Recommended Cross Country Ski Sites
This is a compilation of 2009 cross-country ski recommendations from the FramCom list. Please check the individual location's website for up-to-date information on hours, parking, maps, and costs before you go.
PARKS and CONSERVATION AREAS
Mass Department of Recreation list of ski sites
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/recreate/skiing.htm
Callahan State Park in Framingham
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/call.htm
There were many votes for Callahan, which offers nice trails through the woods and level areas. The consensus was that trails get trampled, so best to go when the snow is fresh. Access points and parking on Edmunds Road, Millwood, and Fox Hill.
"Park on the right side of the Edmunds lot and use the trail all the way over to the right- the one to the left has a hill that no one in their right mind would want to ascend."
Herd Farm conservation area in Wayland
http://www.wayland.ma.us/conservation/heardfarm.html
Carlisle, MA - several sites:
http://www.carlisle.org/conservation/index.htm
Mount Misery conservation land - Lincoln, MA
http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=XAC006-010
"Mount Misery is just east on Rte 117 of its intersection with Concord Rd. (Sudbury). There are two parking areas: the first gives access to the Sudbury River. This way is dangerous but beautiful. We snow shoed that river's edge to the trails Sunday, but you would be well off to take the second parking area and get right on the trails that are also beautiful."
Great Brook Farm State Park in Carlisle
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/gbfm.htm
Charges for parking, may have other costs. Rumored to have groomed trails. The web page notes they light one trail for moonlight skiing.
Massachusetts Audobon sites
Nominal entrance fee for adults, free for Audobon members
Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Broadmoor/index.php
Drumlin Farm in Lincoln http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Drumlin_Farm/
COMMERCIAL SITES
Windblown in New Ipswich, New Hampshire
"If you feel the urge to travel a bit, Windblown in NH is a cross country ski area with groomed trails and a pro shop. There are trails of all levels, including one or two black diamonds. When the snow thins around here, it's a good alternative. Not too far, about an hour drive, and again, a pretty area."
Weston Ski Center/Riverside Park at Leo J Martin Golf Course in Newton
http://www.skiboston.com/skitrack/
$15/day for a trail pass. Groomed tracks, rentals.
RUMORS AND LEGENDS
"I hear there are several trails off of Rte 117, although I haven't been on them."
"There's an access road off of Parmenter Rd. that runs along the Sudbury Reservoir. I've never skiied it, but have walked there many times. It has some nice up and down grades for a little challenge, and the surroundings are beautiful and very peaceful."