The Maine Agenda › Outdoors in Maine
Cross-Country Skiing Near Portland, Maine: Where to Go, What It Costs, and Who Posts Their Grooming
The best-run cross-country ski trail within an easy drive of Portland is a working farm in New Gloucester, and it is the only place on this list that publishes a groomed-or-not report every morning. Everywhere else you are skiing on trust: a land trust path that is open to skis but says nothing about grooming, or a state park whose own conditions page admits "No active condition alerts available." That difference, who tells you the truth about the snow before you load the car, is the real way to choose.
Everything below was read off each operator's own website on October 10, 2026. The season has not started, so prices are the last ones posted and we label which are which. Nothing here is a groomed-today claim; on October 8 the Pineland report showed every trail as not groomed, which is exactly what you would expect before the first snow.
Pineland Farms in New Gloucester is the answer for groomed trails
Pineland Farms Outdoor Center, at 15 Farm View Drive in New Gloucester, lists 30 kilometers of trails open for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing. The page does not say how many of those kilometers are groomed for skiing, so do not read 30 as 30 groomed. Ski trail hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, "conditions permitting."
The posted rates, from a winter recreation page last modified January 28, 2026 (so treat them as last season's until the 2026-27 numbers appear):
| Pass | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult day pass | $24 full day, $19 after 1 p.m. |
| Senior or youth day pass | $20 full day, $16 after 1 p.m. |
| Age 6 and under | Free |
| Adult season pass | $160 |
| Senior (65+) or youth (7 to 17) season pass | $140 |
| Family season pass (4 members) | $400, plus $90 per extra family member |
Here is the catch on pricing. Pineland has a separate page for the 2026/2027 Nordic season pass, and on October 10 it listed benefits but no price. So the $160 is a reasonable planning number, not a promise. The pass page lists two free friend day passes and 50 percent off trail passes at four other Nordic centers (Bethel Village Trails, Carter's XC, Rangeley Lakes Trail Center and Titcomb Mountain), which matters if you plan any trips north. A season pass breaks even against the $24 adult day rate at about seven visits, so a skier who goes weekly pays for it in January.
What makes Pineland worth the drive is the trail report. Each trail has a Groomed column, defined as open for both skate and classic skiing, and a Track column for classic only. The written report is updated each morning with information from the groomers and Outdoor Center staff, and the legend is plain: green means open. Questions go to Recreation at 207-688-6599. The page lists no snow-depth threshold for grooming, so the report, not a rule of thumb, is your signal.
Two things to know before you go. Dogs are not permitted on the premises, which rules out the usual Maine winter plan. And the winter page does not mention equipment rentals, so call the Market at 207-688-4539 before assuming you can show up without skis. Passes are sold at the Market. If you would rather start with a coastal walk before committing to skis, our hiking near Portland guide covers the easy ones.
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Lost Valley in Auburn sells a Nordic ticket and is the closest to a ski day
Lost Valley is the nearest lift-served ski area to Portland, and its ticket page, as we read it on September 13, 2026, sold a Nordic day pass for $12, an uphill pass for $15 and a snowshoe trail pass for $6. That is the cheapest posted cross-country price on this list. We could not re-read the page on October 10 (the fetch failed), so confirm the $12 before you drive, and we found no grooming report from Lost Valley itself. The Auburn Nordic Ski Association posts its own grooming updates, and the ones we could read were from the 2024 season, which tells you the club does groom after a couple of inches of snow but tells you nothing about this winter. For the alpine side of the same mountain, see our ski season pass guide.
Libby Hill Forest in Gray is the big free network, with a grooming question mark
Libby Hill Forest Trails, at 50 Libby Hill Road in Gray, is supported by Friends of Libby Hill Trails and described as an 11-mile network. A Royal River Conservation Trust listing names backcountry skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling as permitted winter uses, with dogs on leash at all times. It states no fee. What neither that listing nor the Libby Hill trail map page says is whether anything is groomed, or by whom. Treat Libby Hill as backcountry skiing: you break your own trail unless the Friends say otherwise. Their contact page and Facebook page are where winter conditions would appear, and we found none posted in October. Class III e-bikes are banned on every trail.
Free short options: Cummings Preserve and Bradbury Mountain
Cummings Preserve in Gorham is a 0.8 mile round trip managed by the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, listed for walking, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, with no fee and a parking area a short walk from the trailhead. It is a place to try snowshoes with a kid, not a day of skiing.
Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal is open year round, 9 a.m. to sunset. The park names four packed trails for back-country style skiing (Link, Northern Loop, Tote Road and Snowmobile) and allows skis on trails marked with a ski icon; snowshoes are allowed on all trails. Day-use fees are collected year round at the entry booth or a self-service station, and the park page does not list the amount, so check the state parks fee page. The park's conditions page said no active alerts and carries a 2021 copyright, so call the park at 207-688-4712 rather than trust it. The state's Ski & Snowshoe Trailer loans free skis and snowshoes at its Winter Fun Days; the 2026 schedule ran February 7 to March 21 at parks in Brooksville, Poland, Liberty, Weld, Camden and Greenville, none of them near Portland, and no 2027 dates are posted yet.
How to actually pick
If you want groomed tracks and a report you can trust, go to Pineland and pay the day rate until you know you will be back. If you want the cheapest posted ticket and a lodge-style mountain, check Lost Valley's $12 Nordic price. If you want free and are happy to break trail, Libby Hill is the largest network, and Bradbury is the one with a state-park fee and the clearest ski-trail list. If you have a dog, Libby Hill is the only option here that welcomes one on a leash; Pineland bans them. And on the days when the snow does not show up, the snow tubing guide and the ice skating guide cover what stays open on machine-made snow and ice.
Want to know the day Pineland posts its 2026-27 pass price, or the first week trails are actually groomed? That is the first thing we will check, and the newsletter is where it goes.
FAQ
Where is the best cross-country skiing near Portland, Maine?
Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, which lists 30 km of trails and publishes a daily trail report with separate Groomed and Track columns. It is the only option here with a morning grooming report from its own staff.
How much does cross-country skiing cost near Portland?
Pineland's last posted day pass was $24 for adults, with a $160 adult season pass, but the 2026/2027 pass page showed no price on October 10, 2026. Lost Valley's Nordic day pass was $12 on September 13, 2026. Libby Hill and Cummings Preserve list no fee.
Are dogs allowed on Maine cross-country ski trails near Portland?
It depends on the trail. Pineland Farms does not permit dogs on the premises. Libby Hill Forest requires dogs on leash at all times. Check each trail's rules before you bring one.
Where can I snowshoe near Portland, Maine?
Bradbury Mountain State Park allows snowshoes on all trails, and Libby Hill and Cummings Preserve list snowshoeing as a permitted use. Pineland includes snowshoe trails with a season pass but its report showed them closed on October 8, 2026.
Can I rent cross-country skis near Portland?
We could not confirm a rental on any operator's own page. Pineland's winter page does not mention rentals, so call 207-688-4539 before you go. The state parks Ski and Snowshoe Trailer lends free gear at its scheduled Winter Fun Days only.
When does cross-country ski season start in southern Maine?
There is no fixed date, because it depends on snow. Pineland states no season dates and its trail report showed every trail not groomed on October 8, 2026. Check the daily report once snow has fallen.