Jizerské Hory Cross Country Highway

Our favorite cross country ski trail opened this weekend. Just knowing that the trails were groomed and ready for action made me want to play hookey and head for the hills, but then I watched this video from Saturday. If you don't hear from me for a few days, you'll know where I am!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * If you're in the Czech Republic and wondering where you too can find good cross country skiing, look no further than the Jizerská magistrála, or Jizerske Highway. It's a series of cross country and hiking tracks over 170 km long. There's a trail for everyone, even if you're skiing with a kid in tow.

We usually drive up to Bedřichov, and ski from the Maliník parking lot. My advice, get there early. We took a vacation day one Wednesday to try to beat the parking lot crowd, arrived at 10, and snagged the last space in the lot. Once you're on the trails though, it's not crowded at all (there's enough space for everyone when you have so many kilometers to choose from!).

Here are pictures from one of our treks last year. Tempting isn't it?