American Birkebeiner Start Area

The American Birkebeiner Start Area is a cross-country skiing start point in northern Wisconsin, about 2 miles from the town of Cable. It sits at nearly the same elevation, with a high point of 1,359 feet and a low of 1,357 feet, and the route from the start to the trail is a short 0.18 miles with no elevation gain. The start area links to several named routes within a tenth of a mile, including the Birkebeiner Trail, The Drive and the Birkie Classic. These make it a natural place to begin a longer outing on the Birkebeiner Trail network. Winter is the season for cross-country skiing here. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Drummond show January highs around 19°F with lows near 3°F, while February is slightly milder at about 25°F. Summer is warm, with July highs averaging 76°F. The Namekagon River, about 0.8 miles away, offers river fishing. Two lakes within roughly 8 miles are Lake Owen Recreation Area and Porcupine Lake Wilderness, and Two Lakes campground is about 8 miles off.