Gaylord: Cross-Country Skiing Paradise

Feb. 15, 2015

If you like your cross-country skiing laced with amenities, nestled in a quaint village dressed for winter and topped with a touch of nearby wilderness boasting the largest elk herd east of the Mississippi, check out the Gaylord area.

Gaylord is arguably one of the best cross-country towns in the lower peninsula. The village has a charming alpine motif with mansard roofs, textured stucco and shake shingles alongside balconies, painted flower boxes and A-frames that bring a bit of Switzerland to northern Michigan. The supermarket even boasts a glockenspiel. Add to this charm the nearly 30 miles of trails, both tracked and untracked, and the winter wonderland is complete.

Pine Baron Pathway and Aspen Park – groomed trails that offer fairly easy skiing – are only four blocks from downtown.

"I really like Aspen Park," says Paul Beachnau, an avid cross-country skier and executive director of the Gaylord Tourism Bureau. "It’s a fast, well-groomed duel track with few hills that offers great scenery. You always feel safe and it’s well lit for an early morning or early dusk ski. When I want a quick workout that’s where I head, and I can take my dog along to enjoy the outing."

Aspen Park contains nearly 2 miles of trails that glide gently through a hemlock forest. The trail also passes close to the village elk pen, which contains a herd of more than 30 animals, so you’re guaranteed an up close and personal look at the magnificent animals.

The Pine Baron Pathway, located 5 miles west of Gaylord off Old Alba and Lone Pine Roads, offers more than 6 miles of fairly easy trails that glide through a mixed pine and hardwood forest.

"It’s an excellent beginner and intermediate cross-country area," added Beachnau. "It’s got a nice combination of loops that allows you to vary your distance depending on your time. It’s not far from the city, but far enough to make it feel like you’re into the forest. I’ve never had a bad ski at Pine Baron."

Pine Baron boasts three nearly 2- mile loops that skiers can mix and match. The outside distance around the loops is a little more than six miles and the trails are double tracked and pass an abandoned homestead from the 1930s.

For a good dose of solitude, take the Shingle Mill Pathway, located approximately 10 miles east of Vanderbilt on Sturgeon Valley Road. The trail flows through the Pigeon River State Forest and offers six loops of various distances from 1 mile long to the 11-mile loop. Trailheads can be found in the rear of the state forest campground right after crossing the Pigeon River.

"It’s a true wilderness escape and among one of the more scenic routes in northern Michigan, especially along the Pigeon River," said Lois Goldstein. Goldstein has skied the pathway several times with her husband John Heiam.

"It’s a bit of drive from Traverse City, but worth it for the wilderness, solitude and beauty of the state forest pathway. We once saw an elk near the river and that was a thrill."

In the beginning, the trail meanders along the swift flowing river and then climbs into the highlands overlooking the river valley. Along the way, you pass small frozen lakes, some with beaver lodges. It’s not groomed, but often skier tracked.

Buttles Road Pathway is located about 30 minutes east of Gaylord off M-32 on Buttles Road. It offers three loops totaling nearly 6 miles and the final loop skirts a few small, scenic lakes. The terrain is rolling with little, forested hills. Its remoteness is what makes it so appealing.

Local resorts offer cross-country trails as well – Treetops and Michaywe – both groomed for single track and skating lanes.

Treetops boasts nearly 10 kilometers of trails that flow up and down the hilly Robert Trent Jones golf course, with fast descents and views that stretch for up to 20 miles across the Pigeon River valley. You can always follow the Potato Railroad trail to the downhill ski area and ride the lift back to the top where you began. An all-day trail pass is $12 and a four-hour pass is $9. Rental equipment is also available.

"Michaywe is a hidden gem," says Sandra Mattingly of Pine Cone Accommodations, which manages rental homes and cabins along a portion of the more than 10 kilometers of groomed trails. "In the evening, a portion of the trails are lighted and there’s the Michaywe restaurant – Inn The Woods – also right on the trails offering hot drinks and food for a nice ending to your ski. There are loops along the golf course and some up in the hills surrounding the course."

The Michaywe trails are groomed for both diagonal stride and skate skiing and are free and open to the public.