2024 Extended Trips

We again will ring in the new year at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont.  This area is known for abundant snow, especially early in the season, and small-town New England hospitality.  This 5-day, 4-night trip is unique in that once you arrive, you move into the dorm, walk across the street for all your meals and ski “out the door”.

Our accommodations are dorm room-style with two twin beds and restrooms/showers down the hall.  If you need a roommate, we will assign one for you.  We have also reserved a suite that accommodates four people.  Your trip cost includes three meals per day beginning with dinner on arrival day through lunch on departure day.  Meals are served in the dining room and there is plenty of wholesome food.  Bag lunches can be requested if you plan to be out skiing all day.  Vermont is home to a strong local food culture and the kitchen staff makes good use of the local products.  Vegetarians and those with other dietary requirements are easily accommodated.  You may bring your own beer or wine to the dining hall.  Snacks are available for purchase at the office and the ski center.  Feel free to bring snacks with you to share at our happy hour.

The trail system at Craftsbury is extensive, plus you can ski beyond their system into Craftsbury Village and further to the Highland system.  You can even get on the Catamount Trail and ski north toward Canada or south to Massachusetts.  In addition to cross-country skiing, there are snowshoe trails and a place to ice skate.   Ski rentals, ski lessons and snowshoes can be accessed for a fee at the ski center.

The drive to Craftsbury Outdoor Center is best done in 1 ½ days.  If you schedule your trip to arrive at noon, you can ski on the day you arrive.

One hundred and fifty dollars will hold your spot.  The total cost of $430 includes your trail pass, all meals and a place in the dorm which you will share with a friendly roommate.  While the local general store is charming and has some food and miscellaneous items, it’s a long drive if your needs exceed those at the General Store.  Many of us bring what we need from home or buy it along the way.  Then our cars can sit in the Craftsbury parking lot the whole time we are there.

Trip leaders Dave and Nancy are available (dhlbbh@pa.net) to answer your questions and alleviate your concerns.  Join us for the New Year at Craftsbury, Vermont!

We are returning to the Tug Hill East area to stay at The Lodge at Headwaters, a tidy and comfortable 38-room motel centrally located in Boonville.  We’ve reserved (9) rooms with 2 queen beds and (3) rooms with king beds (+$100). Our rooms are mostly together on a wing and have Wi-Fi, a small fridge and microwave. Participants will book rooms directly with Headwaters using a Group code instructions provided by trip leader.  Headwaters only charges your card at checkout so no deposit, and they are lenient with cancellations due to COVID or poor snow conditions.

A nice breakfast is included and coffee is usually available all day. Lunch is BYO or buy at sandwich shop. Group will choose where to go for supper at casual dining venues within a 15-20 minute drive. We will likely gather to socialize before supper.

If you do the Altmar/Tailwater trip following Headwaters, it is only a 1 hour drive and the Osceola ski centers are right on the way. Otherwise it is a ~5.5 hour drive from Central PA. Note that this is a Thursday to Monday trip and is very doable on a long weekend for those [still] working.  You may easily extend the stay on either end.

Skiing opportunities abound on the east side of Tug Hill. Very close by are the free groomed trail systems operated by BREIA (the Northeast’s best-kept XC ski secret?).  Within a 30 minute drive are the (2) Osceola ski centers ($$), and free back country skiing at Carpenter Road Trail, Centennial Trail, and Whetstone Gulf State Park. Further out at 45 minutes is McCauley Mountain XC ($$). The trails on this trip run the gamut from easy to moderate to challenging.

Make it a “Tug Hill Week” and continue on with us to Tailwater/Altmar!

**Please Notify trip leader early to get our group code if you likely plan to book this trip. We also need to know room reservations for our participant list in case our room block needs expansion.

Return with us to Tailwater Lodge and make it a “Tug Hill Week” since it is only an hour drive from the preceding trip to Boonville and Tug Hill East.  A block of rooms is on hold for us at a discounted rate.  Yes, there is a substantial price increase vs. last year, however, everyone enjoyed the accommodations and the area ski venues.

