Winter Sports One of Snow Belt Perks
...Movies and yoga too for the indoors-type
By Laura Freeman

Equipment Rentals Cross-Country Skis Lake Metroparks Chapin Forest Reservation Pine Lodge Ski Center 10381 Hobart Road Kirtland, OH 44094 440-256-3810 Winter Sports Hotline at 440-954-4178 www.lakemetroparks.com Pine Lodge Ski Center is open Monday – Friday from noon to 8 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Holiday hours: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lake County YMCA Outdoor Family Center 4540 River Road Perry, OH 44081 440-259-2724 www.lakecountyymca.org OFC grounds are open every day from dawn to dusk and the ski lodge is open Monday - Saturday 10 a.m. to dusk and Sunday from noon to dusk December through February. Ski lessons are available by appointment only. Lessons with ski rentals are $7, $2 without equipment rental. Call 259-2724 to schedule. Snowshoes Penitentiary Glen Nature Center 8668 Kirtland-Chardon Road Kirtland, Ohio 44094 440-256-1404 www.lakemetroparks.com Snowshoe rentals are available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through March 4 on an hourly and daily basis (weather dependent). Special Programs Learn to Snowshoe  Holden Arboretum Thayer Center 9500 Sperry Road Kirtland, OH 44094 Sundays, Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31; Saturdays, Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, 2:30 – 4 p.m. Age limit of 6 and older Free for Holden members; gate admission for nonmembers. Gather your family and friends and learn to snowshoe. After a brief demonstration, you will strap on snowshoes and go for a gentle hike to explore the great outdoors. Start with all important “trick” of how to stand up from a prone position. After participating in one session you will be comfortable hiking in deep snow with snowshoes. Registration required. Call 440-946-440 or visit www.holdenarb.org. Nordic Flurry Cross-Country Ski Lake Metroparks Chapin Forest Reservation Pine Lodge Ski Center 10381 Hobart Road Kirtland, OH 44094 440-256-3810 Winter Sports Hotline at 440-954-4178 www.lakemetroparks.com Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 9 a.m. Registration required. Penitentiary Glen Winter Hike Penitentiary Glen 8668 Kirtland-Chardon Road Kirtland, Ohio 44094 www.lakemetroparks.com Feb. 21, 1 – 3:30 p.m. Registration required. Call 440-358-7275 or visit www.lakemetroparks.com to register. Things to do Indoors Yoga Now Oscar Giovanni Salon and Spa 7572 Fredle Drive Concord Township 440-796-7810 Harmony Studios 38123 W. Spaulding St. Willoughby 440-942-YOGA (9642) Shambala Yoga Studio & Wellness Center 9244 Mentor Ave. Mentor 440-974-YOGA (9642) info@shambalayogastudio.com Skateland Inc. www.mentorskateland.com 5615 Andrews Road Mentor-on-the-Lake 440-257-3631 Tuesday & Thursday 10 am-12 pm Adult Skate; $4 admission, $2 skate rentals Friday 7:30-10:30 pm Open Skate; $6 admission, $2 skate rentals Saturday Learn to Skate - Noon; six weeks; $25 Saturday & Sunday 2-4:15 pm - Open Skate; $4 admission, $2 skate rentals Saturday night 8-11 pm Open Skate; $6 admission, $2 skate rentals Sunday 6:30-8:30 pm - Adult Skate (Organ Music); $4 admission, $2 skate rentals United Skates of America Roller Skating Center www.unitedskates.com 30325 Palisades Parkway Wickliffe 440-944-5301 Open all day Martin Luther King Day – call for session times. International Film Series and Cultural Dinners Lakeland Community College Breaker's Dining Hall 7700 Clocktower Drive Kirtland Jan. 29 - March 5 Movies: 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Dinners: 6 p.m. The Lakeland Community College Center for International Education will host its annual international film series. All films will be screened in Room H-101. Evening screenings are preceded by a cultural dinner and an introduction by a local scholar. Call 440-525-7116 to register for dinner ($25 per person, cash bar). All films are free and open to the public. All films have English subtitles. Please be advised that all films contain mature themes and may not be suitable for all audiences. For more information, call 440-525-7508, e-mail intlstudy@lakelandcc.edu or visit www.lakelandcc.edu/international.

It’s winter and it’s cold outside, but that’s no reason to stay inside. Lake County’s position on the leading edge of the Snow Belt – home of the Lake-Effect Snow Machine – means Lake County is a winter wonderland come January.

So if the recent snowfall has you dreaming of a snow-inspired sport, then Lake County has it all. From cross-country skiing and snowshoeing to hiking, sledding and ice skating, this is the place to do it.

