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Skiers Say Trails Need Improvement

Snow fell early and often this winter, with record accumulation in December, a great recipe for a long cross-country ski season on excellent trails. Skiers say that wasn’t the case though, and some believe it’s costing the area visitors.

Robert Dickson, an avid skier and owner of the Shallows Resort in Egg Harbor, said the Peninsula State Park trails are in excellent shape now, but communication problems made for less-than-great grooming over the holidays.

“At Peninsula they always wrestle with their manpower issues, but communication with the volunteers isn’t always what it could be,” he said. “It’s too bad because there are people who love to ski who are willing to go out and do it.”

Dickson said there are a lot of people who come to the area to ski at Peninsula State Park and expect great trails but aren’t finding them much of the time.

“That’s lost tourism potential,” he said. “It has a larger impact on the local economy. If people knew the trails would always be good they would plan on coming here. Everyone needs those tourism dollars in the winter. We could build a reputation for great skiing.”

Gene Tiser supervises trail maintenance at Peninsula. He said the park simply couldn’t maintain its trails without the contributions of its volunteers and appreciates their help. He said the trails may not have been at their best over the holidays because staff was short and equipment broke down.

Meanwhile, serious Sturgeon Bay skiers have their frustrations with the trails at Potawatomi State Park. Tom Parsons of the Door County Silent Sports Alliance (DCSSA) said modest improvements, and a couple major ones, would markedly improve ski trails at Peninsula and Potawatomi and result in a longer ski season.

“It’s vital that the trails be well designed and maintained; then they can be available a couple weeks earlier,” he said.

That would include leveling trails and widening them in some spots, and improving the quality and frequency of grooming.

Skiers say there are plenty of people willing to help maintain the trails, either by donating equipment or giving time to groom and enhance trails. Parsons and Dickson said management at Potawatomi and Peninsula has not been as cooperative as it could be, and better communication would enable the parks to take advantage of more volunteer possibilities.

Parsons has three miles of ski trails on his land connected to another five miles of trails at Choice Orchard and Cherry Hills Golf Course. The public-access trails, called CHNordic, are well-groomed and maintained. He feels the county could reap tourism benefits if the much more picturesque park trails were brought to that level.

“We could draw an incredible amount of tourism from the Valley and Milwaukee,” he said. “It’s too bad one of the few things that attracts winter business is really poorly maintained.”

Potawatomi State Park manager Don McKinnon said park officials are examining how all of its trails can be improved, but with a multitude of user groups to satisfy it will take some time. He said he hears concerns from skiers, hikers, bikers, snowmobilers and snowshoers who all have different concerns about the same trails.

“We’re always trying to adjust for everyone,” he said. “Hikers want narrow trails, and some skiers want them wider for skate skiing. Others love them as they are.”

McKinnon has met with the DCSSA, user groups, and a group of professional trail builders in the last few weeks.

“We’re looking at maybe completely re-doing our trails,” McKinnon said. That could include closing some trails and building new ones to try to eliminate some intersections.

McKinnon said he’s looking at bringing in a DNR trail expert in the spring and expects to have changes recommended. Changes, however, will take time to implement as dollars are tougher than ever to come by.

Many skiers say the trails at Whitefish Dunes are the most consistently well-maintained. Park naturalist Carolyn Rock said that reputation is owed to a dedicated friends group with avid skiers who take pride in their trail grooming.

“For each park, what they do for the trails depends on staffing levels,” Rock said. “When you don’t have the money and the staff, you can’t do the trails as often.”

Friends of Whitefish Dunes handles about 85 percent of their trail grooming, Rock said.

“We’ve got a great group of about 10 people who help with our ski trails,” she said. “We love our friends group and they love us.”

Rock said the Whitefish Dunes trails are also lower-maintenance than at Potawatomi and Peninsula, which have wider trails and thus require multiple passes. They also have more than three times the miles of trails spread throughout much larger parks.

While the concerns of myriad trail users are of great concern to park managers, Rock said they take a back seat to priority number one, preservation.

“We have to think, as park managers and staff, what is this decision going to result in 50 to 100 years from now,” she said. “You don’t want to look back and say, well, we really shouldn’t have done that. We want people to have the best experience without ruining the natural landscape.”

Because of their debt to the long-term vision, McKinnon and Rock said change takes extra time and consideration.

“We’re the Titanic,” Rock said. “We don’t turn on a dime.”