The Lodge is a Hilton Tapestry Collection property. The rooms are very nicely appointed and the hotel offers many amenities including the Tailwater Restaurant & Bar, an indoor pool, 12-person outdoor hot tub, full-service spa, two game rooms and fitness center.  There are several areas where the group can gather to socialize.

Reservations: Participants must contact Jesse to sign up for the trip. Instructions for making your room reservations directly with the hotel will then be forwarded to you.  A participant list will be provided for those who wish to find a roommate or share a ride. Reservations can be changed or cancelled up to 3 days before the trip starts at which time your credit card will be charged.

Meals are NOT included and there are no cooking facilities besides a common-area microwave. The onsite restaurant is offers a nice range of meals and craft beers. There are other restaurant options in Altmar and in nearby Pulaski that are lower in price.

The western side of the Tug Hill Plateau offers commercial groomed XC skiing within 30 minutes of drive time at Osceola Tug Hill XC Ski Center and the adjacent Osceola Ski and Sport Resort.  There are extensive free trails at Winona Forest and Barnes Corners that are groomed some of the time. Chateauguay State Forest, Selkirk Shores SP, and Robert G. Wehle SP offer free ungroomed ski trails.

This popular trip is to a relatively* new house, Spruce Lodge, located at 6034 Sentinel Rd., directly on Rt. 73 about half a mile south (or east) of the intersection with Rt. 86. (*This house held the overflow crowd during the 2022 trip but is otherwise new to us.) There are six bedrooms—2 with a queen bed and 3 with a full. One bedroom also has a full and a twin and one has a queen and a twin. each—and 5-1/2 bathrooms. Four of the bedrooms have private baths, and the other two share a connecting bath. There is a large kitchen and dining room big enough for 12 people. The house also has internet and a TV. Check out the house at sprucelodgebnb.com.

The Lake Placid area offers numerous ski opportunities, from the beautifully groomed trails at Mt. Van Hoevenberg and the Visitors Interpretative Center to back-country at Adirondack Loj and elsewhere. There are also two small ski areas in the immediate Lake Placid village area. All skier levels can be accommodated, though not necessarily all at every venue.

The trip price includes breakfasts and dinners, which we will cook at the house, but not trail fees where imposed. The price is lower than last year due to the lower price of the house.

The Cazenovia trip returns by popular demand. This trip combines an old favorite ski venue, Highland Forest County Park, with three other opportunities, Stoney Pond State Forest, Green Lakes State Park, and Beaver Lake Nature Center. The charming village of Cazenovia is a short (<10 miles) drive from all ski venues except Beaver Lake. It is situated on little-known Cazenovia Lake, 20 miles southeast of Syracuse.

We’ll be staying, as usual, at the Brae Loch Inn, which everyone who has attended this trip raves about. The innkeeper’s family has owned the house since its opening in 1946. All rooms have private bath and shower, color TV, individual heat control, and phones. The house is wired for Wi-fi. The Inn serves an ample continental breakfast, with more than enough food to fuel you for a day of skiing. The offerings include fruit, yogurt, cereal, muffins, and often one or two quiches. We will eat one dinner at the Inn (not included in the trip price), and the other at one of the restaurants within walking distance in town.

Highland Forest is in the extreme southeastern corner of Onondaga County and occupies some of the highest terrain in that county (up to 1600 feet elevation). That means it’s in a good position to capture lake effect snows. The trails are groomed, and there is a modest entry fee. There is more skiing here than you can do in one day, with a full range of terrain. The park has an indoor eating area in a recently-built lodge.

Other nearby ski venues: Stoney Pond—ungroomed back-country trails in the town(ship) of Nelson, a few miles southeast of Caz. Skiing here is free, and the trails are, in general, more demanding than those at Highland, mainly because they aren’t groomed and are narrower. No food concession here; bring your own.

Green Lakes, a few miles north of Fayetteville, has level and hilly trails, and there is no parking or admission charge in the winter. The park’s trails can easily fill a day of skiing. As at Stoney Pond, bring your own food.

