Grooming is everything at Huron Meadows

Tue, Dec  2, 2008 - By Denise H. Semion

Lots of new and great things at Huron Meadows this year. 7.5 miles of skating and 12ish miles of classic, new trails, new maps and trail signs on the way, new grooming equipment to help speed up the grooming after the snows.

Grooming is everything in cross-country skiing, and the grooming at Huron Meadows Metropark is nothing short of amazing, according to Ken Roth, of Northville.  Roth, and his wife, Amy Kostrzewa, ski nearly every snowy day at Huron Meadows Metropark, near Brighton, Michigan.  "The trails at Huron Meadows rival any northern Michigan post," says Roth, who has skied throughout Michigan and beyond. 

Classic tracks on the south trail system at Huron Meadows

Roth credits the grooming to the dedication of Adam Haberkorn, Huron Meadows golf course superintendent spring through fall, and winter trail designer/groomer extraordinaire.  "The biggest asset is his diligent attention to grooming," says Roth. "No one in this part of the state grooms as regularly and predictably as Adam and his crew.  The trails are groomed and ready just a few hours after a new snowfall.  Even in low snow conditions, when other places aren't skiable, you can ski there.   And the scenery is very much like one of my favorite facilities, Cross-country Ski Headquarters, near Grayling."
 
Haberkorn began re-designing the ski trails in 2004, with assistance from Hugh Pritchard, former United Kingdom Olympic biathlon competitor who moved near the park and was looking a place to continue his training.  Together, Pritchard and Haberkorn mapped out separate trails for skate skiing, a fast style of skiing using skating strides on longer, narrower, skis on smooth-groomed trails, and improved the existing classic, tracked trails. 
 
To further enhance the trails, Haberkorn trained last year at the Active Backwoods Retreats Midwest Grooming Clinic and regularly talks to skiers on the trails.  New this year is a trail on a bluff overlooking the Huron River with a one-mile view in each direction.  Also new, a snowshoe/hiking trail will give foot travelers their own passage, enabling hikers and skiers to enjoy the outdoors without diminishing each other's experience.

There are now 7.5 miles of skating and 12ish miles of classic skiing, new trails, with new maps and trail signs on the way, plus new grooming equipment to help speed up the grooming after the snows.
 
For more information on Huron Meadows Metropark,

• See the Huron Meadows trail listing (trail map)
• Go to www.metroparks.com or
• Call 810-231-4084.