It was a great trip and the most mileage we had ever covered on skis together as a group (the varying ages of our group generally keeps our mileage short).
The kids had some fun "posing" (i.e., action shots of the group jumping on their skis) for pictures but there were several other highlights on the trail.
Sliding
We found a steep hill once we got to the Otter Ponds. I wouldn't let the kids ski down the hill because of the curves and proximity to a lot of trees (I'd rather not deal with a concussion on the ski trail a mile from the car so I play it safe when I'm with the group). The snow was packed down and icy enough that the kids had no trouble flying down the hill without any additional equipment but the snowpants on their butt.
I thought the ice on the pond was a bit questionable (i.e., not thick enough) but there were ice fisherman out doing their thing so after a quick check in with them, we made our crossing to connect with the trail on the other side of the pond.
Ice Smashing, Licking, Eating
As soon as Sebago Lake came in to view the kids had to stop to check it out. The lake did not look frozen to me but again, there were a bunch of ice fisherman out on the ice.
The kids had a ball picking up ice chunks and smashing them on the ground. One of our young friends thought it was very funny to smash the ice over his head. His dad suggested he stop that activity (immediately) before he hurt himself.
Once the ice smashing demonstrations were over the group decided to find "clean" chunks of ice to lick and eat instead.
One of the kids told me that when water forms to ice it takes out all the "bad stuff." I'm not sure about that but since Sebago is our public drinking water source I let the kids do as they
And after covering 2.8 miles on our skis, the kids were tired (OK, moms and dad too) and happy to return to the trail head to enjoy our tailgating party with hot cocoa and G.'s brownies.
I took along my GPS to record our loop around the Otter Ponds and Sebago, which is not marked clearly on the trail system as we left the main Mountain Division Trail (MDT) to make our way to the big lake. The trail markers on the MDT are very good and offer mileage markers so you can gauge how far you'd like to go before turning back (it's not a looping trail unless you loop around the unmarked pond trails). It was a beautiful trek through the ponds but the one downside was that to make the complete loop as we wanted we had to cross Route 35 (and had to take off our skis to do that). But it was a quick route back to the car so the kids didn't mind the brief break from their skis to cross the road.
XC Skiing at Otter Ponds, Sebago Lake
TRAIL REVIEW
Trail: Mountain Division Trail, Standish
Length: 5.7 miles one way
Grooming: No, but snowmobiles pack down snow so it has a groomed feel to it
Parking: Parking at Johnson Field on Route 35 in Standish
Fee: None
Equipment Rentals: none
Bathroom: Porta-potty at Johnson Field
Ski Level: Beginner
Dog-friendly: yes, on a leash
Kid-friendly factor: GOOD
The Porta-potty is a nice feature at the trail head. Snowmobiles are permitted on these trails so families skiing with kids should stay to one side and keep an ear out for approaching snowmobiles. My family has found snowmobilers on this trail to be courteous and slow down around skiers.
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