Cross country skiing is a great way to enjoy the outdoors in the wintertime. My husband and I took up the activity during the year we lived in Anchorage, Alaska. It quickly became our most frequent and preferred form of exercise in the winter because we were spoiled with consistent snowy conditions and several miles of groomed trails in Anchorage, many of which were lit at night.

We are fortunate to have found a cross country ski area near where we live in Fayette County, PA located in Laurel Ridge State Park.

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And while this area is in close proximity to many downhill ski options including Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Hidden Valley Resort, Laurel Mountain Ski Resort, and Nemacolin Resort, cross country skiing at Laurel Ridge is a great winter recreational opportunity to consider given it is much cheaper than downhill skiing and because it is a different experience.

The Laurel Ridge Cross Country Ski Center offers roughly 20 miles of groomed cross country ski trails for classic and skate skiing with various degrees of difficulty.

Groomed trails for classic and skate skiing

Directions

The address for this ski center is 1101 Jim Mountain Rd, Rockwood, PA. When we plugged the address into our GPS, it directed us to a back entrance where we ran into a gate. You want to make sure you enter the area directly from route 653. It sits right along the road and has a decent-sized parking lot.

The area also intersects the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, a 70-mile hiking trail connecting Ohiopyle State Park to Johnstown, PA.

General Information

For the most up-to-date information including hours and days of operation, fees, services provided, etc., visit the Laurel Ridge XC Ski Center Facebook Page, the PA DCNR page for Laurel Ridge, and visit Riversport which operates the ski rental in the park.

At our most recent visit, adult passes were $15, kids under 12 were $10, and rental fees were $20. Annual passes were also available.

Another helpful website is Pennsylvania Cross Country Skiers Association which provides information on additional places to ski, where to rent equipment, lessons, and more.

With the area’s location and elevation, there’s a chance there might be snow there even if there’s no snow in surrounding areas. You can check current snow conditions at Laurel Ridge on the PACCSA webcam.

Ski Consession

The ski concession offers rentals of cross country skis for skate and classic styles, plus snowshoes.

In my experience and basic understanding, classic style is probably the best style to start with if you are a beginner and is the style we continue to ski. The feet face forward and move back and forth, basically walking with skis while progressing toward gliding. In skate skiing, the feet face outward at an angle and reminds me more of ice skating. If you tune in to the winter Olympics and watch cross country skiing, you’re most likely to see skate skiing.

It’s good to know the difference because each style requires different equipment. You can’t really skate ski with classic style skis and vice versa.

Classic style cross county skiing

The Ski Concession is easy to find near the parking lot and is also where you purchase a pass even if you take your own skis. If the ski concession is closed, you can still access the trails and rent elsewhere if you need to, such as Thrifty Ski Rental

In addition to classic and skate skis, you can also rent snowshoes, which is another winter activity you can try that is likely easier than cross country skiing.

My dad snowshoeing on the High Bridge in Ohiopyle. I couldn’t find a better picture.

A ski pulk is also available which may need to be reserved ahead of time. We used it to haul around our then two-year-old son. This was a popular item and there was only one available.

Near the ski concession are a restroom and warming hut, although the warming hut was not in operation during our most recent visit due to Covid precautions.

What to Wear

I figured I would mention of few tips about what to wear since I had my own questions. I think the main to think about with cross country skiing is that it is exercise, and you will warm up quickly. I’d probably avoid overly large winter coats and pants if you can that you might wear downhill skiing or sled riding.

I’m sure there is clothing and gear designed specifically for cross country skiing, but I just don’t feel the need to purchase those items because I don’t get to cross country ski as often as I’d like. The clothes I’ll describe are versatile and I wear them for other uses such as hiking, sled riding, winter hiking, and everyday wear. Some of these items are expensive. But I’ve learned the hard way over and over, good gear keeps you more comfortable outside. I constantly watch for sales. You can also consider shopping for used gear at REI, Patagonia, and consignment on places such as Thredup.

  • Bright orange- There are some rules and regulations to be mindful of during hunting season. I’m never really certain of the dates or exact locations, so even if hunting season is over, I still like to throw bright colors on. You can pick up bright orange where hunting gear is sold like Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Wilderness Voyageurs in Ohiopyle also sells bright orange and some of this other gear mentioned.
  • Bottoms- I’ve worn just a regular hiking pant (I personally like women’s prAna halle (Amazon), and I love prAna winter hallena pant REI (Amazon) which I also wear taking my kids out in the snow, winter hiking, etc. I’ve also come to love wearking a down skirt over a regular pair of legging such as Skhoop REI (Amazon) and Smartwool Skirt REI (Amazon). I like to wear my skirt walking outside in the winter and over my base layers on and off the downshill slopes.
  • Tops- I typically wear a base layer, and then consider a hoodie, a vest or my a lightweight jacket like a Nano Puff jacket which is warm on it’s own and can also be layered under a shell jacket if needed.
  • I can’t find a link for my dad’s pants, but I bought my husband a very similiar fleece lined pant.
  • I’ll add that I love my orange beanie because it has a pony tail hole and I’m wearing Smartwool socks.

Trail System

The park has a well-marked color-coded trail system. Each trail varies based on distance and difficulty. You can check two resources for a map and more detailed trail descriptions.

Color trail markers

Here is a breakdown of our ski on the blue loop. It’s fairly flat and a great loop to consider if you are a beginner.

Here is a breakdown of the red loop. FYI the red loop was about 3.5 miles and has 4 downhills on the back end.

Pick a trail suitable for you and have fun! And don’t feel bad if you fall. It happens to the best of us!

Because we have our own skis, we have cross country skied at Ohiopyle State Park on the Great Allegheny Passage and on trails surrounding the Sugarloaf Sled Hill. If there is snow at Ohiopyle, be on the lookout for a Winterfest Event at Sugarloaf that offers cross country ski rentals. You can also rent snowshoes at Wilderness Voyageurs in Ohiopyle.

If you found this helpful and you give cross country skiing a try at Laurel Ridge, leave a comment tag me on Instagram @adventureswkelly so I can hear about or see your adventures!

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