Middleton's Ski Trails Have Been Here Since 2021. On Nov. 5 They Get a Building.

"We look forward to CXC creating a first-class cross-country skiing venue and offering the public year-round access to a trail system for their enjoyment and health, all within a stone's throw from downtown Middleton." Dan Erdman is quoted that way in Visit Middleton's announcement of the September 2025 groundbreaking. He and his wife, Natalie, gave the land to the city in 2021.

Five winters after that gift, the trails still have no building. Last winter, skiers at the CXC Outdoor Center on Schwartz Road started at a temporary entrance marked with flags at the southwest corner of the parking lot, with one portable restroom at the trailhead, because the lodge was still under construction. The Middleton Nordic Center has its grand opening on Thursday, Nov. 5. It doesn't start ski season. The weather and the snow guns still decide that. What it changes is who can use these trails: someone who doesn't own skis now has a front door, a rental counter, and a warm room to come back to.

Five Years of Trail Before There Was a Lodge

Most of what makes this site work was already in place. CXC director Yuriy Gusev had pushed for a Middleton facility for about a decade. Once the Erdmans donated the land, the first trails were designed and built in 2021. A road to Schwartz Road and a 16-space parking lot came next, and in 2022 the city added 48 more spaces. Middleton Parks and Recreation then moved the Middleton Bike Park trailhead from Pleasant View Golf Course to the same lot and built a pump track there. The city manages both.

The first phase was paid for with the land donation plus $1.2 million in individual, business, and grant contributions, Channel 3000 reported. In that early plan, the building was a future third phase.

Today the system grooms about eight miles of cross-country trail. About two miles have snowmaking infrastructure, which Visit Middleton says is meant to keep coverage reliable from December through March. A 2023 trail map names six loops:

• Upper Field, 0.9 mile
• Pleasant View, 0.6 mile
• Round-A-Bit, 1.2 miles
• Round-A-Lot, 3.0 miles
• Challenger, 1.3 miles
• West Loop, 0.7 mile

The network reaches beyond the donated parcel. The Madison Nordic Ski Club, Madnorski, describes a combined network of about 13 kilometers, with the Pleasant View Golf Course trails reached from the CXC trailhead. The club also says the city asked CXC to take over grooming on the golf course trails. For anyone who has skied Pleasant View for years, the new lodge sits at what is now the main entrance to both areas.

The Building Got Bigger, So It Opened Later

The groundbreaking release said the Nordic Center would be finished and open by summer 2026. It wasn't, and the reason is about money coming in, not money running short. The first renderings showed little more than a trailhead building with an office and ski rentals. Then donors came forward with bigger ideas.

"The timelines have changed because donors stepped forward to add to the project," Gusev told Visit Middleton. "That's the kind of 'problem' you dream about, people who are so invested that they want to make it even better."

Minutes from the Middleton Tourism Commission's Sept. 15, 2026 meeting record that the grand opening had been moved to Nov. 5. The bigger plan shows in the room list. Here is what skiers had at the trailhead last winter and what the building is scheduled to hold, per Visit Middleton's opening announcement:

The rental shop is the line that matters most to someone who has never tried the sport. Before, trying cross-country skiing here meant buying or borrowing gear somewhere else first. The Destination Madison listing for the center says winter rentals and lessons are offered for a range of skill levels. The rentable rooms also give the site an indoor use that doesn't depend on snow.

Thursday, Nov. 5, Hour by Hour

The ceremony is at the CXC Outdoor Center, 4355 Schwartz Road. The Visit Middleton announcement sets this schedule:

1. 1 p.m. Doors open, with guided tours of the property.
2. 3:30 p.m. Presentations from Dan and Natalie Erdman; Yuriy Gusev, director of Central Cross-Country Skiing; Steve Cohan, chairman of the CXC Skiing Foundation; Mayor Lisa Janairo; and City Administrator Bryan Gadow.
3. Until about 5:30 p.m. Time to stay, mingle, and explore the center.

The announcement says the event will "kick off the cross-country ski season." That's true in a ceremonial sense. Skiing itself follows a different calendar. The tours come a week after this post goes up, which makes them the best chance to see the lodge before the trails get busy.

The Real Season Opener Is the Snowmaking Loop

Snow sets the ski calendar here, whatever the lodge's opening date. Last season, CXC listed trail hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Dec. 1 through March 15. The machine-made snow loop is lit at night and was set to open "as soon as the weather allows for snowmaking," with Dec. 1 as the expected start. That loop gets groomed and tracked before the natural-snow trails can be, so in a thin early winter it is often the only skiing on the property.

The pass setup follows the same split. Last season, CXC sold two kinds of trail pass:

• Regular CXC Trail Ski Pass: the full groomed CXC trail, including the Pleasant View Golf Course trails, but not the machine-made loop when the other trails have no natural snow.
• All-Access CXC Trail Ski Pass: everything above plus the machine-made loop. CXC said an All-Access pass or a daily pass is needed to use that loop at any time, and that pass revenue helps pay for snowmaking and trail maintenance.

A pass was required on the whole system from Dec. 1 to March 15, including the golf course trails. CXC asked skiers to wear their pass where it can be seen. Last season's pass page also offered a discount to people living inside City of Middleton limits. Published sources disagree on how big that discount was, so check this winter's rates and resident terms on the CXC Outdoor Center site before buying.

One more winter rule: Destination Madison's listing says cross-country skiing is the only activity allowed on the ski trail system in winter. Walkers and bikers have the site to themselves the rest of the year. In Visit Middleton's groundbreaking announcement, Gusev described the land as suited to "hiking or biking in the spring, summer and fall," and the city's Bike Park trailhead and pump track share the same lot.

A Lodge on Land That Stays Open

In the same Visit Middleton announcement, Cohan described the grounds as a four-season hub for Nordic skiing, mountain biking and outdoor recreation, and said the year ahead would bring a trailhead building, expanded snowmaking infrastructure, and targeted upgrades. The Erdmans set one limit with their gift: they wanted the land never developed commercially, and it will stay open to the public for outdoor recreation. The new lodge serves trails the public has used since 2021. For updates on the opening season and trail conditions, CXC posts news on the Middleton Nordic Center page.

If being close to trails like these is part of what you're looking for in a Middleton home, I'm glad to talk through which parts of town put Schwartz Road a short drive away. You can reach me through Madison Home Guides. Let's Connect.