Beaver Lake is located near Baldwinsville, about a 30-mile drive from Caz. The skiing here is quite tame but we have found that snow is sometimes better here than at venues closer to Caz. There is a modest entry fee here.

The trip fee includes lodging, breakfasts and gratuity. Fees at the venues that have them are not included. Caz is about a 5-hour drive from Harrisburg or Lancaster, up I-81 almost to Syracuse, then 20 miles east.

Here is an exciting ski weekend that offers the entire family; a complete skiing and sledding experience!

The Susquehannock Lodge has direct access to hundreds of miles of cross-country ski trails right from our back door. A perfect place for you to enjoy the quiet setting of Pennsylvania’s Northwoods—a special place where there are more deer than people.

• Visit the Susquehannock Lodge website for additional information at http://www.susquehannock-lodge.com.
• Arrive anytime from Thursday morning through late Friday. The final dinner on Sunday will be served at about 2:00 as a late lunch.
• Attractions include great food, cross-country skiing and sledding. Contact Gil to try one of his unique single or double runner sleds.

Per-person Rates as follows:

• Lodging includes full, served breakfast & dinner
• Kids ages (4-12), Kids (3-under) FREE
• “Private” is 2 per room with private bath; “Lodge” is shared bath down the hall.
• Final dinner on Sunday will be served at about 2:00 as a late lunch
• Optional bag lunches: Sandwich, cookies, fruit and candy bar $9
• Optional arrival night dinner: Friday (2 Nights) or Thursday (3 Nights) $23.00. Must be prearranged.

Please keep trip leader Gil Linde informed as to your trip arrangements.

Susquehannock Lodge:

          Ed & Carol Szymanik

          5039 US Route 6 West, Ulysses, PA 16948

          814-435-2163 (Carol)

          susquelgcarol@penn.com

We will again be staying in condos at Stonehurst Manor at 3351 White Mountain Highway (Rt. 16), N Conway, NH, 603-356-3113, just north of the town proper.  We will be staying in three condos that are homey and comfy, as well as being adequately equipped for meal prep and relaxation after skiing.  Each unit also has 2-1/2 baths, a laundry area, and either gas or wood-burning stove/fireplace and color cable TV in the living room.  Internet service is available, but not always reliable. Towels and linens are provided, and trip cost includes breakfasts and dinners for 3-4 nights prepared by participants.  You are responsible for lunches usually on the trails, but some groomed venues do have lunch items available for purchase in the lodge.  For meals other nights there are plenty of good restaurants in the area. 

Snow is usually quite plentiful here, and there are numerous ski venues to choose from, anywhere from right out our condo doors to a 45 minute drive away, with wonderfully groomed trails:  Bear Notch, Bretton Woods, Jackson XC Center, Great Glen to name a few.  All have reasonable trail fees.  Backcountry trails abound on un-groomed public trails.  I have not skied these, but several “outfitter” ski shops in the area can provide maps and give advice on trails that suit a group’s needs.  For a day off there are plenty of outlet stores and quaint shops in town, as well as a cool ski museum.  Unfortunately the weather museum sponsored by Mt. Washington Observatory has been disbanded and its displays relocated to two other locations. A snowcat ride up the autoroad part way up Mt. Washington is another fun alternative to skiing.

Come enjoy the White Mountains of New Hampshire!

We’ll stay again at the Commodores Inn on the south side of town.  All rooms are accessed from within the building and are equipped with Wi-Fi, refrigerators, and the basic amenities. It also features a jacuzzi and an indoor pool. See: https://www.commodoresinn.com/ for further details.

The Commodores Inn has no plans to reopen their on premises dining facility. Consequently, all meals will be dining out (at you own expense). Cooking is not permitted in the lodging rooms, however a communal fridge and microwave are provided.

The principal XC ski centers in Stowe include the Stowe Mountain Resort and the Trapp Family Lodge.  Both touring centers feature interconnections to public trails, linking together the largest groomed trail network in the east.  Easy drives from town are both Bolton Valley Resort and Craftsbury Outdoor Center.  Rentals and lessons are available at all those locations.  In addition to its groomed ski center, Bolton Valley also offers extensive backcountry ski trails.  Other public trails abound in the area including the Stowe Recreational Path, Weisner Woods, Sterling Forest, and the Catamount Trail.

