Where to Ski

There are tons of great places to ski in the Twin Cities if you're interested in exploring cross country skiing as a family. The best way to find them is to check out the skinnyski trail map or just ask other skiers where they  love to ski. You can always find the latest trail conditions here. Following is a brief introduction to some of the popular places to ski in the Metro.

Manufactured Snow

Battle Creek Regional Park is the only East Metro place that makes snow. All Como athletes will be issued a ski pass for Ramsey County ski trails that is good for skiing at Battle Creek (as well as Como). Three other locations in the Twin Cities make snow - Elm Creek Park Reserve, Hyland Lake Park Reserve, and Theodore Wirth Park. Take advantage of these places to get on snow early in the season or if we have late (or non-existent) snowfall. These places are also great for late-spring skiing, since the deep manufactured snow base takes longer to melt than the natural snowpack. Note that all locations require a daily or annual ski pass, specifically for the "snow-making" trails. Elm Creek and Hyland are part of the Three Rivers Park District, so the same pass works for both places (as well as a number of other great ski areas in the District). Wirth requires a separate pass. These areas have great natural snow trails as well.

Natural Snow

There are too many great places to ski to mention all of them. in the East Metro, in addition to the St. Paul golf courses (Como, Phalen, and Highland-9), some popular ski areas include Les Bolstad (UofM) Golf Course, Battle Creek East (classic only), Battle Creek West, and Lake Elmo. All of these places have different fees, etc., and many of them have rentals available, so check out their websites before you go.