The most direct route north from Harbor Springs to the winter trailhead on Robinson Road is State Road (County Road 77). But don’t pass up M-119 entirely. The state highway, famous for its autumn colors in October, is equally dramatic in the winter when the lack of leaves gives way to stunning views of a partially frozen Lake Michigan from the high shoreline bluffs.

The ski trails at Goodhart Farms are basically a series of three, interconnected loops with the perimeter of them forming a 3-mile outing that can be skied in either direction. Keep that in mind when you’re speeding downhill. The description here follows a counter-clockwise direction.

You begin by striding across an open field but in less than a quarter mile dip into the woods and past the return of the first loop. At Mile 0.7 the trail arrives at Hannah Lane, a dirt road that becomes a snowmobile trail in the winter. Look and listen before crossing!

On the other side of Hannah Lane you pass three more junctions, the first being the return of the main loop, and the third reached at Mile 1.2. What began as a level ski turns into a mild downhill after the second junction and gets wickedly fun after the third junction that marks a spur you can use to climb back up the hill for another run down.

You bottom out and at Mile 1.5 arrive at a major four-way junction where you pick up the third loop, a 0.4-mile level ski through the woods. Once back at the junction it’s a climb of 132 feet before you reach the top of the ridge a short distance from the Hannah Lane crossing. Along the way you pass a short spur that allows you to do the second and third loops again.

Or call it a ski an head to Stained Cup Coffee Company in quaint downtown Harbor Springs. Nothing warms you up after playing in the snow like a mug of their whipped cream-topped hot chocolate or a bowl of their homemade soup.