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Here's some places we know with gentle trails from the base lodge,
equipment rentals, and ski lessons:
-
Fahnestock Winter Park -- flat
trails starting right next to the parking lot and ski rental
area. Lots more flat terrain when the lake trails are open for
skiing.
-
High Point Cross Country Ski Center
(New Jersey) -- lots of beginner terrain provided that the lake is
well-frozen and there's enough snow to cover its eastern edge.
When there's no snow nearby, some places further north with lessons and
rentals are:
-
Prospect
Mountain -- gentle-to-moderate trails from the big comfortable base lodge.
-
Garnet Hill -- excellent
flat beginner practice area by Putty Pond; but not so much
flat-to-gentle terrain otherwise.
-
Lapland Lake -- we found
the beginner practice area a bit cramped, but there are longer
gentle-to-moderate trails accessible from the base lodge.
-
Mt
Van Hoevenberg center (Lake Placid) -- really excellent learning
terrain, but way up north beyond
the Hudson Valley.
Skating places
Learning to skate requires lots of space, either a big flat field or
lake, or at least some very wide gentle trails. Two ski centers
like that are:
Equipment
Beginning cross country striders and "shufflers" in the
Hudson Valley south of Albany should start with skis that have a waxless
pattern, since those will best handle a wide range of the conditions we
usually get.
Those who want to try skiing on icy days should consider also
buying
kicker skins.
Beginning ski skaters should choose skis suitable for hardpack snow
conditions.
Learning
It's best to take some lessons when you're first getting
started. Because there are several things that go into having fun
skiing: your skis and boots, the snow and grooming, the trails and
terrain, your techniques, your expectations -- so it gets tricky to sort
out what's working right and what's causing problems. It really
helps to have an experienced instructor right there with you to help you
quickly past some of the early obstacles you may encounter.
We've put together some books and links and resources on these
pages:
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East side of the Hudson
Ungroomed
Rail Trails
Ungroomed
- McCann Golf Course -- Poughkeepsie (on Wilbur Boulevard)
- James Baird State Park -- golf course -- Lagrange (near Taconic State
Parkway and Route 55)
- Dinsmore Golf Course -- Staatsburg (on Route 9)
Rail Trails
Rail Trails
- Harlem Valley Rail Trail - [ website
] - runs south from Copake Falls.
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West side of the Hudson
- Palisades Park -- We once heard there were some skiable trails
somewhere east of Route 9W and the Palisades Parkway, somewhere between
the George Washington Bridge and the New Jersey / New York border.
- Orange Heritage Rail Trail -- near Monroe,
Chester, and Goshen, roughly parallel to Route 17 [
for more info, see on the Bike
Hudson Valley website ]
Map of area
one of our favorites -- see details.
one of our favorites -- see details.
See details. (near the
Mountain House and Minnewaska)
in Rosendale (north of New Paltz)
Rail Trails
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