The popularity of Nordic skating has increased dramatically in recent years, and for excellent reasons. There may be no better way to cruise the shoreline of a Maine lake than while gliding along on a pair of Nordic skates. The long detachable blades are designed for long distance skating, enabling Nordic skaters to readily travel tens of miles during a single outing on natural/wild ice with comparatively little effort. If you are already comfortable on figure or hockey skates, you will likely have little difficulty making the transition to Nordic skates. To safely enjoy Nordic skating, it is necessary to develop an understanding of the characteristics of natural ice and the safety equipment skaters must always carry and know how to use. Course participants will learn about the basic skills to safely enjoy Maine’s lakes and ponds throughout the winter months. This course will consist of two 90-minute classroom sessions and one four-hour session on wild ice (date TBD). The classroom sessions will include detailed discussions of all the equipment required to get out on wild ice, the characteristics and behavior of wild ice, and how Maine’s ever-changing weather creates the conditions for safe lake skating throughout the winter months. Participants will also learn how to remotely assess ice conditions with up-to-date satellite imagery and social media sites dedicated to sharing ice conditions with like-minded folks.