Cross-Country Skiing

Skiers come from as far as Michigan and Pennsylvania to ski at Lake Metroparks Chapin Forest in Kirtland. The park has about six miles of groomed trails to challenge any ability from novice to intermediate; one mile of trails is lighted for nighttime skiing.

Pine Lodge Ski Center, Chapin Forest’s full-service ski lodge, has cross-country skis and snowshoes for rent, snacks and a wood-burning stove to warm up in after skiing. The park also offers ski lessons for beginners to advanced skiers.

“We pride ourselves on providing some of the best ski trails around with our grooming and reporting of trail conditions,” said Brian Davidson, recreation manager for Lake Metroparks.

You can always expect an accurate report of ski conditions in the parks.

“I’ll never tell someone we have good conditions if it’s not favorable,” he said, “even if they’re marginal. We aren’t just in it for the dollar; we’re in it because we’re skiers too.”

He says cross-country skiing isn’t just exercise.

“People can expect a highly social time, a time where they can come and not only train for the activity, but come out and just enjoy the parks,” Davidson said. “It’s both an athletic thing and a social thing where the youngest to the oldest person in the family can enjoy it. It’s a lifelong activity. You don’t have to be a marathoner or a triathlete to do this. People are told to stay indoors when temps get crazy or when winter storms are coming. When we hear the term ‘lake-effect storm warning,’ we’re waiting for it.”

Davidson has worked for the park system for 15 years. He’s picked out his favorite spots.

“On a day like today when we have blue skies, the best thing is our Overlook Trail,” he said. “You can see the downtown skyline and the lake from there. But it’s equally as cool when I can watch those bands of lake-effect snow coming across the lake and heading over to drop another inch or two of snow on us. You can actually see the weather happen. Anytime we see that, we as groomers here at Chapin will stop grooming for a minute and just enjoy the view.”

Girdled Road Reservation (North and South) in Concord Township also has more then four miles of groomed trails and nearly eight miles of ungroomed trails are available at Penitentiary Glen Reservation in Kirtland.

And the Lake County YMCA Outdoor Family Center in Perry also has more than five miles of groomed trails for skiers of all ages and abilities. Ski rentals are available there as well.

The OFC is offering introductory learn-to-ski classes for all ages that teach the basics of cross-county skiing. Learn how to fall, get up, stop, turn, stride and use your poles.

For those with their own skis, the list of places to ski in Lake County is practically endless. Another place with about 30 miles of trails is Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation in Willoughby Hills. See a trail map at www.clemetparks.com.

You can also ski on the trails at some golf courses and at any number of Lake Metroparks’ other locations.

If you want to buy your own pair of skis, then Little Mountain Ltd. at7230 Mentor Ave. in Mentor is the place to shop. See some of their selection at www.littlemountainltd.com.

Snowshoeing

You can also enjoy the snow-shrouded woods and glittering trails of Lake County without investing in a lot of special equipment or training by learning to snowshoe. The clunky wooden snowshoes have been replaced by a new generation of small, lightweight models that have helped make snowshoeing one of the fastest-growing winter sports in North America.

Snowshoe rentals are available at Penitentiary Glen Nature Center. Nearly eight miles of trails within the park are available for snowshoeing. Novices at the sport can start out on the Peppermint Trail, a quarter-mile loop just right for beginners and families. Finish up at the Snowshoe Lodge in the Nature Center with a hot beverage.

Holden Arboretum is another beautiful place to snowshoe. Before setting out on the trail to enjoy the famous winter scenery, take a Learn-to-Snowshoe class with a member of the Holden staff.

“Bundling up and heading out on trails on cross-country skis or snowshoes allows you to discover how beautiful the winter is at Holden,” says Cait Anastis, editor of Holden’s Leaves magazine. “You don't want to miss the opportunity to see the winter woods illuminated by the icy fire of a sunny winter day. Holden's holly collection provides a touch of color with its bright red and orange berries, and also serves as a lure for hungry birds. A trip to Holden is the perfect cure for cabin fever.”

Skiing at Lake Metroparks

Hiking

Hike the 41 miles of trails in Lake Metroparks for stark, wintry views. From an easy stroll on a flat path, to a steep trek down into a creek valley, or a rugged, 6-mile roundtrip hike, Lake Metroparks has something for the winter lover in everyone.

Almost all of the trails hikers frequent in the other three seasons open in winter. Dress in layers and take along a camera, because the scenery can be fabulous.

Winter is a great time to hike the Buckeye Trail. Made up of 26 sections, all marked with blue blazes, this diverse, 1,444-mile trail makes a loop around the entire state. In Northeast Ohio, the Bedford Section ends at Headlands Beach State Park, the trail's northern terminus.

