Skier glides through more hidden gems in northern Wisconsin

Posted by Sara Knutson on Jan. 11, 2012

Off the Couch contributor Sara Knutson had hoped for a ski season longer than 10 days, but she made the most of her recent time in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. In the second installment of her Skiventure, Knutson shares impressions of the Watersmeet, Escanaba, Manito-Wish, Razorback Ridges and Raven Trails.

The graduate student from Shorewood returns to Boston College next week, no doubt fighting the temptation to extend her winter break and ski on the big batch of snow forecast to blow off Lake Superior Wednesday through Friday.

Day 6: Watersmeet Ski Trails

Talk about an unknown gem. I had barely heard of Watersmeet Ski Trails.

Its small internet presence and semi-obscure physical location - just over the border in the Michigan Upper Peninsula but far from the Nordic skiing epicenters - makes Watersmeet easy to miss.

That’s a shame. These trails are fantastic.

Groomed by Sylvania Outfitters, the mostly classic trails snake through the rolling terrain of Ottawa National Forest. Connector trails expand the skiing to 32 kilometers of ungroomed trail in the Sylvania Wilderness.

We didn’t need to go that far. The Watersmeet trails are single-track, matching the terrain and shape of the land, such that it successfully combines a backcountry experience with a groomed track.

The trails vary in difficulty, with both gentler and steeper routes toward the outer loops. The winding down hills are a blast, and I’ve never had so many opportunities to catch some air.

Clearly designed with skiing in mind, the intimate feel made Watersmeet an unexpected delight, and it earned a place on my list of trails to revisit.

Day 7: Escanaba Trail

Like Tom, I made a visit to Escanaba in the Northern Highland – American Legion State Forest. Also like Tom, my friend and I had the trail to ourselves. It’s difficult to figure, because Escanaba’s location between Minocqua and Boulder Junction makes the trails easily accessible.

Escanaba resembles Watersmeet: classic-only, single-track terrain, and loops of varying sizes. The trails are a bit wider than Watersmeet and appear to have been originally designed for hiking. Even so, the experience is far more intimate than on most trails.

A skier finds a bounty of snow and solitude on the
Watersmeet Trail. Photo by Sara Knutson

Escanaba has the added benefit of circling some of Wisconsin’s prettiest lakes. Peeks through the trees were rewarded with glimpses of Escanaba and Pallette Lake. My friend makes an annual winter trip to watch the sun rise over Pallette from the ski trails, and it was easy to imagine the beauty of such an outing.

Day 8: Camp Manito-wish

Staying at Camp Manito-wish for our annual staff retreat, I took advantage of the classic trails that criss-cross camp and extend onto neighboring state land.

Manito-wish trails are only open to those staying at the facility, but such a stay is not out of the question for skiers. Some buildings are small enough to be reserved by just a few people - as long as you’re willing to get the wood stove going.

While mostly flat, the trails have their own appea. How often can you ski through a high ropes course or horse pasture? Extremely well-marked, the trails are perfect for a convenient early-morning or even night ski for guests.

Day 9: Razorback Ridges

After so many days of classic skiing, my skate skis were begging for use, so I headed out to Razorback Ridges in Sayner. While the trails roam state land, they are maintained by the Sayner-Star Lions Club, which grooms for both skate and classic technique.

Note, though, that those skate and classic skiers cannot ski side-by-side. While most skate trails are accompanied by classic tracks, Razorback grooms 10 km of skating-only trails, and 10 km of classic only. If you want to ski the entire system, you’ll need both sets of skis. I focused on the 10 km of trails on the west groomed for skate skiers.

Razorback Ridges lives up to its name. The ski trails made full use of the short but steep ridges, sometimes winding through passes between them and sometimes shooting straight up to the summit. Hills - some quite large – are embraced.

My favorite, though not for the faint of heart, was Suicide Hill. While not literally worthy of that moniker, it could at least be accurately termed “Willfully Reckless.” A second, short slope following the steep descent fleetingly gave me the stomach-dropping sensation found more often on roller coasters, a true rarity in cross country skiing.

Like most of the ski trails this winter, Razorback was in need of a bigger base of snow, but it still provided enough for a good ski, and twilight solitude was nearly total.

Day 10: Raven Trails

With a warm front coming and my trip nearly at an end, I spent an hour at the Raven Trails near Minocqua, on my way home to Shorewood. With the already thin base eroding from the warm temperatures, the challenging outer loop was a risk to my skis, so I turned to the groomed and snowier inner loops.

Like many ski trails that double as mountain biking areas, much of Raven is double-track, so the trails are wider and less Walden-esque. They do, however, work well for skiing with a group. Some of the trail is double-tracked, and a three-sided shelter in the midst of the trails provides a good place for lunch or a break for those willing to get a fire going.

The outermost loop is rated expert by the DNR, and the inner loops are considered intermediate. While I found them less entrancing than other stops on my tour, they offer another convenient alternative for people in the Minocqua area.

Overview

While a ten-day ski season was far less than I’d dreamed about this fall in Boston, it drove home how fortunate cross-country skiers are in Wisconsin.

State parks in the Northeast do not groom trails, which both limits the skiing available and ratchets up the cost. Private trails in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan know they must compete with the unbelievably cheap state trails pass, so they groom at an even higher level than the very competent DNR and keep daily rates as low as possible. In New Hampshire, on the other hand, a day of skiing will run up to $19, with few options from which to choose.

So even in a year of low snow, consider raising your water bottle to the DNR and exploring more of the vast trail network in the state.

If you go:

Watersmeet Ski Trails

Location: E23423 Highway 2 West, Watersmeet, MI

Skiing style: Classic (with one small section of skating)

Total Mileage: 25 km

Cost: $5

Other notes: Rentals available.

Trail Map

Escanaba Trail

Location: 7 miles south of Boulder Junction on Nebish Lake Road

Skiing style: Classic