Winter in Central Pennsylvania. Some days it’s just more enticing to stay inside and hibernate. Snuggling up in blankets on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and binging on Netflix can be pretty appealing. But every so often those blankets need to be washed and stir craziness sets in. Even in the cold, it’s nice to get some fresh air and exercise.

While a bit of grace and the desire to hurtle down a mountain at breakneck speed are needed for alpine skiing or snowboarding, another great winter sport option is cross-country skiing. A full-body workout — using poles to propel forward and legs to glide — it costs less money, is safer, is easier than walking on snow, is less crowded than on the slopes, and, after a significant snowfall, can be done practically anywhere.

“It’s essentially a way to hike in the snow,” says Shea Bracken of State College, who started cross-country skiing with her family as a child. “There’s nothing like being out in the woods right after it snows. Everything is quiet, and you can glide through the woods in silence — it’s just so peaceful.”

She says that unlike alpine skiing, cross-country skiing has a low learning curve — practically anyone can just go out and do it without the risk of serious injury. Three years ago, her husband bought some used cross-country skis on Craigslist, and, whenever there’s fresh snow on the ground, the couple likes to ski around Circleville Park, the state game lands, Rothrock State Forest, and Black Moshannon State Park. Right after a heavy snowfall, they even ski around their streets in Park Forest.

Testing out cross-country skis before committing to owning a pair is easy to do in Centre County.

For 10 years, Howard Pilot, a sixth-grade teacher at Park Forest Middle School, has rented about 100 skis from Appalachian Outdoors, so he takes his students outside to try out his favorite sport. Each year, the cofounder of Nittany Nordic Cross-Country Ski Club and some other teachers take the students out into the woods during the winter for a multidisciplinary field trip. They learn about the wetlands in the winter, meteorology (why Black Moshannon has a foot of snow when there’s no snow on the ground in State College), and cross-country skiing.

“The kids love it,” says Pilot. “Junior and seniors in high school come up to me and tell me how much they loved the field trip. Some have even taken it up as a sport that they do regularly.”

Pilot’s interest in cross-country skiing began in the late 1970s as a teenager living in Clearfield County. In 1976, he watched Bill Koch of Vermont win a silver medal in the 30-kilometer event, becoming the first American to win an Olympic medal in Nordic skiing. Pilot was inspired. As a long-distance runner and outdoorsman, he had found the perfect sport.

He continued the sport in college and started racing in the 1990s. His races have taken him around the country and across the globe. When there’s no snow on the ground, he continues to train, but with different equipment: roller skis (skis with wheels on their ends to emulate cross-country skiing), running, cycling, and inline skating.

And it’s an activity he does with his family. Every year, the Pilots go to Gatineau Park in Ottawa, where they have more than 200 kilometers of trails for cross-country skiing.   

Despite his travels, he says it’s still fairly easy to find places to practice his favorite sport in Central Pennsylvania. His Web site, crosscountryskipa.com, is updated regularly with snow reports, good Web sites to learn more about the sport, trails in the area and around the world, and tips for other skiers.

The Nittany Nordic Cross-Country Club, open to anyone in Centre County, is a great resource for experts and novices alike, and does a great service to the community — the club often grooms trails nearby for everyone to enjoy.

“You can’t beat the beauty you see when cross-country skiing,” Pilot says. “Plus, it’s gentle on your joints, you can keep in shape in the winter, and it’s enough of a workout that you stay warm even in the cold weather.”