The Burton Section heads south through Grand River and Painesville where it joins the Lake Metroparks Greenway Trail before meandering through Girdled Road Reservation. The Reservation’s 902 acres offers the beauty of many different types of habitats – dense forests, fields and wetlands, all flash-frozen for winter.

For more information, visit www.buckeyetrail.org.

Sledding

Lake County might not seem like a very hilly area, but it has its share of places perfect for sledding. Improvements were made this year to the sledding hill at Chagrin River Park near the Reeves Road entrance in Willoughby. Other sledding hills are available at Hidden Valley and Riverview Parks in Madison, the Outdoor Family Center in Perry and at Chapin Forest Reservation in Kirtland. Headlands State Park in Mentor also has a sledding hill.

Ice skating

Even though it doesn’t have to be cold outside to enjoy it, ice skating is a quintessential winter sport. And you can slide right onto the ice at Mentor Civic Ice Arena. The only indoor ice skating complex in Lake County, it is home to everything on ice.

Its two regulation-size ice rinks, studio rink, locker rooms and snack bar are open year round. Take the family skating, and get some exercise while you’re at it, all for less than the cost of a movie. Keep in mind that all skaters age 8 and younger are required to wear a safety helmet (or bicycle helmet) in order to skate.

From daily public skating sessions and learn-to-skate lessons to youth and adult hockey and figure skating programs, Mentor Civic Ice Arena has something for everyone who enjoys the sport of skating.

Mentor Civic Ice Arena

Other programs include adult and youth ice hockey programs and leagues, pick-up hockey games and periodic ice hockey clinics for youths. You can even play broomball at the arena, a sport played on the ice with a ball and a broom-like device – without skates.
The ice arena is also a great place for birthday parties, holiday parties and corporate events. Or, if you’re trying to keep that New Year’s resolution to get more exercise, take lunch at the arena. Skate away your lunch hour at a luncheon skate Monday through Friday from noon to 1:30 p.m.

The Mentor Civic Ice Arena is located at 8600 Munson Road in Mentor. There are afternoon and/or evening open skating sessions daily. Call 440-974-5730 or visit www.cityofmentor.com for a schedule.

Indoor Sports

For those who just can’t stand the cold, snowy winter, or for days when the snow melts and it’s cold, wet and dreary, there is no lack of indoor activities.

Yo, yo, yo yoga!

There are several yoga studios in Lake County, including Shambala Yoga Studio & Wellness Center in Mentor, Harmony Studios in downtown Willoughby and Yoga Now at Oscar Giovanni’s Salon and Spa in Concord Township.

Drop in for one class or sign up for a series of classes; some studios offer a discount when signing up for five to 10 weeks at a time. Lake County’s newest yoga studio, Yoga Now, offers private sessions and a $99 introductory special for 60 days with unlimited classes.

All three studios offer classes for beginners to those more experienced. Harmony Studios offers Yoga Workshops the first Saturday of every month, as well as Pilates.

Take in a movie

Cedar-Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights has great international movies but it is rather a long drive from Lake County, especially in the snow. Instead, take advantage of the International Film Series at Lakeland Community College.

The 2010 schedule features films from Norway, Italy, Germany, Russia and Spain. All movies are shown twice on Fridays starting January 29; once at 3:30 p.m. and again at 7:40 p.m. Cultural dinners to accompany the movies are held at 6 p.m. prior to the second showing. The movie also is preceded by an introduction from a local scholar.

Roller Skating

Want to stay indoors, but still get some exercise and yoga just isn’t your thing? Remember roller skating parties? Many people stopped roller skating when they left elementary school. There are skating sessions for kids as well as adults, including one with organ music. Local skating rinks include Skateland Inc. in Mentor-on-the-Lake and United Skates of America Roller Skating Center in Wickliffe.

Broaden Your Mind

It’s never too late to learn, and there’s certainly plenty of places to do just that in Lake County. Take a continuing ed or professional development class at Lakeland Community College. Anything from private pilot school to lunch and learn cooking classes are offered. You can even take online courses so the snow won’t keep you from learning. Visit www.lakelandcc.edu for a course schedule.

The School of Fine Arts in Willoughby offers classes for all ages in visual arts, including clay, watercolor, drawing, oil and acrylic painting and ceramics. Other classes are offered in cartooning, calligraphy, new crafting techniques and screen printing.

Dance classes, including ballet, tap and jazz, as well as classes in yoga and Pilates, and music classes – piano, brass, guitar, percussion, voice, woodwinds and strings – also are available at the Fine Arts. For class offerings and times visit www.fineartsassociation.org.

Whatever your idea of winter, it will be sticking around for at least another couple months. With this much to do outside and in, there’s no reason to dread it.