Classic and Skate Skiing at Soaring Eagle Trails Near Park Rapid, MN on Christmas Eve

We reluctantly checked out of our hotel in Bemidji on December 24th, but we had one more ski outing planned on our way back home to Fargo. We decided to try out a third new trail system--the Soaring Eagle Trails just north of Park Rapids. They are easy to miss, but an obvious favorite of local skiers, as there were several cars in the parking lot. We met a woman in the warming hut from South Dakota who had just finished her ski. She said that she had crashed on a couple of the steep hills--one of them had a caution sign. We appreciated the warning. After sitting in the car for an hour, we were a bit stiff, so we decided to warm up by doing a loop of classical skiing on the namesake trail:

We didn't take any of the side loops of this 3.5 kilometer trail, saving them for the next loop. Instead, we just enjoyed the set tracks after a couple of days of skiing on unset trails. It was a pleasure to be able to focus on the double poling, knowing our skis would stay in the tracks. There were some fun ups and downs and twists and turns, but nothing too hard. When we arrived back at the warming hut, we decided to switch to our skate gear. I put on my stiffer skate boots and switched to skate skis and longer poles. Enrico did the same.

Enrico skate skiing on Eagle's Run

This time around the Eagle trail, we took Lily's Loop, which had a couple of very steep hills, both up and down, though they were not too long. That was invigorating. After Lily's loop, we were back on the Eagle trail for a little while before turning onto the Lake Loop. That was a fun trail that descended down to the lake. There was some debris on the trail down there and a bit of dirt kicked up by the groomer, but it wasn't too bad. Skate skiing back up from lake level was a bit challenging for us, as we are quite out of shape, but conditions were warm (about 19 degrees above zero) and fast, so we had fun. When I saw this unique tree, I had to stop and take a little rest:

Something we really enjoyed about these trails were all the twists and turns. It is so fun to go down a hill, rapidly step turning in one direction and then have to rapidly change and start step-turning in the opposite direction. I love little things like that because it makes it feel as if the skate skiing is a kind of dance. 

It was Enrico's first time skate skiing this winter, which is always painful. I, on the other hand, felt so much better than my first time skate skiing last week. It is always amazing to me how quickly one can get in shape by cross-country skiing. No matter how tired out you get, it is low impact, so your muscles are usually ready for another ski the next day. When you go out every day, you feel so much better so quickly. This was a fun outing. We took advantage of the warming hut to change into dry clothes when we were done (we worked up quite a sweat skate skiing!). We also drank some chamomile tea that was still warm in my thermal cup--a real treat. 

I would definitely recommend a stop at these nifty little trails when passing through Park Rapids. After our ski, we headed straight back to Fargo, where we picked up our meal to go from India Palace and then had Christmas Eve dinner at home with our boys. They had done an outstanding job of cleaning up the house and baking Christmas cookies while we were gone.

We were gone about 50 hours, but it felt much longer--a real break after finishing my final grading for the semester. I'm grateful to my husband for organizing this mini ski vacation. We got to try out three different trail systems in Minnesota in a short amount of time. I feel so much more relaxed than when we left, thanks to the exercise, fresh air, sunshine, delicious food, and good company!