 The ground may not be white now, but in just a few weeks it will be time to strap on the skis and head outside. This week's Northwoods adventure Clayton Castle talks about the Nordic ski culture in Brainer. The trails are bare now, but in just weeks it will be time to strap on the skis and time for the Nordic ski season. In case you're wondering if you're too old or too young to strap on the skis, the president of the Brainer Nordic Ski Club has a message for you. Well it's a wonderful winter outdoor activity. It's basically it's a lifetime activity, something that you can start from when you start walking until you can't walk anymore. The Nordic ski culture in Brainer does evident as there are programs in the schools and a number of trails for people to enjoy, including at the Northland Arboretum and the Dean Mackie School Forest at Forest View Middle School. The club has been in existence since I believe the early the mid-seventies, so it's been around a long time and they have been grooming trails out here since that time and then have expanded into the other areas. There are also two trail systems that the county growing county maintains, Larson Lake and Wolf Lake and their beautiful sites. The Nordic Skiing culture in Brainer also includes the presence of the Brainer Nordic Ski Club. The Brainer Nordic Ski Club administers a grant that we get through the purchase of Minnesota Ski Pass that all users on grant need trails in the state of Minnesota have to have the purchase in order to ski on those trails. In addition to the programs at the school, the Brainer Nordic Ski Club offers youth programs for youth of all ages. We have a youth program that we sponsor through the Minnesota Youth Ski League, several ski clubs throughout the state of Minnesota do, and it's a wonderful program to get kids started at age four and we'll take them up into about the time that their kids are ready to go into the junior high school program if your school is fortunate enough to have one. The trails are bare now, but just before you know it, the snow will fall and the skis will bring you out for a day of fun. Reporting in Brainer for this week's Northwood's adventure, Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.