Lapland Lake Benson, NY

"Derick Fay" wrote in message
oups.com...
I skied Lapland Lake on a Sunday this month (i.e. with 8-10" on the
ground, before the Valentine's Day storm) -- I had phoned there a few
times in Jan. when they were advertising as open with marginal
conditions, and they were very direct & honest with me on the phone
about the state of the trails, so I didn't head up. When I got there
the grooming was great for skating (they said on the website that it
hadn't been tracked for classic, and it wasn't) -- not perfectly
smooth corduroy but well packed -- my only complaint was that some of
the uphills were a bit narrow and tips got caught up in unpacked snow
on steep V1. Overall I had a blast -- while there were a lot of
people in the lodge, I hardly saw any skiers on the trails, & with
nearly all the trails one-way, the few I met didn't make it feel
crowded in any way. The thing I loved about these trails was the
*flow* -- I did about 2 1/2 laps around the blue/black loops to the W
of the lodge & I'd say 75% of it can be done comfortably with V2, with
lots of fast corners & short hills where you can keep your momentum
then power over the top with a few strokes of V1 (even in 8-10F
slowish snow conditions that day--trails are also nicely sheltered
from wind). After skiing in the Sierras the past two years, the
trails definitely felt narrow, & there aren't any big climbs, but
there are really fun twisty sections comparable to Quickdraw at TD or
parts of the 2nd half of the Great Ski Race course (think of the bumps
on the snowmobile trail). The fluid feel reminded me a lot of good
single-track mountain biking -- I can see that if they had set track &
you were skiing classical, the trails could feel crowded on a busy
day, but on a day when the grooming is on, it's a really fun place to
skate.

Anyway the alternatives I've found for groomed skiing within 75 min of
Schenectady are both classic only: Tree Haven Trails (very flat, but a
great place to double-pole for a few hours) and Oak Hill (haven't been
there yet). Hoping to get to Crandall Park and Pineridge this week.

Derick (also in Schenectady)

I live in Schenectady. I've never been to Tree Haven Trails or Oak Hill.
The former doesn't appeal to me as I love hills.

Pineridge is a nice low key place. There's a big climb to the top if you
want to do that. Unfortunately, snow conditions haven't been great the last
few years until the recent storm. I often go to Crandall Park if I don't
have a great deal of time. Besides, it's groomed and it's free. Some nice
ups and downs but generally pretty easy. It's a nice little loop though.

One place I haven't been to in a number of years is the Notchview
Reservation in Windsor, Massachusetts, along Route 9 about ten miles east of
Pittsfield. A friend was there this weekend and said that it was the best
ski conditions he's ever encountered ... anywhere.

wrote in message
...
It's a little longer trip, but being a CA skier you'd appreciate Garnet
Hill. Longer climbs, big lake skiing, some technical side trails.
Also, if the snow conditions are there, I'm told Tug Hill has nice
classical trails.


"Derick Fay" wrote:

Anyway the alternatives I've found for groomed skiing within 75 min of
Schenectady are both classic only: Tree Haven Trails (very flat, but a
great place to double-pole for a few hours) and Oak Hill (haven't been
there yet). Hoping to get to Crandall Park and Pineridge this week.

Derick (also in Schenectady)


Two very different touring centers in Tug Hill. Salmon Hills is very
professional....groomed to death....has school teams competing and a very
busy ski shop and lunch counter. I found it a bit boring...not many hills,
trails just go back and forth parallel to each other, and there are dozens
of snowmobiles on the adjacent lake disturbing the peace. It would be a
great place for a skating work out though.

Osceola ( in Osceola) is laid back, with narrow, wooded, hilly trails. It
is a one man operation so sometimes you need to be patient when waiting to
buy your trail ticket while he's waiting on someone in the ski shop. But
it's beautiful, challenging and great fun.

I kind of wonder how either are coping with the ten feet or so of lake
effect snow of recent weeks.

On Feb 26, 11:05�pm, "Bill in Schenectady" wrote:
wrote in message

...

It's a little longer trip, but being a CA skier you'd appreciate Garnet
Hill. *Longer climbs, big lake skiing, some technical side trails.
Also, if the snow conditions are there, I'm told Tug Hill has nice
classical trails.

"Derick Fay" wrote:

Anyway the alternatives I've found for groomed skiing within 75 min of
Schenectady are both classic only: Tree Haven Trails (very flat, but a
great place to double-pole for a few hours) and Oak Hill (haven't been
there yet). *Hoping to get to Crandall Park and Pineridge this week.

Derick (also in Schenectady)

Two very different touring centers in Tug Hill. *Salmon Hills is very
professional....groomed to death....has school teams competing and a very
busy ski shop and lunch counter. *I found it a bit boring...not many hills,
trails just go back and forth parallel to each other, and there are dozens
of snowmobiles on the adjacent lake disturbing the peace. *It would be a
great place for a skating work out though.

Osceola ( in Osceola) is laid back, with narrow, wooded, hilly trails. *It
is a one man operation so sometimes you need to be patient when waiting to
buy your trail ticket while he's waiting on someone in the ski shop. *But
it's beautiful, challenging and great fun.

I kind of wonder how either are coping with the ten feet or so of lake
effect snow of recent weeks.

I went to Salmon Hills and to Tug Hill 2/21-23. Both were pretty well
groomed and not very crowded (week days). The Coey Hill section at
Salmon was NOT groomed or tracked and I found it not really navigable
with all the snow...they might have done something with it since then.
The # of snowmobilers on the Reservoir was limited and I skied along
the edge of it myself, for diversion. It was really frozen. I had
never been to either of these places before. I have been to Garnet
Hill and to Lake Placid ....both seem to have more kilometers. There
was no lunch at SH on 2/23 (?) ...more peanut m&ms and wheat thins for
this skier...and I only saw one high school team skier.

When I was at Osceola, Hugh mentioned that Salmon Hills no longer can
use the state lands so that's probably why no grooming. I'm not clear
on the details but if I remember correctly, Salmon Hills was being
required to put in a parking lot and access road at their expense for
public use at no charge in order to keep using the Coey Hill area.


On 1 Mar 2007 21:12:21 -0800, "Chris W" wrote:
[snip]
I went to Salmon Hills and to Tug Hill 2/21-23. Both were pretty well
groomed and not very crowded (week days). The Coey Hill section at
Salmon was NOT groomed or tracked and I found it not really navigable
with all the snow...they might have done something with it since then.
The # of snowmobilers on the Reservoir was limited and I skied along
the edge of it myself, for diversion. It was really frozen. I had
never been to either of these places before. I have been to Garnet
Hill and to Lake Placid ....both seem to have more kilometers. There
was no lunch at SH on 2/23 (?) ...more peanut m&ms and wheat thins for
this skier...and I only saw one high school team skier.