Epiphany frosts have arrived in St. Petersburg, which means that there is an excellent opportunity to spend free time with health benefits. There are many places in the city and its environs where you can go on skis and leisurely ride, enjoying the views of the winter forest, or vice versa - zip down the slopes, blowing the frosty air on your face. The site has compiled a review of well-maintained places for cross-country skiing.

Ski slope "SKA"

Location: Toksovo

The oldest ski track in the city, about 10 kilometers long, has a rather complex shape. Here you can find steep climbs and high-speed descents that will require good skiing and good health. The total elevation gain is 400 meters.

In the past, the SKA ski slope was the scene of international and all-Union (then all-Russian) competitions; today it is a favorite place for many skiers.

Conditions: On the shore of Lake Khepojärvi there is a recreation complex " Northern slope", where there are changing rooms and ski rental. You can get to the SKA ski slope by train, by shuttle bus from the Devyatkino metro station, and by private car.

Ski track "Dynamo"

Location: Toksovo - Kavgolovo, territory of the Kavgolovo forest park

The relatively easy trail with a distance of 5 kilometers is ideal for training. There are descents and ascents here that add variety to your winter walk.

Conditions: At the Dynamo ski base you can rent skis and cheesecakes, as well as change clothes and leave personal belongings.

Skiing does not require special long-term training and is accessible to everyone. Photo: AiF/Evgenia Savina

Ski track "Pargolovskaya ski track"

Location: st. metro station "Ozerki" - "Prospekt Prosveshcheniya"

The picturesque five-kilometer route is located in the southern part of Shuvalovsky Park. Every year the traditional race “Pargolovskaya Ski Track” takes place here, after which the track got its name.

Conditions: The ski slope is located within the city, a 5-10 minute drive from the Ozerki or Prospekt Prosveshcheniya metro stations.

Ski track "Murinsky Park"

Location: st. metro " Civil Prospect" - "Academic"

Along Lunacharsky Avenue and Murinsky Stream there is a “wild” ski track, the length of which is 6 kilometers.

Currently, by order of the administration in Murinsky Park, a concept is being developed for the construction of a ski and biathlon track, which involves ski routes of different lengths, additional bridges and a biathlon shooting range for 15 athletes.

Conditions: There is no ski rental.

Ski slope "Elagin Island"

Location: st. metro station "Staraya Derevnya" - "Krestovsky Ostov", Central Park of Culture and Culture named after. CM. Kirov

You can go skiing and Finnish sledding on Elagin Island, favorite place holiday for many St. Petersburg residents. A skating rink will also appear here soon, the pouring of which has already begun on the Big Square.

Conditions: Rental of skis, Finnish sleds and very soon - skates.

Ski track LMZ

Location: Lembolovo

A wide ski track with a total length of 10 kilometers passes through picturesque pine forests. The ski track has a series of ascents and descents of varying difficulty. The steepest and most difficult climb is located around the sixth kilometer, and after the seventh, the route goes downhill and ends with a two-kilometer section on the plain. The total elevation gain is 200 meters.

Conditions: Ski rental, changing rooms, as well as the possibility of renting premises in the LMZ camp and other nearby camps.

You can rent skis on many slopes. Photo: www.russianlook.com

VIFK ski slope

Location: Toksovo - Kavgolovo

The VIFK ski track is one of the best: it is certified for ski racing on an all-Russian scale. The ski track starts at the stadium of the Military Institute of Physical Culture and runs through an area sheltered from the wind. Its length is 10 kilometers.

Conditions: The VIFK base can be reached on foot from the Kavgolovo platform in the direction ski resort"Eagle Mountain".

Ski slope "Yuntolovo"

Location: st. metro station "Komendantsky Prospekt"

You can enjoy leisurely skiing in the Yuntolovsky Nature Reserve, which is not only a national but also an international natural heritage. Yuntolovo is the largest specially protected natural area in St. Petersburg. This is where the city ends and the forest begins.

Among the residents of the Primorsky district, the Yuntolovskaya Ski Run has been held here for 11 years.

Conditions: There are no ski or cheesecake rental points.

