Fortunately, she said Walden’s experience trail groomers have been “making the best of a bad situation” and shovelling snow onto the lower trails at the club and grooming them when the weather has been cold enough. Unfortunately, the upper trails at the club haven’t been usable.
Still, despite the weather, Walden only lost four skiing days so far. And this latest dumping of snow means, at least, that the Walden Cross Country Ski Loppet can go ahead as planned on Feb. 20.
If you’re looking for cross-country skiing opportunities, Greater Sudbury is a pretty good place to be. Below, see a list of local trails and clubs. Check local conditions before heading out.
Bio Ski Cross-Country Ski & Snowshoe Club
- 2420 South Bay Road, Sudbury
- 17 km of ski trails, 10 km of snowshoe trails.
- Rentals available at the adjacent Nordic Ski Club.
- laurentiannordic.com/memberships-rates/day-passes-and-rentals/
Capreol Cross Country Ski Club
- 99 Lakeshore St. Capreol
- 32 km of ski trails
- Rentals? Rentals available on site.
- www.facebook.com/pg/Capreol-Cross-Country-Ski-Club-826233580756053/services/
Laurentian Nordic Ski Club
- 935 Ramsey Lake Road, Sudbury
- 9 km of ski trails
- Rentals available on site.
- laurentiannordic.com/memberships-rates/day-passes-and-rentals/
Kivi Park
- 4472 Long Lake Rd., Sudbury
- 35 km of ski trails.
- Rentals available on site.
- kivipark.com/passes-rentals/rentals.php
Onaping Falls Nordic Ski Club
- Old Cartier Rd., Onaping
- 15 km of ski trails, 4 km of snowshoe trails
- Rentals available on site.
- www.onapingfallsnordics.com/
Walden Cross Country Ski Club
- 1 Denis Ave., Walden
- 23 km of ski trails, 10 km of snowshoe trails.
- Rentals available on site.
- https://www.waldenxc.ca/rentalsandfeeswaldenxc.ca/fees-rentals/
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