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Recreational Activities
Home : Ranger
Districts : Española Ranger District
: Trails
Trail 255, NORSKI
 
Length: 2.5 Miles (4 km)
Difficulty: Easy
Use: Heavy
Seasons: Winter (for Nordic skiing), and spring, summer, fall
(hiking)
Lowest and Highest Point: 10,000 feet to 10,080 feet
Trail Access: This popular trail, designed and managed for Nordic
or cross country skiing, is located along State Highway 475, also
known as Hyde Park Road, and the road to the Santa Fe Ski Area.
Follow the highway past Hyde Park (a New Mexico State Park), past
Big Tesuque Campground,
and past Aspen Vista Picnic Area.
About ¼ mile before the Santa Fe Ski Area, you will see the
trailhead at a small parking lot on your left, or the west side
of the highway. A Forest Service informational kiosk marks the beginning
of the trail and offers further information.
MAP: USGS Aspen Basin
Description:
The trail begins to the right of the kiosk, and generally
follows the contours of a gentle ridge in a series of serpentine
loops that eventually lead you to a short section of old road
and then back to the trailhead and parking lot. In the interest
of safety, visitors are asked to follow the directional arrows,
and follow the trail in a counterclockwise direction. There
are many opportunities to shorten or lengthen your experience
by using one of the several cutoffs and skipping some of the
loops, or repeating others. Although there is some uphill
and downhill, the trail is fairly level for the most part,
and is well suited to beginning skiers.
The trail is a nice single track that wind around the ridge,
through a forest of aspen and spruce, and is well marked by
small blue diamonds tacked to the trees. In the summer and
fall it makes a very pleasant hike, and is perfect for aspen
viewing in the autumn.
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Notes:
 Due
to the topography and the elevation, this trail is one of
the few trails in this part of the Santa Fe National Forest
that is truly suited to Nordic skiing, and is managed primarily
for that activity. There is an active volunteer club, the
Norski de Santa Fe, that performs regular grooming of the
snow for skiing, and other trail maintenance as well. Because
of the efforts and hard work of the volunteers, it is requested
that visitors please refrain from walking on or exercising
dogs on the Norski Trail. The Norski Trail offers the only
Nordic skiing on a groomed track that is available in the
general Santa Fe area.
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