For those of you that x-country ski, can you help provide information on local ski options for those who may be new to the sport or new to the area? Where are some good places to go? Are the trails groomed? Is it good for beginners/intermediates/advanced? Is there a charge? Any other advice or suggestions?

X-country is AKA Cross-country skiing.

Locally, Highland Golf course is about the best, and other local golf courses are OK too. No place here grooms the trails. No place in IL for that matter. Some used to. I've been to lots of places in IL, nothing special. Depends what you're looking for.

Parklands, Mathiesen (sp?) State Park, nothing special.

Rock Cut near Rockford has a lot of trails and nice scenery. No grooming of trails, no warming hut, no charge. 2 hours north off on I-39.
Deer Path in Chi NW suburbs is OK. Camp Sagawa in Palos in SW suburbs is small, it's OK.

If you want to drive, Wisc has some great spots. Check South Kettle Moraine. Lapham Peak, Scuppernong and Nordic Trails are the best in this park complex. They all groom, there is a trail fee, and Lapham has more than one warming hut.Lapham also has snow-making. Also snowshoeing near these spots.

Love Creek in Berrien Mich (SW), 15 miles north of South Bend, Ind is very nice, great nature center. A trail fee, and they groom.

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I agree with the previous poster's comments.

I've also seen people skiing at Maxwell Park in Normal on the disk golf course and around the various ISU ballparks. I've done some snow-shoeing there this winter. It's nice rolling terrain with walking pathways for the disk-golf course. (It was easier to walk on the frozen ground with snowshoes than just in boots!) There are some wooded trails on the southwest side of the park but the trails get more traffic and will get muddy fairly quickly after a snowfall and thaw. So get out early or during a snowstorm for the best skiing on these trails.

I haven't gone to the HIghland golf course recently but when I did, it had some ski tracks to follow from other skiers. At one time I thought it was the only area in BN that had terrain since I always found the hills there it seemed. I think Maxwell is flatter or at least has more gentle rises but isn't aslikely to have any ski tracks to follow and may have others using the space to exercise dogs (since there is an enclosed dog park at Maxwell, too).

Evergreen Lake (Comlara Park) is another place I've tried skiing. There usually isn't any competition for the park and there's lots of ground to cover if you don't mind making your own trails. There are no amenities during the winter but its pretty flat (and windblown) so I'd only try it after a decent snowfall.

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