From the enthusiast's point of view, cross-country skiing at the Bethel Inn is a model of excellence. And providing that excellent skiing product is an interesting business model as well.

That was my conclusion after staying at the Bethel Inn during the week and skiing the 40-kilometer trail network that starts at the landmark 1913 edifice and winds across its golf course and into the woods.

The Bethel Inn has been a landmark of Maine hospitality since 1913 and offers one of the state's best cross-country skiing experiences as well
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Jeb Clarke gets ready to head out on the trails at the Bethel Inn Nordic Ski Center
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Ten years ago I skied here a few times, but I wasn't impressed. The indifferent quality of the trail grooming didn't match the excellence of the hospitality.

That situation was fixed four years ago with a partnership between the inn and Caribou Recreation Development LLC, a company run by three veteran skiers that now runs the cross-cross country touring center.

Mike Cooper is one of three veteran skiers who run the Bethel Inn Nordic Ski Center
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At the crack of dawn every morning, while the inn staff prepares the sumptuous breakfast buffet, Cooper and his staff fire up a Bombardier 400 grooming snowcat to buff the skating lanes and re-set the classical tracks.

After breakfast is done, inn guests filter downstairs to the full-service shop to set out on their cross-country adventures.

During my stay, I covered about two-thirds of the total trail mileage, which ranges from easy flats on the golf course, with panoramic views of the nearby White Mountains and Mahoosuc Range, to gentle cruising pathways that wend their way through the woods. With a couple of exceptions, trails are groomed to a width of about 18 feet, ample room for a skate platform plus a single classical track.

Trail signage is excellent at Bethel Inn Nordic Ski Center
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The newest addition to the network is the Pine Hill Competition System, nearly 10 km of segregated race training trails, which features many technically challenging hills and curves.

Gould Academy student Hannah Cowan takes a training run at the Pine Hill Competition System, 10 km of technically challenging trails that are part of the Bethel Inn Nordic Ski Center
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After a hard day of skiing, guests can enjoy the health club with its indoor/outdoor heated swimming pool, then head for a four-star dinner where the menu offerings include items such as Seafood Stuffed Sole with Sweet and Sour Scallops, Lobster and Shrimp Scampi and Roasted Rack of Lamb. The dessert menu is loaded with items featuring Maine blueberries.

The partnership between the inn and the independent businessmen who run the cross-country center is ideal from the guests' point of view. Each company can devote its full attention to its own area of expertise.

"It's an interesting model," says Cooper. "The arrangement allows us to take care of the avid skiers while the inn takes care of the hotel business."

Caribou Recreation's partners include Cooper, Kirk Siegel and Roger Smith. Combined with their staff, they count many years of teaching, coaching and management experience plus a deep involvement with such organizations as the Bethel Outing Club and the New England Nordic Ski Association.

And many years of experience in running grooming equipment.

Caribou Recreation company boasts many years of experience with ski area grooming and management
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"We know the ski business," adds Cooper. "We're skiers and we know how to take care of snow. Our machine operators are skiers and we know what we're looking for."

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