Cross-country skiing could make the Starke County Forest a year-round destination. That’s the hope of Forester Bruce Wakeland.
He recently told the Starke County Park Board that there are fewer parks offering the activity locally, mainly because it seems that there’s less snow. “My first thought was, ‘Gee, they had it and gave it up. Why would we start it?’ And you might start it up for the exact reason that they gave it up because nobody else is doing it. So you would have a monopoly on the market for this whole area,” Wakeland said.
The park board agreed to let Wakeland continue to check into the potential costs of grooming the trails. Wakeland said the forest would likely have to get a snowmobile and grooming equipment and maybe hire someone to do the work. Board Member Chris Lawrence, who’s long advocated for cross-country skiing at the forest, said someone may have a snowmobile available for use, while Board Member Rik Ritzler wondered if the Starke County Highway Department’s existing equipment might do the job.
Wakeland said the forest’s availability for skiing may vary significantly from year to year, but he still thought it would be an opportunity to increase awareness of the forest in the area.
