keystone nordic center

We had a one hour private lesson with Marty for our family of 4. Marty was terrific and gave us a thorough beginners lesson for cross country skiing. Our girls, ages 14 and 8, got to learn 2 ski styles in Keystone and one preferred the cross country style over downhill. Compared to downhill, cross country is practically free and the risk of injury is virtually 0. It is a full body aerobic exercise but it can easily be done at your own pace. Mom and 8 year old had an enjoyable 2nd day doing the beginner trail Easy Does It. We will definitely do this again! The ladies in the pro shop were very helpful.

So we headed over the the Nordic Center around lunchtime to see about the Soup Bistro for lunch and let the kids do some tubing. First of all the Soup lunch was outrageous for what you get. There were three kinds of soup and some bread with butter and jam and thats it. One soup was a plain chicken and noodle with all dark meat, a manhattan clam chowder and cauliflower soup. Honestly I can make better and more hearty soup myself. I basically paid $12 for a bowl of soup since I was unable to enjoy the bread since I am GF. My kids filled up on the bread since they didn't care for any of the soups. It was a disappointment. On to the tubing. It was $18 an hour to rent a tube. Should have been like $10 and should have had half hour rentals. The "tubing" hill was not really much of a hill and my kids were exhausted hauling the tube back up each time. They really needed a magic carpet or something. Again for Keystone way over priced for what you get. They were done in 30 minutes and we called it a bust all around.

Snow shoeing is a fantastic way for non-skiers to experience the snow. The Eco-tour from the Nordic centre is the best option for those trying to adapt to the high altitude in Keystone. It is done at a slower pace and not high up in the mountains. While most of the walk is on flat terrain some of the uphill bits were a bit challenging and certainly got my heart pounding. We had a fantastic guide who made sure everyone on the tour was coping ok and was also very knowledgeable about the area. He spoke about the wildlife, geology and history of the area. Would certainly recommend it to everyone.There is also another higher altitude tour for the more adventurous!

My family likes Nordic skiing (cross country skiing) - probably the adults more than the kids, but they are OK with it! It is a great workout and usually beautiful. We found the Keystone Nordic area to be well set up for families. There is a small (but big for us from Florida) tubing hill. You rent tubes for $16/hour and climb the hill yourself. Even my older child (age 14) found it fun. Then we had lunch at the cafe - which was good - but TOO EXPENSIVE (all you can eat soup and bread - I would rather just buy a bowl). After tubing and lunch we went cross country skiing. The workers were very helpful and getting us the right skis and showed us an easy path. It was beautiful skiing in the golf course and there were some challenging hills to go down. They also do snow shoeing which I'd like to try next time.

The Keystone Nordic Center, located at the River Course clubhouse, provides everyone the opportunity to try cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and tubing. The center is located just a short drive from downtown Keystone or Dillon, CO. If heading from Keystone make sure to play close attention to the exit for the golf course. If you reach the exit to Breckenridge you have gone too far. The Nordic center is less crowded than the downhill slopes so you will have a more intimate experience and less hectic. You can rent equipment for all activities so you do not need to worry about renting elsewhere.For those who have never tried cross-country skiing the trails here are a good way to get introduced to the sport. You can either join a group lesson or schedule a private lesson with one of the instructors. The group lessons start every day at 10:30am and are in the classical style, which is where you ski in prepared tracks. They also offer skating lessons twice a week which is for those familiar with the classical technique and looking for more of a challenge. The group lesson costs $60 per person and includes the trail fee, rentals and lunch at their all-you-can-eat soup buffet. You are free to utilize the skis all day, not just during the lesson. The instructor will provide you with the basics on how to ski along flat ground as well as how to best climb a hill and ski down it. The lessons last one hour.Unlike downhill skiing cross country is much more affordable. It is also more of a cardio workout and much harder than it looks on television. Minus a lesson you will only pay $32 for the trail fee and rentals, $12 for the trail fee if you have your own skis. I also had a discount certificate that waived the trail fee if I hadn’t taken the lesson. After just a few hours I definitely got my money’s worth as I was exhausted after making three runs on both beginner and intermediate trails.There are beginner, intermediate and expert trails winding through what is a golf course in the summer and surrounding woods. There looked to be two intermediate trails, one that looped around the tubing hill and another across the street we didn’t notice until we were driving back to Keystone. The intermediate and expert trails were all assessable from the Nordic center via the beginner trail. The Nordic center also will recommend other trails available that require you to drive to them. The beginner trail that we were on was challenging in itself for those who are new. While there were prepared tracks there were many spots where they did not have any, particularly around curves after you picked up speed going downhill. The good thing about cross-country skiing as it doesn’t hurt when you fall!The all-you-can-eat buffet is located inside the Nordic center. They had a selection of several soups including a mushroom soup, beef stew and vegetarian chile. I don’t know if they rotate the soups, but would be surprised if they didn’t. You also had the option of different beverages from water to beer. Since cross-country skiing is a demanding sport I would recommend sticking to the water to keep you hydrated. There was also bread on the buffet. They gave us coupons for the buffet prior to our lesson however no one actually picked them up.If you are into cross-country skiing or just want to give it a try the Keystone Nordic Center is a good spot to give it a go. There also looked to be a good number of people renting snowshoes and tubes. So if you are looking for something everyone in the family can do I would recommend visiting the Keystone Nordic Center. Who knows, you might even return in the summer to try the golf course itself.