Ohio's Lake Metropark have best ski season ever

Thu, Apr  1, 2010 - By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

Lake Metroparks is putting away its rental skis and snowshoes, and taking down the strings of trail lights as the best cross-country ski season ever comes to a close.

However, Lake Metroparks will hold back a few pairs of skis should a late winter storm dump more snow on the agency's Pine Lodge Ski Center at Chapin Forest Reservation in Kirtland.

Lake Metroparks offered about 250 cross-country ski sets and about 25 pairs of snowshoes for rental use.

"This was the best season we've ever experienced," said Brian Fowler, Lake Metroparks chief of recreation services.

"We were open for 65 days and saw at least 66 inches of snow on our groomed trails. Our rentals for skis and snowshoes was 8,833 sets," Fowler said.

Fowler said Pine Lodge's previous high mark for such rentals was about 4,200 sets, established the year before.

Read more and see a video interview with Brian Fowler on the The News Herald web site