Stowe Village and surrounding locale boasts a wide variety of shops offering ski gear, Vermont-made products, plus “mecca-caliber” craft breweries and gourmet cheeseries.  A free shuttle bus service links the major locations in the village, including our Inn, with the surrounding ski venues.

Come enjoy the Stowe experience with your fellow Kick ‘n Gliders!  If you are doing the preceding North Conway trip, Stowe is a scenic 2 ½ hour drive away.

PLEASE NOTE: A passport is required for travel to and from Canada.

We’re returning to the Laurentians for the fourteenth year.  And we’re again staying in Thyra’s Ark, the same house in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts that we’ve used the last couple of years.

The Laurentians are our favorite Canadian destination. With an embarrassment of beautiful groomed trail systems, we get to ski a uniquely different trail system almost every day. Ranging from rail-trail ease to thrilling, mile-long descents, many of the trails boast trail-side warming huts. Trails we ski in the area include Parc Dufresne XC Ski, Camping Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Domaine St-Bernard, the Diable Network of Parc du Mont-Tremblant, Le P’tit Train du Nord, Morin Heights and Forêt Ouareau. (Trail fees are not included in the price of the trip.)

Thyra’s Ark is a very large, eleven-bedroom, ten-bath, 7,500 square foot “cottage” with lots of parking.  It’s located across from the Lac des Sables less than ½ mile from Camping Sainte-Agathe, one of our favorite ski venues.  The Chalet is provisioned with WiFi and laundry facilities.

The cost of breakfasts and dinners, prepared by trip participants, are included in the price for the trip.  We will probably also choose to have a dinner at a local restaurant one of the nights and an “on your own” dinner on another night.  Lunches are on your own.

Please join us for a delightful, 7-day week enjoying the best that Canada’s legendary Laurentian Mountains have to offer!

It’s Rocky Point Resort again as we approach the end of Kick ‘n Glider’s 2024 season.  A Kick ‘n Gliders’ destination for many years, the condos are located at the eastern end of Fourth Lake in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.  We have reserved two 3-bedroom condos for a Friday through Tuesday trip.

Since it worked out well last year, Friday night dinner will be at Slickers in Old Forge, with dinner each night thereafter a shared effort between the condos.  Each night’s dinner is hosted by the residents of one of the condos, with the other condo assembling there.

Viewing recent years’ NOAA snow cover maps, it seems likely we’ll have a good snow cover in the Adirondacks for this trip.  There are skiing opportunities for everyone from beginner to advanced skiers, from the groomed trails nearby in the Fern Park area in Inlet, the gentle slopes of two nearby golf courses with groomed trails, and the wonderful groomed trails of the Woodcraft Camp, which also offers night skiing.  There are also more challenging woodland and back country trails, including those at McCauley Mountain.  This trip may offer more and more varied skiing venues than almost any other trip.

Apres-ski we often use the pool and hot tub in the community building to relax tired muscles and gather before dinner for the traditional hors d’oeuvres. 

The trip includes four nights lodging, three group dinners, four breakfasts and linens and towels.  Bring trail snacks and lunch fixings for yourself as lunch is often eaten on the trail.  You will also want to bring your favorite après-ski beverages and refreshments.  The condos have fireplaces, dishwashers and dryers.

The Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company in Old Forge is a great place to find excellent season-end bargains, replace worn-out equipment or buy that “got to have” item. The trip to Inlet is about a 6-hour drive from the Harrisburg area.

PLEASE NOTE: A passport is required for travel to and from Canada.

After a long hiatus, we are returning to the greater Ottawa area to ski at Gatineau Provincial Park, located across the Ottawa River in Quebec.  The Gatineau Park is a large area with many different access points where we ski on campground roads that are not plowed during the winter.  Gatineau Park has over 200 kilometers of trails, wide and skate groomed as well as narrow track-set or challenging back-country.  In addition, Nakkertok Nordic Cross Country Ski Club, home of the largest cross country ski club in Canada, is nearby, as well as a couple of smaller ski areas and the network of Greenbelt Trails.

