Scene Magazine
Like a seasoned skier successfully schussing to the bottom of a run, best-laid plans can be pulled off. Witness Virginia Kendall Park. One of the country’s most uniquely designed outdoor recreational vistas, it remains the 1,574-acre playground its developers envisioned 65 years ago.
The pastoral ski slopes, serene cross-country skiing terrain and perfect-for-skating lake compose the heart of a post-Depression era project of the Civilian Conservation Corps. And the lay of this land is far different from Corps projects throughout the nation geared toward tree-planting and the prevention of erosion, flooding and forest fires.
“The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal employment program,” says Tom Medema, supervisory park ranger for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. “The goal was to put millions of Americans back to work, but the side effect was a tremendous amount of conservation.” Or, in the case of Virginia Kendall, recreation.
From the installation of a toboggan run in 1936 (removed in 1990 for liability concerns) to its current-day skiing, skating, sledding and snowshoeing facilities, the area had been actively pursued as an “outdoor recreational mecca for Cleveland and Akron” since its purchase from the Hayward Kendall family in the ’20s, says Medema – the key proviso being that the park be named after Kendall’s mother.
After recent years of sparse snowfall, Mother Nature’s almost-daily December dumpings and dustings have done right by outdoor types. Nearly every Saturday (9 a.m.-noon) and Sunday (1-4 p.m.) in January and February, beginning cross-country skiers can soak up the solitude and serenity of the valley’s non-groomed trails. Intermediate-level workshops, snowshoeing instruction and open skiing are also available. Ten bucks gets you ski rental and two hours of instruction; for a fiver, you can rent skis and go out on your own for half a day.
Local snowfall being the hit-and-miss proposition it is, Medema suggests you plan to call ahead before packing up the skis and skates. At Virginia Kendall, where there’s a plan, there’s a way to have winter fun.
The Winter Sports Center at Kendall Lake is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends from Jan. 6 through Feb. 25. For more information on workshops, equipment rental or hours, call the Happy Days Visitors Center Wednesday through Sunday at 1-800-257-9477.