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Ohlson Mountain Trails

1980's

Name of Ski Area: Ohlson Mountain Trails
Location: Homer,  on the south side of the Ohlson Mountain Road, mostly west of the existing rope tow and downhill ski area
Type of Area: Cross Country Ski Trails
Dates of Operation: 1980's
Who Built It?: These trails were developed and maintained mostly by the Homer High School coaches Bob McCauley and Al Davis, with help from the Kachemak Ski Club and especially Bill Strutz.

This trail system came into disuse primarily because the Baycrest Trail System was developed closer to town.  The trip to the Ohlson Mountain Trails was 12 miles from the Homer High School, whereas Baycrest was only 4 miles away.

Elevation:

~1100' to ~1300'

Facilities:
Miscellaneous: The Ohlson Mountain Trails had 5, 7 1/2 and 10 kilometer loops with numerous shorter connector trails.  This trail system was the site of early Tang Cup (now Besh Cup) Races.
Sources of Information:

Dave Brann, Bill and Sue Strutz, Steve Gruhn

Photos: Does anyone have pictures of skiing at the Ohlson Mountain Trails that they would like to contribute to ALSAP ?

~  MAPS & AERIAL VIEWS  ~

This large scale topo map show the location of the Ohlson Mountain trail system relative to the town of Homer.

(click on map to expand it)

topo_ohlsonxc.jpg (270054 bytes)

This aerial view also shows the location of the Ohlson Mountain trail system relative to the town of Homer.

(click on this view to expand it)

terra_ohlsonxc.jpg (78009 bytes)

Zooming in on the aerial view you can better see the area that the Ohlson Mountain Trails covered.  To the right is the current Homer ski hill and rope tow.  Red lines depict the cross country ski trail locations.

(click on this view to expand it)

terra_zoom_ohlsonxc.jpg (161808 bytes)

Research Correspondence 

[Dave Brann - November 16, 2004 email excerpt] 

The trails came into disuse as the Baycrest Trail System and McNeil Trails were developed. Baycrest is only 4 miles from town as opposed to 12 miles. It was much more conveient for the high school ski team to go to Baycrest than to Ohlson Mt. The high school ski team had been the primary user of the trails for many years, up until other areas also became available. Most of the Ohlson Mt. trails were on private property and changes in usage of that property led to some people skiing in other places. When other areas, such as the McNeil trails were available for the Besh Cup (old Tang Cup) there was less of a need to continue maintaining these trails. As the Kachemak Nordic Ski Club grew, matured and worked hard to develop other trails, the Kachemak Ski Club (downhill group) didn't need to spend the time on nordic trails. The nearby hayfields (once a research site of the University of Alaska) were sometimes used in conjunction with the Ohlson Mt. Trails but now have become the Lookout Mt. Trails and are pretty much limited to a variety of loops around the fields. This is still a popular place to go because of early snow, gentle terrain and spectacular views. There are probably other contributing factors but the above are the main reasons.

 

 

Do you have further information, stories or pictures that you would like to contribute about this ski area?