Give Olympic sports a try
The conditions are right: plenty of snow, cold temperatures and inspiration from the Olympics to get out and enjoy winter sports. A unique destination to experience several winter sports is the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex in Michigan’s Muskegon State Park, about a three-hour drive away.
“You can spend a whole weekend here, and lots of families do,” said Jim Rudicil, executive director of the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex. “We have luge, cross country skiing, ice skating, speed skating and snow-shoeing. We provide all the equipment — just bring warm clothes, boots and gloves.”
He explained that the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex is a nonprofit organization run by a small staff and many volunteers. This is the facility’s 29th year of operation, and its popularity and longevity are a testament to the community and its volunteers.
The Muskegon luge track is one of four in the United States. Introductory public programs are offered on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays that take beginners all the way to racing on a section of the track over 600 feet long, and at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.
“We take up to 30 people for every 2½ hour session. The first hour is basic instruction. Next are practice runs, then the last hour are races, with medals awarded in youth and adult divisions,” Rudicil explained.
“At the beginning, we often hear, ‘I’m scared. I don’t think I can do that.’ Then a little later when they hit the cushion at the end of a run, there’s laughing and we hear, ‘That was awesome.’”
The Learn to Luge program is open to ages 8 and over and costs $35 per person on Friday evenings and $45 on Saturdays and Sundays. Participants must provide proof of health insurance and sign a waiver. Advance registration is recommended.
The Muskegon Winter Sports Complex also has over nine miles of groomed cross country skiing trails, through woods and along dunes and offers lessons. A trail pass costs $7 per person and equipment rentals are $8 per day.
“We have the largest lighted trail system in the Midwest for skating and skiing at night,” according to Rudicil. You caught that — a skating trail. “It’s a quarter-mile ice skating track, about 10 feet wide, that jogs around through the woods. We also have two acres of ice rinks for skating and hockey.”
A skating pass costs $5 per person, with skate rentals available for $4 per day.
There are also about five miles of snow shoe trails for a variety of different skill levels. The advanced part of the trail goes over the dunes and along the Lake Michigan shore line. The novice section is a nice trail through the woods.
A snowshoe pass costs $5, with equipment rentals $8 per person. The snowshoe trails are not lighted, but participants can bring their own headlamp to go out on the trails after dark.
There is also a small sledding hill for children up to age 9 that parents can view from inside the lodge. For a bigger hill and a bigger thrill — after the 15- to 20-minute climb uphill that is — bring your own sled to the Sugar Bowl and sled down a dune in another section of the Muskegon State Park.
“The Muskegon Youth Winter Sports Fest is Feb. 6 through 9,” Rudicil said. “(Tonight) we’ll have 3-on-3 youth hockey and the luge competition. On Friday at 4 p.m. (EST) we’ll have ice racing championships, open to all youth age 16 and under. The entry is $2. We’ll have a speed skating coach here to give some instruction to skaters of any ability. Speed skates are provided or you can use any skate you’re comfortable with. This really highlights our purpose, which is youth development and to expose youth to winter sports.”
And who knows just where the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex experience may take a young athlete.
“There are great opportunities here to live the Olympic dream,” said Rudicil. “In fact the U.S. Olympic coach for luge, Mark Grimmette, came from Muskegon luge, and there was another Muskegon slider who was just edged out of making this Olympic team.”
But for most of us, a chance to learn to luge, skate a trail, snow shoe or ski at night is just way to get outdoors and have some winter fun.
Rudicil said he heard from one family that keeps coming back year after year: “This is the most real thing we can enjoy together as a family.”
For details, directions, the online reservation system and current conditions, go to www.msports.org. There is a gate fee of $8.55 per car into Muskegon State Park.