Loipe

A cross-country skiing trail or loipe is a route that has been laid out, constructed and maintained specifically for cross-country skiing. Trails may extend point-to-point, but are more typically loops for recreational use or for competition. Until the mid-20th Century, trails were tracked by the passage of skiers. More recently, snow groomers set tracks for classic skiing and smooth lanes for skate skiing.

Cross-country ski venues often comprise a system of trails or loipes of varying length and difficulty that loop back to a starting point. Often trails branch out from a common segment; the more challenging ones then branch off on longer legs. The length of each loop, including segments that coincide with other loops, is typically counted separately. Consequently, the total length of loops is greater than the total length of trail structure. In some regions, skiers may travel between cross-country ski resorts, which are linked by point-to-point trails; these include:

Trail use fees are common at commercial ski venues and may also be found in jurisdictions where skiing occurs on public land; usually there are day, week and annual passes. Venues charging fees may also offer use of heated facilities with a lounge, waxing room, and toilets. In jurisdictions where trail maintenance and grooming has traditionally been funded through taxes, transitions to a user-fee-based system, initiated by increasingly budget-constrained governments, have been met with opposition from those who advocate for the users of loipes, as occurred in East Saxony where an automated kiosk system for trail passes was proposed for 2007.

An example of guidance for cross-country ski trail construction comes from Northern Arizona University, which cites the manual, "Recreational Trail Design and Construction," developed by the Minnesota Extension Service of the University of Minnesota It emphasizes the following aspects of recreational cross-country trail layout and construction:

The signage for trails or loipes may be governed by standards or practices. In North America, they follow the practice of the Cross-Country Ski Areas Association. German ski trail signage conforms to DIN standards, which establish coding for the difficulty of the routes and other norms for Loipen.:

In its "Cross-country homologation manual," the FIS recognizes that fans of the sport wish to follow it on television. With this in mind, the manual addresses how to design the race course in a manner that not only enhances the experience of spectators, but of viewers, as well—not just to show the athletes in action, but to show the ways in which fans enjoy the action. The manual describes considerations regarding race courses, including:

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