Cross-country skiing, an outdoor heated pool and the splendid sweat of an end-of-day sauna.
It’s a winter trifecta that combines a bit of outdoor activity with plenty of well-deserved relaxation. And then more relaxation. Toss in a pit stop at the tavern for a beer and a burger and you’ve got yourself a day worth writing home about.
The ski-swim-sauna package is offered by the clever folks at Bethel Village Trails at the Bethel Inn Resort – they understand how the addition of an outdoor heated pool makes every adventure even better. Especially in the winter.
The ski-swim-sauna package costs $28, which includes a trail pass for the day (the trail pass alone is $19) and access to the inn’s fitness center, which has a heated outdoor pool and sauna (as well as a small gym with machines and weights, if you’re so inclined). If you don’t own cross-country skis, you can rent them for $19. *NOTE! The ski-swim-sauna package is not available Saturdays and over holiday weeks)
Bethel Village Trails maintains the trails all season and manages the on-site ski center (and the ski center also happens to be right next to the Millbrook Tavern, so if you want to add wine/beer/sandwich/chips to your ski-swim-sauna day, you very easily can. And you should).
And very easily, you could have a Ski-Swim-Sauna day that looks something like this:
Ski
Start your morning on the scenic cross-country trails behind the inn. (There’s a golf course under all that snow, and those fairways look great blanketed in white.) If you’re brand-new to cross-country skiing, you can rent skis from the ski center and even take a lesson.
There are 40 km of groomed trails – lots of flats and some fun little hills. Much of the time, the swish-swish sound of your skis on the snow is just about the only sound, aside from the friendly hellos you’ll occasionally exchange with fellow skiers, who are few and far between out there, even though it’s a sunny Saturday and the conditions are just right.
Swim
After skiing, it’s over to the fitness center, which is just a short walk across a parking lot, where you’ll ditch the ski apparel for a swimsuit. The heated outdoor pool has an indoor entrance (hurrah!) and boy, is it cozy. You’ll slip right in and make your way through the plastic curtain and out into the open air. And it’ll feel niiiiiiiice.
Soon enough you’ll discover the seating area with strategically placed jets. The forced water will massage your back forever, if you’d like. Or you can float about, marveling at the piles of snow on the edges of the pool and the steam rising up from the water.
Sauna
Once your fingers and toes have sufficiently pruned, it’s time to head inside to warm yourself to a glorious crisp in one of the saunas (pick your poison: Sauna A or Sauna B. I think they’re exactly the same).
It’ll be hard to fathom that it’s actually winter outside – and that you were bundled in a coat, hat and mittens just a couple of hours ago, because you’re not even wearing pants right now and you’re toastier than you’ve been in months.
That’s the glory of of a ski-swim-sauna day.
Wine/beer/burger
The ski center and fitness center also happen to be oh-so-conveniently located next to the Bethel Inn Resort’s Millbrook Tavern, where you can stop in for a beer and a burger or a glass of wine and some chips and guac (or whatever food and drink moves you) any time during your ski-swim-sauna day.
Ski-Swim-Sauna
Bethel Village Trails at The Bethel Inn Resort
21 Broad St., Bethel
207-824-2175 x 0 or info@bethelinn.com
$28 includes trail pass and access to the fitness center. Ski rentals, if needed, are $19 a day. NOTE! The ski-swim-sauna package is not available Saturdays and over holiday weeks.
FMI: bethelinn.com
IF YOU LOVE TO SAUNA, CHECK OUT THIS STORY, TOO: Hike and Sauna Saturday: Pleasant Mountain + Nurture Through Nature, Denmark
This post was originally published on Feb. 5, 2016
