Cross Country Skiing in the Western U.P.
Well-known for its collection of downhill ski resorts, the Big Snow Country of the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan is also home to some of the most challenging and most scenic cross country ski trails in the midwest.
Every winter a succession of snowstorms blows in over the waters of Lake Superior and turns the rugged terrain and old growth forests of the region into a pristine and spectacular white landscape. Here in the Western U.P. the blessings of winter are bestowed upon the cross country skier with a great and wonderful abundance.
“The secret to our popularity is that we get a lot of snow and we get a lot of snow early,” says Eric Anderson, owner of ABR Trails in Ironwood. “We attract a lot of competitive skiers early in the year who use our trails to train for the race season later in the winter.”
The professionally groomed trails of ABR Trails generally open in November – with the season starting some years as early as the last couple of weeks of October.