Ski track RGAFK im. Lesgafta

Location: Kavgolovo

The five-kilometer ski slope is located near the Eagle Mountain ski complex and the training base of the Russian State Academy of Physical Culture named after. Lesgafta. In 2003, the World Cup cross-country skiing competitions took place here, thanks to which the overall condition of the track was improved.

Conditions: There is a paid access to the ski track through a checkpoint, there is a parking lot.

Active outdoor recreation in the winter forest gives amazing results. Photo: www.russianlook.com

Ski slope "Priboy"

Location: Zelenogorsk

Not far from the Priboy base there is a 17-kilometer-long ski track. Its route passes through a picturesque coniferous forest and consists of a series of interesting ascents and descents. The total elevation gain is 425 meters, which allows us to classify it as a route of medium difficulty. At the end of the season, a 50-kilometer marathon race is traditionally held here.

Conditions: There is a storage room on the territory of the ski resort where you can leave personal belongings. In addition, you can rent skis and rent a relaxation room here.

Ski track "Pargolovskaya ski track"

A small five-kilometer track, along which the traditional race of the same name takes place, is located almost within the city limits, a five-minute drive from the station. Prospekt Prosveshcheniya metro station. The route passes through the picturesque copses of the southern end of the Shuvalovsky Forest Park. In general, the route is not difficult, with a maximum height difference of only 15 m, abounding big amount turns and is very convenient for coaches, who can watch skiers from one point 3-4 times on each lap. About 50% of the route runs through open areas with little protection from the wind. The total elevation gain on the 5-kilometer circuit is 90 m or, on average, 18 m per kilometer. There are practically no difficult ascents and descents; the route is well suited for training children and beginner skiers. The distance from any point on the route to the starting town does not exceed 500 - 600 meters.

There is a 2.5 km section of the route with artificial lighting.

Additional Information

Locker rooms - information not available.

Car parking - no centralized parking

Directions to the Pargolovskaya ski track

1. Travel by bus and minibus taxis in the direction of Pargolovo/Sertolovo. From Art. Ozerki metro station, etc. Enlightenment available a large number of routes providing a 5-10 minute headway both on weekends and weekdays. Travel time is 10 minutes. Stop - the road to Kamenka.
2. . By private vehicle you will reach the highway area from Poklonnaya Gora in the same 10 minutes.

Weather: +0, hard prepared track
Skis: Fischer RCS season 04/05, size 192, weight 80 kg
Ski preparation: new matte sander + basic + wax Zet HF -5..+3 + brushes
Fitness Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Ski glide and performance rating: 8.5 out of 10

There were questions about whether it was worth running 10 5km laps to Pargolovo. But doubts were dispelled good feedback about the condition of the route and the organization of this marathon, which was held for the first time after a long break. Initially, I thought I’d had enough of “fifty dollars” and would run 30 km with juniors and grandfathers, but it was technically impossible to enter this distance with my age - only 50 km. On the other hand, the Competition Regulations made it possible to run less than 10 laps and get your time on the protocol instead of the unpleasant “passed out” mark. This is an unusual scheme, in my opinion, very convenient for debutants - run as much as you can, get time.

In the week before the marathon, I managed to recover well - race walking and long, slow running rule the day. But again I didn’t really get to ski. And in the last 2 weeks I’ve only gone to the terrain once - last weekend for the marathon in Lembolovo. So the mountain training was a failure. On the other hand, during the season we have already driven 85 hours - about 1000 km. I have long dreamed of gaining such mileage, it is not easy in St. Petersburg conditions of little snow winter with constant thaws, without training camps.

A few days later, the weather started to get above zero during the day, and it became unclear what condition the 5km loop to Pargolovo would be in. In favor of hard skiing there is a snowcat and regular “rolling” of the circle by juniors from the youth sports school of the Vyborg region. In favor of soft skiing, loose skiing - temperature changes, light plus during the day, a large number of marathon participants. A soft track seemed more likely. And in order not to get caught again, I began to think about how to solve this problem. There were two options: buy knurling or make a pair of skis for soft snow. It turned out that a good knurling costs good money, so I decided to turn my 2004 Fischer RCS Scatecut Plus training pair into a backup soft snow racing pair. I sent them for sanding (stein sanding), ordered a structure for soft snow and light minus.

