Several people in town have told me about a free Nordic ski area close to Dartmouth Skiway but couldn’t give specific directions. With today being a holiday for me, I set off towards Lyme to try to find it! I had a general idea of where to look because I’d used the Dorchester Road (one landmark provided) to hike the AT. But I drove several miles on gravel, ice, mud and snow without finding it. Young skiers at the Skiway were no help so I had to drive back to Lyme to ask for more clues at the General Store. This time, I got lucky and was told to “drive five miles up the mountain, past some lakes, until you come to a gate.” Resuming my search, I returned to Dorchester Road and followed it deeper into the remote woods. I crossed the Dorchester town line, passed Reservoir Pond and came to a big sign that said the road was only accessible during the summer (“Use at own risk”). I paused to think about what I should do and, just then, noticed signs to my right (down a side road) that said “Trail Parking.” I took the bait and, after maneuvering carefully in the mostly unplowed track, found a gate. I saw ski tracks so decided I must have located “the place.” Headed into the silent woods on a nicely packed track (not groomed, just well used by others). This was much different skiing from when I go to Eastman - lots of downed trees, no signage, deep (> 8”) snow all around. But I loved it! About 30 minutes in, I found a trail junction with directional signage. It didn’t tell me exactly where I was but was a breadcrumb for finding my way back! I continued down the trail towards Clark Pond. This part of the trail followed a lively creek, the kind of thing I’d normally spend a lot of time enjoying. But I was struggling a bit with the tracks by then (slushy) and occasionally found my entire ski buried under snow and couldn’t get out again without backing up. I never found the pond and decided I should turn around. Feeling warmed up, I made better time on the backtrack - reached my car after around 75 minutes and 1.5 miles of “backcountry” skiing. Felt good about the results of my Recce trip and headed back to town. Only then, while looking at the area where I’d been on Google Maps, did I figure out I’d spent my time on a skimobile trail system, rather than the groomed Nordic one. I’d been on something called Mascoma River *Road* the whole time... If I’d ignored the “go no further” sign on Dorchester Road, I’d have found the well organized and maintained Green Woodlands Ski Trails. Now, at least, I know the name of the place, found other trailheads and have access to real trail maps. It’s good to have something new to try the next time I have a free day!
