Sugar Hills Building Project
December 2018
Great news! The building is completed and ready for use! There is a warming house on the front left corner of the building, and the remainder of the building is a spacious storage area for our grooming and trail equipment. Next spring a DNR-style out house will be built as well. Thanks again to all the folks who have contributed donations including from both large sponsors (Blandin, IRRRB, Itasca Trails Force) and individuals (Miner Family, and many club members). Please check out the photos in the project gallery below.Thank you for your interest in the Sugar Hills Building Project! We at the Northern Lights Nordic Ski Club (NLNSC) are excited to bring a much needed maintenance building and public warming space to the Sugar Hills ski trail. The NLNSC is a 501c3 organization founded in 1991 and dedicated to promoting cross-country skiing as a healthful family activity. Donations are tax-deductible. NLNSC relies on your donations and grants for funding and has no paid employees. Our volunteers groom the majority of the available miles on the cross-country trails in Itasca County.
Sugar Hills is the site of a premiere trail that formerly hosted the State cross-country ski meets. It remains very popular with residents as well as out-of-town visitors. Presently, our equipment is housed in a cramped unheated building that will no longer be usable after the season. In the winter, our volunteers go out in the cold, snowy and windy conditions to get this fine trail ready for the public use. In the off-season, we continue with trail maintenance by removing downed trees, mowing and fixing erosion. This helps to make the trail accessible to the public for year round use such as hiking, biking and hunting.
We have plans for a 1500-sq.ft. storage and maintenance building with an attached public space for wintertime warming and changing. We will house the equipment that we use for this trail, as well as the other trails in the county. The estimated cost for this facility is $120,000; we have already raised over half of the funds needed. Your donation will be of great help in getting NLNSC over the top and support the hard-working folks who keep this trail and other trails in top condition.
Thank you so much for your consideration. For questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact club President Pete Friedlieb, or one of our other board members.