Looking ahead, the ski track in Pargolovo turned out to be wonderful, without spring debris, quite tough, even by the end of the competition the track was not broken. So I had to run in combat Rossignol X-iums, but I only took Fischer with me. And after 30 km I still felt a difference: in the weight of a pair of skis (it would seem only 150 grams for each leg), and in the usual NNN bindings versus the improved NNN Xcelerator. So the marketers are not lying about “the advanced technology used in the NNN Xcelerator bindings to lighten the load on the foot and effectively transfer force.” In stock I found high-fluoride HF paraffin Zet for transitional weather and high humidity, temperatures from -5 to +3. I didn't know how it would work, but I decided to take a chance. And I was right. New Steinslift + HF paraffin - and there were no issues with ski gliding today. And many experienced racers went too far with lubricants and powders; at the end there were conversations about poor gliding, and during the course of the race I saw skis being changed more than once.

Well, contrary to the commandment of marathon runners “not to run in new ones,” I had to run in new Rossignol X10 Skate boots (bought three days before the race). For two terry socks, as usual. I was afraid that the sole of the old ones would completely fall off and fly off along with the ski somewhere into the bushes. The new boots didn’t let me down and didn’t wear out my legs.

Pargolovo, of course, is not a suburban winter forest, but it has its advantages - it is very convenient for spectators and fans. At any time you can go to warm up in a beautiful wooden house near the ski stadium and even eat something at the food station. Almost the entire circle, laid out in loops on a copse with an area of ​​2 sq. km, is clearly visible from two hills; you can constantly observe the beautiful work of the leaders and cheer for familiar riders. Not many people showed up for the marathon - about 80 people for the “fifty” and 50 for the “thirty”, but several hundred people came to relatives, sympathizers and fans, and many people took photos and videos. Here is the route diagram - http://www.ski-spb.ru/ski-tracks/35-2009-12-24-23-12-25. This is a fairly simple route, the sum of the climbs is 90m per 5km, there are simply no complex long climbs here (the difference in altitude between the lowest and highest point only about 20m). But on the other hand, there is not much plain, there are quite a lot of climbs, and at 50 km of the distance there is already a decent climb of 900 m.

Start at 12.00. The weather is about 0. And again, my favorite mistake is to start too quickly, and this time it’s from the heart. The first 5km took 17:52, and on the second lap I just stopped. I actually walked uphill and couldn’t catch my breath. The cheerful swearing of the coaches, with which they urged the wards who were climbing the climbs, slightly enlivened them. Yes, it’s a pity that I don’t have a coach, I’m my own coach. And I even thought that I wouldn’t be able to recover, I ruined the race. But by the end of the third lap it got better, and on laps 4 and 5 I finally came to my senses and reached cruising speed. After the first hour of the race it became a little warmer, it became about +1. At the food station at the stadium, I stopped every time and refueled with 100-150 grams of fruit drink, and every 2 laps - a slice of pickled cucumber and banana. Driving on a 5 km circuit is not at all boring, the track is wide and the participants did not interfere with each other, overtaking was easy. The poor mountain training of the last month was taking its toll - even on the not very serious climbs here it was a bit difficult, in places I slowed down to a walk. The problems were mainly caused by two gentle climbs - a starting one and a long one after the 3 km mark + a couple more unpleasant climbs at the end of 2 km and before the 4 km mark. About 2 hours after the start of the race, the air on certain loops of the course was saturated with typical Pargolov aromas - smoke from chimneys, sleepers railway, and on one loop there is a dense aroma of stables and manure. So at a distance it was quite possible to navigate by smells.

I finished 30 km a little faster than 2 hours and decided to go for another lap. After this lap I thought that the time was not bad, the gliding and weather were normal, and God knows when another opportunity would arise to run a good marathon with decent terrain. So, casting aside doubts, energized by the support of my wife and breadwinners at the food station, I set off for the eighth, then the ninth and the final circle. As usual, I had to endure the last 15 km, but no extra effort was required - I just gave it my all and accelerated at the finish line. Time - 3:26:02.7, for category III, about 10 minutes short of category II. The place is bad - fifth or sixth from the bottom out of 78, not a weak company gathered today. Average heart rate 169, max. 186. I think I lost 5-7 minutes due to poor mountain preparation and an irrational start + we could have done it faster at the food stations. But the right way, of course, is to continue training and slowly increase the average distance speed, and not snatch some pieces.

