Nordic Skiing In Rochester

Rochester Active Sports club works closely with Rochester Parks & Recreation to support cross country skiing at multiple locations. RASC volunteers provide trail maintenance and grooming support for trails at Essex Park and Quarry Hill. RASC is also working with Rochester Parks & Recreation to develop 11km of new trails at Gamehaven Park, which will include 2-3 km of trail with snowmaking capability.

For the 2024-2025 winter season, free public skiing will be available at the parks listed below.

For the latest trail conditions the most frequently updated source for trail conditions is our discord channel. You can often find additional information on trail conditions on Skinnyski.com.

If you are new to nordic skiing, please feel free to check out some of our tutorial videos on our YouTube channel!

Essex Park

Location:

5455 West River Road NW, Rochester, MN 55906
44.0779666,-92.4786973,17.18z

Essex Park has rolling terrain with few flat sections. Starting from the parking lot, most trails climb or descend, making it more of a challenge for beginners. Thanks goes to Bruce Walk, Jeff Robertson, Greg Rowley and many other volunteers for all their work in completing the trail system for winter skiing.

Gamehaven Park

Location:

Gamehaven City Park (Not to be confused with Gamehaven Boy Scout Reservation) is the newest ski trail in Rochester. For winter 2024-2025 there is a machine-made snow trail of about 3Km in length located on the Rattler trail. Much of the trail is double width, with loops on both ends and is meant to be skied in both directions in an out and back fashion. (Think Birkie Trail with turnaround loops.) There are also natural snow trails, with a total distance of machine-made and natural snow of about 11.5 Km.

All trails can be accessed from either parking lot. While the upper lot is the main entrance, access to the machine-made loops from there is via an immediate, rather steep 90-foot drop. Skiers that prefer not to navigate that hill should access the trail via the lower lot. It is a short walk to the trails on a gravel access road from there. Natural snow trails are: The Pipe, 4.75 Km, intermediate level, Meander, 1.37 Km, beginner, and Hammer, 1.87 Km intermediate. Almost all trails are primarily in open terrain, and The Pipe and Meander can be quite windy, while lower Rattler and Hammer are in a bowl with more protection.

Grooming is provided by the City of Rochester. The machine-made section of Rattler is tilled, groomed, and tracked very frequently with a Pisten Bully, so conditions are usually very good to excellent with a firm classic track.

Quarry Hill

Location:

701 Silver Creek Rd NE, Rochester, MN 55906
44.029737, -92.429564

Starting in 2006, Henry Walker led the work on the development of the ski trails at Quarry Hill. RASC signed an agreement with the City of Rochester to permit us to develop a ski trail in the park in July 2006. The main benefit to the club is the ability to groom and maintain the trail . Given the poor snow years of late, it is essential for the development of the sport of nordic skiing that we have reliable trail conditions. 

Much of the work on the Quarry Hill trail was funded by a grant from Rochester Area Foundation who awarded $10,350 for RASC to help with completion of phases II and III of the trail. Thanks to Henry Walker for all his work on this grant application. The grant covered the costs of CAT work, clover/seed for the trail, a retaining wall for phase III, and replacement trees for the ones that were removed to build the trail. The Traverski Ski and Sport club have also donated significant funds toward the Quarry Hill Trail project.

In November 2013, Henry Walker, Chris Flood and Joey Keiller completed work on a new section of trail in Parkwood Hills park (north end of trail) that connects onto the Quarry Hill trail. The new segment is ~2.5 km long and now includes some big climbs that will test your lungs and legs. This is a great section to challenge your fitness.

Quarry Hill ski trail exists in a 300 acre natural park within Rochester city limits just a few minutes East from downtown.  Twelve km of trails begin immediately behind the Nature Center where parking, bathrooms and family activity can pair nicely with skiing.  Classic ski rental is available by the hour or day for a reasonable price from the Nature Center.   Trails consist of a series of small loops designed to accommodate all level of skier abilities.  Combine several loops in multiple directions to create your favorite ski profile.  The relaxing Prairie House Loop (green on map) appeals to beginners or venture to the Horrible Hills (red sections) where advanced skiers will test their hill technique and heart rate.    

The main trail (shown in green) is ideal for beginners, and goes north up to the ball park. There is a section of the green trail that goes north from the ball park that contains some steep climbs and is only recommended for advanced skiers. The West Park loop (yellow section) heading west is also flat, but does get more foot traffic as it is shared with walkers. The red sections contain small to gradual climbs and are better suited to those with some experience on skis.

Chester Woods

Location:

8378 Highway 14 SE. Eyota, MN 55934
44.000332, -92.311829

Chester Woods park is located approximately 5 miles east of Rochester on US 14. The park is on the right about 1 mile past Chester, MN. Admission to the park free as of March 2022! The start of the ski trail is located near the boat ramp and crosses over a small trestle bridge before heading south into the park. The trail at Chester Woods is a multi-purpose (fat bikes, walkers, snowshoes ) trail and is groomed for both skating and classical.  The park grooming crew does a nice job of frequent smoothing the trail after significant use so it is usually a great place to ski.

The trail is mainly in the woods, making it an ideal place to ski on cold windy days. Total trail length is approximately 12 km. Click above for a copy of the park map. For current ski conditions, the park has an answering machine that provides an update on trail conditions at 507-287-2624.

The terrain is gently rolling on the east side. As you head west there are some major climbs and descents. There is a cut-off at approximately the half-way mark around the main loop that allows you to skip the major hills.