Blink your eyes and the Vail Golf Course is suddenly covered in snow. The golf course is completing its metamorphoses into the Vail Nordic Center and from Nov. 10 to 14, you've got the opportunity to buy a discounted season pass for months of free access to the center's smooth, groomed trails.
While downhill skiing and riding is Vail's big draw, nordic skiing offers a peaceful, more cardiovascular alternative. Although no alpine ski area can beat the deal of Vail Resorts' Epic Pass, the Vail Nordic Center's season passes can provide an entire winter of fitness for less than $100.
Between Nov. 10 and 14, the Nordic Center season passes are $75 for adults, $70 for Vail residents and $40 for students. Beginning Nov. 17, pass prices go up to $90 for adults, $85 for Vail residents and $50 for students. Without a season pass, the fee for daily use of the trails is $8 per person.
The center consists of 17 kilometers of groomed trails for skate and classic Nordic skiing and 10K of snowshoe-specific trails. The center rents classic, skate and telemark skis as well as snowshoes and offers lessons and clinics throughout the season.
The Nordic Center is owned and operated by world champion mountain biker Mia Stockdale and Shane Sluder. The trails are groomed by the Vail Recreation District, which just purchased a new SnowCat that will make for an even silkier glide through the valley. New this season, Happy Valley Grill, a fully operating restaurant inside the Vail Golf Club, will offer homemade soup and cookies at the Nordic Center.
The Nordic Center has not yet determined an opening date, but, with a few more inches of snow, it should be soon!
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