The Wilderness Lodge

This family owned company has handled all of our septic needs for about a decade and have ALWAYS done a prompt and professional job. They have premium equipment and a great attitude. If you are having a septic problem or just don’t remember the last time it was pumped out, give Blair a call.

Just because it’s green in your yard, doesn’t mean it’s green at The Lodge!

This is what grooming is meant to be. A huge thanks to Olivia N for sharing this look at skater’s alley on the Peak trail.

This needs to stop.

The base has held but we need a couple inches of fresh beautiful powder in the worst sort of way. Desperate times call for desperate measures so Roger and Drew are taking one for the team. #snowdance #pleasemakeitsnow #onlyworksinthebuff... Share your snow dances with us in the comments!

Unfortunately we are officially CLOSED again for the moment. We are still holding a lot of snow in places but the blowouts and ice have gotten to be too much. It’s just not safe to ski. Once we get some fresh we will plan to groom and get back open as soon as possible. Do your snow dance and we will too.

Been thinking about skiing over Christmas break? We are thinking you better get out here today. Coverage is still pretty good with a few thin spots but generally good coverage. It’s 29 degrees at 8:00am and we got about an inch of fresh overnight. The groomers will be top dressing it this morning any until it warms up should be pretty quick. Winter waits for no one. Get it while you can, the forecast doesn’t look great.

Looks like Cross Country skiing is going to be the thing to do this winter. Outdoor, fun, and affordable, it’s great for the whole family.

It’s a beautiful blue bird day out here! Why are you sharing this on your Facebook page instead if skiing right now?! #firsttracks

We are OPEN for the 2020 season, sort of! The trails will be open and groomed, rentals are available, but the restaurant will be Closed for the season due to Covid. There is now a pass shed in the parking lot and safety precautions in the rental department. But as least we are skiing!!!

Cross country skiing and snowshoeing are fun to learn, healthy, family friendly, accessible, affordable, and offer great variety. Participants can hike their favorite trails on snowshoes, find amazing winter scenery on groomed cross country ski trails, or wait for snow to fall in their neighborhoods and ski around town. Cross country skiing uses natural movements it doesn’t require special skills to get started and has a short learning curve. Snowshoeing may be more diffic...ult than walking but most people can start snowshoeing within minutes of strapping on their snowshoes. As an added bonus, many areas that cater to cross country skiers and snowshoers offer fine food and craft beverages. An important factor likely to drive increased participation on trails this winter is the obvious social distancing advantage these activities have over lift-served downhill skiing. The two largest alpine resort operators have announced that there will be capacity limitations at their resorts and season passholders will have priority. Casual skiers, those that only ski a few times each season, may find themselves blocked out of weekend skiing at lift served resorts. Social distancing is far easier when skiers and snowshoers have miles of trails to explore away from crowds. The financial bottom line on cross country skiing and snowshoeing tends to be small making these winter activities an excellent option for anyone that wants to experience a true winter wonderland. ~Kelly Davis from the Cross Country Ski Areas Association See more

We could go on about the critical nature of COVID or a myriad of other topics, but depression is a very bad thing and we are not looking to promote it in any way. Sohere is the good news as we see it, We will be open this winter! On our website, Season passes are on sale until November 30th. We have also posted our COVID -19 Policy. Please go to that site for information on changes in our operations.... Trail work-mowing, removing downed trees and picking up limbs-has been going on for some time and now we will push a little harder. The woods are beautiful and if you want to come out and walk the trails beside the Lodge, now is a good time. We use many acres of neighboring lands and with the possibility of hunting, these properties are closed until ski season. Speaking of skiingAccuWeather has made a prediction that Pittsburgh has a 15%-20% chance of having a White Christmas. Seeing that we are 125+ miles North of Pittsburgh and located on a hill with 1,000 feet of elevation over Lake Erie, there is a pretty good chance that Christmas will happen at Wilderness Lodge. It’s an La Niña year, which typically means colder and wetter in our region. AccuWeather is predicting an early December chill with lake effect snows, mid season in the Great Lakes with above normal precipitation and a few heavy snowfall events We have found other sites which reflect colder than average temps and above average snowfall. DIRECT WEATHER website offers a video which calls for the Worst of Winter starting at the western edge of Lake Erie into New Englandspecifically mentioning Western PennsylvaniaWorst for us is a good thingabove average Lake Effect snow. As an aside, a few years ago, Judy and I were out sitting on our deck enjoying a sunny day and watching the skiers go by A woman skied up to the deck and said, This has to be the happiest place on Earth! We know the endorphins had kick inbut it was a wonderful compliment. We share Wilderness Lodge with our many friends, people who leave smiling. We invite you to come. ~Roger

Can’t wait to see you out here this season! It’s going to be different in this Covid winter but we will be grooming and skiing for sure! What spot in the woods are you most excited to get back to? https://ccsaa.org//this-winter-is-looking-epic-for-cross-/