Ohio's Kinder, Gentler Ski Scene

There’s no getting up before dawn and driving hours in the dark to reach double black diamond ski runs for Judy and Rick Heckert, retired teachers who live in the Mansfield, Ohio, area. "Skiing for us in Ohio means picking up the grandchildren and being on the slopes in about 30 minutes. Hills here are small enough that we can start our 2- and 3-year-olds on a leash at the top and they can ski successfully to the bottom in a short time, making it fun and building their confidence.” Five of the couple’s eight grandchildren ski already and their daughter wants to start her 2-year-old this season. "If she does," says Judy Heckert, "Grandpa Rick will certainly help."

When their two oldest children competed in a ski meet at Killington, Vt., years ago, bystanders were surprised at Scott Heckert’s speed and asked where he was from. His brother Chris replied, "Ohio."

Surprised, the onlookers responded, "But there aren’t any hills in Ohio!"

If you think Ohio is flat as a flapjack, think again. Ten million years ago a glacier crawled down from Canada, gouging out vast but shallow Lake Erie. It stopped halfway through Ohio, leaving the southern part of the state ruggedly hilly, while northern Ohio ripples with gentle slopes that turn to wedding cakes when frosted with swirls and drifts. Over millennia, rivers sculpted the land and carved deep gorges, creating contours that make for exciting downhill and X-country skiing in the shadow of the cities.

Subject to quixotic “lake effect” snows that can make life difficult for commuters and school administrators, but delightful for kids of all ages, the state has a solid snow belt south and west of Lake Erie. When Mother Nature doesn’t drop enough of the white stuff, resorts have snow-making equipment. The ski season zooms on for about four months with ambitious schedules of special events in addition to everyday thrills and spills.

The Buckeye State may not have Colorado’s mountains, but its modest vertical drops make for more family-friendly skiing and sledding. “They definitely are less intimidating than those you’ll find elsewhere,” says Marty McDonald of the Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism. Best of all, McDonald points out, “Ohio is within a day’s drive of about 60 percent of the U.S. population,” so its ski slopes are handy to lots of grandparents and grandchildren. Families can schedule a weekend together at one of the ski centers, or make a quick run to nearby slopes after school.

Just east of Cleveland in Chesterland, Alpine Valley has 11 zippy downhill trails. Some ski runs are as long as 2,000 feet from a 1,500-foot summit elevation. The longest vertical drop is 230 feet. This full-service ski park has double and quad lifts, ski and board rentals, a cafeteria, and fun opportunities such as night tubing, a permanent half pipe, and an Xtreme area with rails.

About 80 miles southwest of Cleveland in Mansfield, Ohio’s oldest commercial ski resort, Snow Trails, has a 300-foot vertical drop and runs as long as 2,000 feet in a total area of 200 acres. The resort features a Ski Carpet as well as double and triple lifts, and daily children’s programs. New this year is Polar Blast, a snow tubing area served by two conveyor lifts.

Wildly snowy Mad River Mountain is seven miles east of Bellefontaine, 53 miles from Columbus, and 63 miles from Dayton. Ski 120 acres of terrain, about one-fourth beginner slopes, one-fourth intermediate, and half for advanced skiers. Summit elevation is 1,460; the vertical drop is 300 feet. New this season is a second carpet lift to the Avalanche tubing site.

U.S. & State Parks

Kendall Lake Winter Sports Center in Cuyahoga Valley National Park (near Cleveland and Akron) offers sledding, tobogganing, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice skating, and ice fishing. Park rangers run workshops on cross-country skiing and snowshoeing for adults and kids.

Ohio has 74 magnificent state parks, most of them laced with cross-country ski trails. Although they’re dependent on weather — not snow machines — most of them provide many frosty days of skiing or snowshoe hiking. Many of the parks also have ice skating, sledding, and ranger-led nature programs that focus on winter’s hushed beauty.

For overnight ski adventures, seven Ohio state park resorts are open all year, offering accommodations in rustic lodges and amenities like heated, indoor swimming pools and restaurants. They all have nature trails for hiking, showshoeing and X-country skiing. Punderson, Maumee Bay, Burr Oak, Hueston Woods, and Salt Fork state parks have slopes for sledding and Maumee Bay, Burr Oak, and Hueston Woods have ice skating rinks. Mohican State Park Resort is near Snow Trails and Alpine Valley Ski Resorts, and sells lift tickets for them at its front desk. Ski rentals and X-country trails are also found next door at Malabar Farm State Park.