Skiing at Flandrau Flandrau State Park is another option for outdoor skiing activities. Located in New Ulm, the park offers six miles of trails that are groomed on a regular basis. While some of the trails are a little steeper than Minneopa’s, they do have both green and blue trails. Trails run along the Cottonwood River floodplain where there are plenty of trees to offer skiers protection from the wind. Mount Kato has 19 trails and eight lifts. | Free Press file photo
Skiing Mount Kato Of course, south-central Minnesotans don’t have to travel far to find downhill skiing opportunities. With a new groomer for its 19 trails, Mount Kato is continuing to expand its presence as a destination for skiing enthusiasts. In addition to eight lifts, four terrain parks and a snow-tubing hill — with an all-new conveyor lift — Mount Kato also has a chalet, bar and rental shop. Next year, Mount Kato will add a conveyor lift to its bunny hill. Mount Kato is hosting a variety of events this month, including Home School Day (Jan. 8), Ladies Night (Jan. 14) and live music (Jan. 11, 18 and 25). For more info, visit www.mountkato.com.
“It’s a very busy park on the weekends and in the winter,” said Scott Kudelka. “They actually have a warming house and will have a fire going on the weekends.” •••••••••••••• In addition to offering snowshoe and cross-country ski rentals, Flandrau holds ski lessons in conjunction with the local New Ulm Community Education Program. Daily ski passes are also available for $6 for those who are 16 years or older, or people can purchase a season pass for $20.
Skiing at Minneopa If you’re looking for a more low-key skiing outing that is even closer to home, Minneaopa State Park offers five miles of groomed ski trails. “It will take you to fairly level terrain; not many hills,” said Scott Kudelka, Minneaopa naturalist. The park, which is open daylight hours and is located located five miles west of Mankato on State Highway 68 and U.S. Highway 169, takes skiers “up and down through a ravine.” “You will ski around a river bluff, so you will actually be able to see the Minnesota River,” he said. “You might have a good chance of seeing bald eagles. You will also ski across the open prairie.” Kudelka said the best time to ski is after a snowfall, when trails are groomed. “When we do have snow, the DNR is really good about grooming their trails, so we have a lot of opportunities for those winter activities,” he said. Minneaopa Park is co-sponsoring a Candlelight Ski, Snowshoe and Walk with the Friends of Minneopa from 5-9 p.m. on Jan. 18. The event features candlelit trails that are groomed for both cross-country skis and snowshoes. The festive event will also include a bonfire, hot cocoa and cookies. To access the trails on a regular day, skiers are required to pay a park fee, which is $5 per vehicle or $25 for annual pass. Payment can be made at the waterfall side of Minneapoa Park at the office or self-registration box. While the park does not offer ski rentals, they do offer rentals for snow shoes for $6 a day.
The cross-country skiing trail at Minneopa State Park. | Photo courtesy of Scott Kudelka MANKATO MAGAZINE • january 2014 • 23