From tracks along the Androscoggin River to mountain-climbing trails, Carter's X-C Center in Bethel offers an enticing smorgasbord of nordic skiing and comfy lodgings.

Earlier this week I spent a few days at Carter's Willow Brook Lodge and skied about 60 percent of the 55-kilometer network. It's located on riverside farmland that has been in the Carter family for generations. Dave Carter, who was a cross-country racer at nearby Gould Academy in the 1960s, is the center's principal founder. He's assisted by wife Anne, daughter Sarah and her fiance Jesse Hill.

Dave Carter poses by his biggest piece of trail-grooming equipment, a Kubota tractor towing a Yellowstone packing/tracking drag
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Readers of The Ski Bum blog will recall that I bought a new set of nordic skis and boots from lovely Sarah Carter at the Down East Ski Club's annual Thanksgiving weekend sale. Picture is repeated below.

I bought these skis and boots at the Down East Ski Club's annual sale from Sarah Carter, daughter of David and Anne Carter
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Jesse Hill, Sarah Carter's fiance, was running the ski shop during my visit this week
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After cruising around the riverside trails and visiting the vintage yurt, I skied up the mountainside with Dave.

About half the trails at Carter's X-C Bethel are located on the north side of Farwell Mountail
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Dave Carter poses along the trail up Farwell Mountain
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Carter's has two very rustic hillside cabins along the Wiley's Farm Trail -- Mountain Lodge and Fern's Lodge -- that are rented out to intrepid skiers.

(I stayed in more citified digs at Willow Brook Lodge, where three bedrooms are available to visitors. You can rent the whole building or just one of the bedrooms.)

Overlooks afford excellent views of the nearby Mahoosuc Mountains and the distant Presidential Range. Among the most prominent sights is the downhill ski trails of Sunday River Resort.

Dave Carter poses near one of the viewpoints on Farwell Mountain; the alpine ski trails of Sunday River Resort are in the background
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Even before the arrival of today's storm, Carter's had great cover, especially on the Farwell Mountain trails, and the X-C ski center plans to stay open at least through the end of the month. Check conditions by visiting Ski Maine's website.

When most people think of Sunday River, they think of the Bethel area's massive downhill ski resort. But there's a quieter cross-country ski experience only half a mile down the road.

Sunday River Inn and Cross Country Ski Center has been a fixture of Maine's nordic ski scene since 1972, when owners Steve and Peggy Wight first opened their network of forested trails that stretch to the Artist Covered Bridge, a couple of miles to the west.

Yesterday seven members of the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club to Sunday River Cross Country joined me for a fine day of late winter skiing.

Members of the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club pose by the Artist Covered Bridge on yesterday's outing to Sunday River Cross Country Center in Newry
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The Artist Covered Bridge was built in 1873 and is said to be the most photographed subject in Newry
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The intricate lattice-work load-bearing structure of the covered bridge is mostly original, including wooden pegs
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I lead the Sunday River XC trip every year for MOAC. Lani York of Arundel and Marty Weiss of Augusta are veterans of my previous trips. Linda Walther of Otisfield was on her first outing with the group.

Phil Poirier of Jay, one of a handful of original MOAC members who are still very active with the club, was making his first visit. Phil's an artist who paints Maine scenes, and has more recently been experimenting with "photopainting." That's digital photography that's been creatively manipulated and electronically enhanced.

New MOAC member Linda Walther of Otisfield enjoys her first outing with the group
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Lani York of Arundel pauses along the American Harrow trail
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On our way back to the inn, we met Christine Goodbody of Falmouth and her 1 1/2-year-old daughter Hannah, obviously enjoying their outing too.

Along the trails we met Christine Goodbody of Falmouth and her 1 1/2-year-old daughter Hannah
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Change is in the air. Weather-wise, we started with outstanding mid-winter conditions, but as the air warmed over the course of the day, a couple of our skiers reported waxing problems and caking issues.

Regarding the bigger picture, Sunday River's trail system was recently cut back a bit by a real estate development project. And indeed, the entire inn and cross-country center are for sale, with no assurance that a future buyer will want to continue the present cozy, comfy skiing arrangement.

With spring in the air, skiers were snapping up end-of-season bargains in the nordic ski shop.

Lani checks out end-of-season bargains in Sunday River's nordic ski shop
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My ski pal Judy "Black Diamond" George wanted to try a new mountain in New Hampshire yesterday, and topnotch weather naturally suggested one of the Granite State's most alluring destinations: Loon Mountain in Lincoln.

A four-person gondola is one of the most alluring features of Loon Mountain, in Lincoln, NH
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The Governor Adams lodge is one of two at Loon Mountain
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It's an alluring ski mountain. With a four-person gondola, two high-speed quads, two fine base lodges and two excellent high-mountain eateries, Loon certainly sets a lofty standard for facilities. I've skied there for 20 years, but it was Judy's first visit.

She was impressed by the quality of the grooming, the interesting trails and the outstanding views. Her favorite runs were a trio of long, winding cruisers that run off the gondola summit: Flying Fox, Picked Rock and Bear Claw.

We were joined for a few runs by communications director Phil Matthews, a snowboarder. Like many resort employees, Phil welcomes a chance to duck out of the office and slide for awhile.

I thanked Phil for donating two lift tickets as prizes for the annual ski trivia contest which I run each December for the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club.

Phil Matthews and Judy "B.D." George at the summit of Loon Mountain yesterday
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Judy and Phil pose along the Bear Claw trail with Mt. Washington in the background
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For lunch Judy and I stopped at the summit restaurant, which has a Jamaican theme. And we're not talking about Jamaica, Vermont! Its most popular item is the colorful Reggae Roll.

The Reggae Roll is the most popular grill item at Loon Mountain's summit restaurant
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Judy had the BBQ pulled pork sandwich. Hailing from Memphis, this skiing Scarlett O'Hara noted that the BBQ sauce fell short of hometown standards. But Judy happily conceded that Loon has it all over Memphis in terms of the skiing.

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."