For those who like to cross country ski, or are looking to get into cross country skiing, Stearns Co. Parks and the Nordic Ski Club of Central Minnesota are encouraging people to ski and sample the trails in four of their parks with their 2022 Stearns Nordic Ski Sampler, running now through Feb. 15.

To encourage residents to get out and ski there are prizes to win. For each of the four parks skied in, participants can register their name in the prize drawing (one entry per park). Skiing all four parks earns participants a bonus entry, as does joining the Nordic Ski Club of Central Minnesota and attending Moonlight Ski Jan. 28.

Prizes include Quarry Park annual parking permits, gift cards to Revolution Cycle & Ski, gift cards to Fitzharris Ski & Sport, and Wildwood Ranch Maple Syrup. Winners will be announced Feb. 18. 

Warner Lake Co. Park in Clearwater is one of the four parks featured. With three types of trails, for beginners to experts, there’s a trail for everyone. The north loop adds a challenge for expert skiers. Vehicle parking permit is not required, nor is the Great Minnesota Ski Pass. 

Along with cross country skiing trails, Warner Lake Co. Park offers a number of multi-use trails for those who enjoy winter walking, dog walking, snowshoeing, or riding fat tire bicycles. There is also access to a MnDNR snowmobile trail. 

Warner Lake Co. Park is located at 1485 Co. Rd. 143 in Clearwater. The other parks included in the challenge are: Quarry Park, 1802 Co. Rd. 137, Waite Park; Kraemer Lake-Wildwood Co. Park, 12857 Co. Rd. 51, St. Joseph; and Mississippi River Co. Park, 41300 Co. Rd. 1, Rice.

To register in the drawing, participants should go to Secure.rec1.com/MN/stearns-county-mn/catalog, log in or create an account, then choose the park they skied in from the Park Events tab in the catalog.

Those interested in joining or just learning more about the Nordic Ski Club of Central Minnesota, can go to NordicSkiClubCentralMN.org.