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JACKSON SKI TOURING FOUNDATION

Jackson, New Hampshire

There is a heritage of ski touring in the village of Jackson that dates back to before the turn of the century when skis were a means of transport as well as recreation during snowbound winters. It was not until 1972, however, that the random ski trails were connected to form the unique trail system found today.

Organized as a non-profit organization, the Foundation, as it is known, maintains trails, both pre-season and in-season. The Foundation provides information, maps, maintains a courtesy patrol, rescue service and organizes events and programs. The Foundation also conducts ski lessons and coordinates with an on-site rental/retail shop to provide services to make a complete cross-country ski experience for visitors and residents alike. A brand new base facility with expanded and enhanced family friendly services was constructed during the summer of 1998.

The Jackson Ski Touring Club is the membership and funding wing of the Foundation. Everyone skiing on trails maintained by the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation must be a member of the Jackson Ski Touring Club. Club memberships are available daily or annually. The daily club membership pass (those sticky tickets) entitles the member to unlimited use of the trails (for the duration of their membership), use of parking lots, base facilities, toilets, wax room, and programs. The trails interlace the village and connect the shops and inns to the rolling meadows and low forests, climbing to the high mountains that surround the rolling valley floors.

Jackson Ski Touring Foundation trails connect with the A.M.C. trails in Pinkham Notch. The Jackson Ski Touring Foundation operates under a Special-Use Permit with the White Mountain National Forest, and with the cooperation and courtesy of 75 private landowners, and the town of Jackson. Seventeen inns and lodges, five pubs, ten eateries, wilderness areas, two alpine ski areas, and galleries are now linked by a network of over 60 trails. The staff works year round, cutting new trails and brushing and maintaining existing trails on this the largest X-C trail system in the eastern United States. A number of Jackson Ski Touring Foundation trails lie within the boundaries of the White Mountain National Forest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture/Forest Service has been supportive of the project from the beginning when it issued to the Foundation the first-ever cross-country ski Special-Use permit.

The 158 km trail system spans three river valleys and 60 square miles of the splendid highlands of the White Mountains. Skiers choose a tour for sunny open vistas, serene woodland terrain, challenging mountain descents or our world class race course areas. All of Jackson's trails are designed and cut to offer optimum skiing conditions during the long winter season.

There is a long and varied tradition of ski competition in Jackson as well, from the mountain races of the mid 1930's organized by the Jackson Ski and Outing Club to 1990's world championship races. These competitions include regular citizen's, high school, and college races, the Eastern Citizen's Championships (1980), the 1st U.S. Masters National Championships (1982), the NCAA National Championships (1984 and 1995) the Jackson International Relays (1985), the U.S. Ski Team Tryouts (1986), the Jackson International (1987), and the World Nordic Championships for the Disabled (1990). Jackson is the host site for the 2000 Junior Olympics.