Rock Cut and groomed skate cross country ski trail
Rock Cut State Park in Rockford is a great place to cross-country ski and it is located less than 100 miles from Chicago directly off Interstate 90. Rock Cut State Park receives over 1 million visits annually, but billions of people motor past this park at 75 mph with nary a glance at the sign that welcomes potential visitors to the largest state park in Illinois.
Many of these people that speed past Rock Cut are travelers heading to the more fertile adventure travel grounds of Wisconsin. They could cut their drive time by more than half if they knew about this park.
If they knew that the park has abundant cross-country ski trails they might not drive another three hours to Black River Forest. If they knew the park has two lakes with large muskie and pike with abundant bass and bluegill they might not drive all the way to the lakes of Madison. If they knew that bald eagles are seen here and routinely take fish and sometimes a duck in Rock Cut’s two lakes they might not drive all the way to the Mississippi to view the majestic birds.
Another great aspect about this park is there is an onsite concession that rents skis and snowshoes in the winter and serves hot chili, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. This is thanks to Jim Talkington and the Paddle and Trail Ltd store in Loves Park, Ilinois which runs the concession. See this article for more information on the concession and how to get to the park.
The park is a mixture of rolling hills, open prairies, and woodlands. Perfect for cross-country skiing and the trails are fantastic. They are much better than any trails found in the Chicago area although not as great as North and South Kettle Moraine, but there are few places that are. One advantage of this park is the use of the trails and the entrance fee is free.
There is a parking lot about a half mile into the park just off of 173 that gives the skier access to the equestrian trails. These trails have been groomed for skate skiing and there is also a sign at the entrance asking all non-skiers to stay off the trail. A sign like this is not seen in any ski trail near Chicago which leads to washed out trails due to hikers and walkers destroying the ski tracks.
Another set of trails can be found in the campground where the concession is found. These trails do not have signs and suffer from the lack of them. Hikers and walkers are great, but they are much more appreciated if they could make their own trail and not destroy the ski trails. This trail follows the beautiful Pierce Lake and is really a scenic sight covered with snow.
Beautiful Pierce Lake in Rock Cut State Park
The trails can be difficult to follow as there a multiple paths that converge and there are junctions all over the place, which can confuse the skier not accustomed to the park. Trails are numbered in a strange way that is also hard to comprehend. For those directionally challenged it might be a good idea to carry a compass in order to find the way back. There are occasional maps along the trail with dots on them that show current locations, which do help and most trails start and end at the same place, so even if disoriented it is only a matter of time that the trail ends up back where it started.
For local ski conditions in Rockford check out the Northern Illinois Nordic ski web page. It is also a great resource for other places to ski in the area. Rock Cut State Park in Rockford is a great destination for cross-country skiing as it has better trails than anywhere in the Chicago area.
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Comments
Ted, you always have such great ideas. Happy New Year!
Looks inviting. As soon the the weather settles in at least at 25 degrees, I'll head out to a park or forest preserve where I can rent cross country skiis I will do it.
Never knew such great places existed.
The pictures are great - I especially like the ones that show the cross-hatch lines from the skis.
With all of these ski articles, you make me want to go!
Do you spend all your spare time on skis?
how great to have a concession stand in the park in wintertime.
All these skiing articles is making me want to give it a whirl.
The people smart enough to subscribe to your page are getting some wonderful advice. The photos are realy appealing.
Those places sound great, thanks for this article Ted. They sound like a lot less hassle than what you would get if you were flying, now that the airlines have all these new rules in effect. I wrote about it in my latest article. I think I'd rather go skiing!
Great article and typically thorough..the muskie, pike, and bass population interests me. Good job...
Cheers...
Beautiful photographs. The cold and I don't see eye to eye but these photos almost tempt me head out there.
Pretty photos, but I don't miss snow :-)
I ski at Rock Cut Park but do seriously wish they would update their ski trail maps and label them with the trail numbers and mile markers. They are beautiful trails!
Ted, you need to get more active! Looks like a great spot. Do you ever work?
Your expertise and reputation on cross country skiing are remarkable.
DuPage Co Forest Preserve grooms 6 forest preserves including Waterfall Glen and Herrick Lake and have signs asking hikers to stay of the tracks
Thank you for the tips Don. Next time it snows in the area I will check those places out.
Now these are pictures ;) Last time my Hubby and I went skiing (downhill) was in the Pocono's, Penna. I loved it and that was a long time ago. Is it just like roller skating - you never forget?
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