XC Skiing at Love Creek Park
Love Creek Park sits just outside of the town of Berrien Springs, MI, straddling a scenic creek, with rolling trails along steep and nicely wooded ravines. Barring dangerously snowy road conditions, the 2-hour drive from Chicago is well worth it, because this little gem of a park features dedicated trails for fatbiking, XC skiing and snowshoeing, and —because of its location in SW Michigan— gets a reliable dose of lake effect snow. Hikers and dogs are specifically barred from using the trails while there’s snow on the ground (they are welcome at other times). The trails are meticulously groomed, and wind through a gorgeous rolling landscape, which provides a nice degree of challenge, but also plenty of non-intimidating options for novice users.
Although we didn’t try fatbiking on this trip, the Nature Center at the park has a solid fleet of recreational fatbikes for rent on a first come first served basis. If you never tried riding a fatbike in the snow, this would be a great place to get your toe in the water. The groomed, lightly hilly trails will get your heart pumping, but you’re not likely to need any advanced skills. (If you’re a more skilled rider and have your own fatbike, you can use this as a warm-up, and pop over across town to Andrews University MTB Trails for a much more challenging 10-mile ride.)
The park attendant told us there are about 5 miles of XC ski trails (map), but it seemed that with the various side off-shoots there might be a bit more. The main trails (red and green) are well marked and groomed for both traditional Nordic skiing, and for skate style skiing. The smaller side loops that skirt the creek, a pond and a number of ravines, are narrow and groomed for traditional skis.
The park is open 7 days a week, however equipment rental and other facilities are only available Wednesday-Sunday when the Nature Center is open. When open, the Nature Center charges a parking and trail use fee (which was a modest $13 for two adults and a vehicle). There doesn’t seem to be a provision for making a payment when the center is closed, but the parking lot is open and cleared of snow, and trails are groomed, open and in use.
All in all, a highly recommended winter day outing from Chicago.
Summary
Located about 2 hours from Chicago on 200 acres in SW Michigan, Love Creek park offers several miles of trails groomed for winter sports.
Nature Center with equipment rental, warming facilities and washrooms in open Wednesday-Sunday.
Trails are closed to dogs and hiking when there is enough snow to groom trails for cross-country skiing and fat biking, as footprints damage the trails.
Love Creek County Park website.
XC Skiing page.