We have rented Rosehill Cottage about 10 miles from Gatineau Park.  The cottage has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms on a 2-acre forested property.  We will share prep duties for breakfasts and dinners in the large kitchen.  Everyone can prepare a trail lunch at the cottage to take with them for the trail.  Warming huts along the trails provide a comfy spot to eat or even heat up your sandwich if you wrap it in foil like the locals!

The price of the trip includes breakfast and dinner food.  You will be responsible for providing your own lunch food and for paying your own trail fees.

Ottawa is a 30-minute drive away.  There are plenty of sightseeing attractions in the Canadian capital if you opt for a day off from skiing.  Parliament Hill, museums, shops of Byward Market and restaurants and theatres provide an endless variety of things to do.  The Rideau Canal, which passes through Ottawa before joining the Ottawa River, becomes the Skateway in winter and is touted as the longest skating rink in the world at 7.8 kilometers, so bring your ice skates and experience this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ottawa is about 450 miles from Harrisburg and Lancaster, all on freeways, so the driving time is not as long as one would expect for that distance.  Our lodging is about 30-minutes north of Ottawa.

Interested in enjoying skiing where the Olympians ski? Then this trip is for you. This will be the fourth time the club will be offering this trip in March. But since March is Vermont’s snowiest month, there should be plenty of snow at this Northern Vermont location.

Some details about the trip:

• It’s a full day’s drive to Craftsbury, but if you drive part way you can get there in time to ski on your day of arrival. Similarly, you can ski on the day of your departure if you don’t need to get home that day.
• There is a large trail system at Craftsbury and it connects with the Catamount Trail which extends from the Massachusetts border to Canada. There are also snowshoe trails and ice skating available.
• Ski rentals, skiing lessons, and snowshoes are available at the ski center.
• Accommodations are similar to a dorm room, with two twin beds, and restrooms/showers on floor.  Please note that since Covid, restrooms have been renovated and are now 5 individual rooms per floor each with its own shower, not a “dorm style” bathroom.

The package includes three all-you-care-to eat meals a day. Meals are served buffet style, with seating at large tables in the dining room. They include plenty of wholesome cooked from scratch food with great desserts. Vermont is home to a strong local food culture and Craftsbury makes good use of local products. Vegetarians and those with other dietary requirements are easily accommodated.

You are welcome to bring wine or beer to dinner.

Some items of clothing, toiletries, wine, snacks and souvenirs are available for sale in the office.

Informal hallway happy hour is a club tradition. Feel free to bring snacks with you to share.

It’s a long drive if your needs exceed those that can be found at the General Store. Many of us bring what we need from home or buy along the way. Once at Craftsbury there is no real need to drive anywhere. Most of the time our cars sit in the Craftsbury parking lot till it’s time to leave.

Craftsbury is a world-class cross country ski center with old-fashioned hospitality.

We will return to the eastern shore of Lake Ontario where the “Lake Effect” drops more average snowfall than anywhere else east of the Rocky Mountains.  This area of the Tug Hill Plateau offers a selection of commercial and free public cross-country ski venues, including Winona Forest trails, Osceola Tug Hill Cross-Country Ski Center, Osceola Ski and Sport Center, Barnes Corner Ski Trails and others.  Skiers of all ability levels will find what they are looking for.

Our lodging for this trip is a newly built five-bedroom, four-bathroom home with modern conveniences situated on 10 acres on the shore of the world-famous Salmon River outside of Altmar, NY.  The open floor plan of the house has a two-story great room with views of trees and wetlands.  We will cook together in the gourmet kitchen and dine at the farm table.  There are plenty of areas to relax around the fireplace, in the loft, in the TV room or, if you’re really hardy, outside on the deck or around a fire pit.

The price of this trip includes lodging and food for breakfasts and dinners, prepared by the participants.  Lunch food and trail fees are on your own.  Many of the venues where we will ski have no or limited food service so plan to pack a lunch. Altmar is an easy, six-hour drive, straight up I-81, about an hour north of Syracuse.