Keystone Nordic Center

Sunday, Stella and I had decided to try out the Keystone Nordic Center, which would be a new experience for us. The Nordic Center is located just outside of the Silverthorne/Dillon area. The ski trails are intertwined along the golf course and are exceptionally well-maintained for such a small nordic center. Additionally, they offer snowshoeing, tubing and various types of rental equipment. The homes around the golf course (nordic center), along with the coinciding views they possess, are nothing short of dazzling! Most of the nordic trails offer some flat expanse areas where one may stride and glide easily, with gentle slopes. Other trails have fairly steep slopes that can be a slightly more challenging. There are also many areas where one may ski ‘off track’ in the fresh snow. With that said, we were extremely eager to get out on the trails to test our new cross country ski equipment.

We had started the day on “Easy Does It,” which is a 3.4km (2.11 miles) loop to gain our bearings on our new equipment. This trail is a fairly mellow trek along undulating terrain with less than two hundred feet of elevation gain. What makes this trail awesome is the beautiful view as you begin your trek back towards the start of “Easy Does It,” as you are directly facing Mount Guyot and Bald Mountain off in the distance. We completed the loop back toward the lodge, and then headed out to the “Learning Loop,” making our way to the “Fox Trot/Norwegian Way Loop”.

The “Fox Trot/Norwegian Loop” is slightly different than “Easy Does It,” as there is a significant incline about one mile into the loop that will challenge even the best nordic skier. This loop, however, is as equally picturesque as “Easy Does It.” But it does offer up a touch more work! Cross country skiing isn’t just about exercise and fun (for us); it is also about being outside and enjoying nature. After completing loop, we took a quick break to bask in the sun, and decided to loop “Easy Does It” once more. Afterward, we took about one second to contemplate completing that loop a third time, but had decided against it.

We had skied slightly more than seven miles for the first time since our last ski trip a few weeks prior in Grand Lake, and it had been a perfectly beautiful, warm sunny day in the mountains! Bear in mind that classic cross country skiing is a much slower sport than skate skiing, so seven miles is a fairly decent afternoon trek. And, we were still familiarizing ourselves with our new equipment; there are some adjustments that will need to be made. Keep an eye out for those product reviews coming soon! Needless to say, I would like to believe we will return to the Keystone Nordic Center fo another day of adventure.