Thanks to my wife for her support and wonderful photos.

As it turned out, today was the last race of this season. I wanted to close the season with the second Lembolov Marathon on April 7, but it didn’t work out due to mild food poisoning. I have no luck with Lembolovo. Overall, I’m happy with the season; after good work in the off-season, I managed to reach the initial sports level. I’ve been training regularly for over a year and quit smoking. I hope my free time will allow me to continue in the same spirit.

Below are a few photos from the race + my timeline of completing the distance in circles (horizontally - laps 1 to 10, vertically - time in minutes). The graph shows everything - a fast first lap, a collapse on the second, laps 3-5 at cruising speed, and a slowdown in the second half of the distance (the average time per lap is a minute worse).

In St. Petersburg, there is finally enough snow to go cross-country skiing. However, St. Petersburg residents have a number of questions. In this material, the site will tell you where suitable slopes are located, as well as the cost and addresses where you can rent skis.

Ski slopes within St. Petersburg

Track in Polezhaevsky Park. The park is located in the Krasnoselsky district at the address: Avangardnaya street, 16. The ski resort itself can be reached from the Prospekt Veteranov metro station, eight stops by buses No. 68 and No. 130 and trolleybuses No. 20 and No. 37.

Pargolovo. The small five-kilometer track along which the traditional race of the same name takes place is located almost within the city limits - in the southern part of Shuvalovsky Park. From the Prospekt Prosveshcheniya metro station you can get there in five minutes by transport. How to get there: by bus and minibus in the direction of Pargolovo/Sertolovo to the stop "Road to Kamenka".

Murinsky Park. Located near the Devyatkino metro station. Length of the route: about 3 km, no lighting on the route.

Ski slopes in the Leningrad region

SKA base in Toksovo. The route is located near the Eagle Mountain ski complex and the training base of the Russian Academy of Physical Culture and Sports named after. P.F. Lesgafta. It is worth noting important fact, skiing here costs 250 rubles per hour. You can get to the ski resort by train from Finlyandsky station to Kavgolovo Square, then walk along Kurgolovo Lake, past the Eagle Mountain ski complex (about 1.5 km).

Take minibus No. 205 from the Prospekt Prosveshcheniya, Grazhdansky Prospekt and Devyatkino metro stations to the Eagle Mountain stop, then follow the signs towards the Eagle Mountain complex for 500 meters.

Route to Lembolovo. A wide 10-kilometer route passes through the Lembolovo forests. The route starts at the LMZ ski stadium, which is located 1 km south of Lembolovo Square. There is also a recreation center with brick houses. You can get there by train from Finlyandsky Station in the direction of Sosnovo/Priozersk to Lembolovo station, then walk about 1.5 - 2 km.

Photo: "VK" - Cross-country skiing in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, website of the SKA Base in Toksovo

Video: "VK" - Kirill Kurshakov

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Ski track "Pargolovskaya ski track"

A small five-kilometer track, along which the traditional race of the same name takes place, is located almost within the city limits, a five-minute drive from the station. Prospekt Prosveshcheniya metro station. The route passes through the picturesque copses of the southern end of the Shuvalovsky Forest Park. In general, the route is not difficult, with a maximum elevation difference of only 15 m, replete with a large number of turns and is very convenient for coaches who can watch skiers from one point 3-4 times on each lap. About 50% of the route runs through open areas with little protection from the wind. The total elevation gain on the 5-kilometer circuit is 90 m or, on average, 18 m per kilometer. There are practically no difficult ascents and descents; the route is well suited for training children and beginner skiers. The distance from any point on the route to the starting town does not exceed 500 - 600 meters.

There is a 2.5 km section of the route with artificial lighting.

Additional Information

Locker rooms - information not available.

Car parking - no centralized parking