New Lodge Welcomes Guests at Far Northern California’s only Cross-Country Ski Area

On the slopes of Mount Shasta – rising 14,162 feet into Far Northern California’s crisp alpine air – families have been enjoying world-class, meticulously groomed trails, peaceful mountain vibes and community connection at Mt. Shasta Nordic Center for many years. The center, sponsored and run by SORA (Siskiyou Outdoor Alliance, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing rural economic development and community health through outdoor recreation), began simply: a yurt on a concrete pad, a ski equipment shed and a couple of port-a-potties.

Mt. Shasta Nordic Center blossoms from unassuming beginnings

Despite these humble facilities, skiing and snowshoeing families had easy, low-cost, uncrowded access to some of the best-groomed cross-country trails – in fact the only cross-country trails –  between Tahoe and Bend, Oregon. There, beginners to advanced snow sports enthusiasts enjoyed 14.6 miles of beautifully groomed, epically scenic Nordic ski trails and a two-mile snowshoe trail system.

Now, thanks to a $1.1 million grant from the California Department of Parks and Recreation’s Regional Parks Program, SORA has been able to commission and install a custom designed guest services lodge and separate double vault toilets at Mt. Shasta Nordic Center. Designed to be off-grid, (solar powered with a storage batter and diesel generator backup) and furnished in a beautiful, clean Danish Modern-inspired style, the heated lodge has many amenities that were unavailable in the former yurt quarters.

Families can enjoy hot or cold beverages and snacks. Indoor picnic tables provide plenty of room for families to spread out their own hand-packed picnic lunch while enjoying a magnificent view of towering Mount Shasta. Persons of all abilities are welcome to relax in the lodge and can easily access all facilities via the ADA compliant handicap gridded non-slip rampway. “We want this facility to be affordable and accessible to all,” says Dante Giordanengo, Mt. Shasta Nordic Center program director. Other amenities include a boot drying closet with an electric heater and ventilation system to keep boots in tip-top condition and an equipment rental area that, as Dante says, allows skiers to enter at one end and ski out the other with ease.

Nordic Center’s generous funders facilitate big changes, help maintain affordability

With generous support from The Nancy Driscoll Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation and individual and private donors, SORA has brought in a brand-new snowcat groomer to keep trails pristine all winter long. The McConnell Fund of The Community Foundation of the North State stepped up with funding to replace the outdated rental equipment with brand-new boots and Rosignal skis.

Upgrades are great, you may say, but what does that mean for the cost of rentals and skiing at the Nordic Center, which has traditionally been extremely affordable? Thanks to the CDRRPP grant and the generosity of individual donors and donor organizations, prices at Nordic Center remain the same. Admission for children up to 18 is free and their ski equipment rental for the day is just $15. School groups can come to the center and experience outdoor education in a living classroom with ski rental, instructions and skiing for $5 per student. Group ski classes, clinics and individual instruction are priced affordably.

New classes, new trails, year-round activities

A new addition to ski instruction at the center is Movement Analysis, led by Dante , who will be certified this season as a Professional Ski Instructor. With their permission, he will film clinic participants as they ski and then retreat to the lodge to conduct an analysis for participants. “We can work on technique, watching participants on the TV while having lunch,” Danté  says.

While the lodge is the centerpiece of the Mt. Shasta Nordic Center Facilities Upgrade & Connected Community Trails Project, it is part of the larger Nordic Center Master Development Plan, which in addition to the lodge and new rental equipment, features construction of 5 miles of trail in the 45-mile expansion of the Gateway Trail System through a partnership with Mt. Shasta Trail Association and the Shasta-Trinity US Forest Service. “I’m looking forward to hosting our ribbon-cutting ceremony party to open our Sunshine Snowshoe Trail System that is headed toward the mountain and is filled with sunshine and meadows,” Dante says.

SORA has plans simmering to make the Nordic Center a year-round operation, with free summer concerts for suggested donations, using the former yurt concrete slab as a band stage. Summer mountain biking might also be in the offering. Dante wants to bring back the youth ski program for ages 7-11, which has been on hiatus for the last few years. “I’m bringing back the very thing that made me the skier that I am,” he says. Dante has been skiing at the Nordic Center since he was a child. “What was great about the youth program is that it let me know that there were so many other kids who were interested in and fascinated by this sport. This is our next generation! It is such an honor to be able to bring this program back.”

Affordable family snow adventures await just a short drive away. Mt. Shasta Nordic Center is 1 mile below Mt. Shasta

Ski Park on Ski Park Highway, just a few miles east of Interstate 5. The Nordic Center offers day passes and rentals, lessons, special events, youth programs and season passes. You can book any of those services at mtshastanordic.org.

New to mountain snow country, Stacey has obtained brand new snow shoes and looks forward to trying them out on her first cross-country snowshoe hike at the Mt. Shasta Nordic Center this year.