Why Not? Greater Hartford as Mecca for Outdoor [Muscle-Powered] Sports Enthusiasts

I guess it’s so cold that even my camera turned blue.  But that hasn’t stopped me, or my beloved pooch, from getting out and enjoying the snow. With a two-foot snow base, you’d think we were in New England.  Oh wait! We are!

Whatever the season, I spend a lot of time on the trails around my home in West Hartford.  I’ve probably been out on my XC skis or snowshoes at least a dozen days since Christmas, including an 8 miler to Heublein Tower yesterday.

While schussing along, it occurred to me that Greater Hartford has a really good thing going here. 

What if, as The Courant has suggested, we did form a regional park and recreation management organization?

What if it not only helped maintain our vast trail network, but actually groomed the trails for XC skiers? Apparently it’s commonplace in Canada for municipal parks to be groomed for skiing.

And what if GHPR (Greater Hartford Parks & Recreation) operated a small fleet of snowmobile groomers -  fueled by used vegetable oil?!  Is it possible? 

What if, instead of plowing the 3.2 mile roadway around the West Hartford reservoir completely bare, we used it for a skate skiing invitational? 

Would city dwellers from Boston or New York or Providence go for a weekend of skiing, snowshoeing or hiking on our trails? 

Could we entice visitors to finish off a good day on the trails with a visit to our restaurants, brew pubs or music venues?  Could it encourage a little B&B sector?  Could we require modestly-priced trail tickets?

I know this is the best snow season in about a decade, but we should be prepared to capitalize on it when we get it. And, besides, this idea isn’t limited to winter sports.  We’d just want to make sure our trails don’t get loved to death.

Anybody with me on this?

Coming up next: Bringing an Iron Horse music and family pub concept to West Hartford.