Olympic nordic skiing trails at Sugar Pine Point State Park on Lake Tahoe's West Shore, dormant since the 1960 Winter Games, will be the site of their first nordic competition in 50 years on Friday.

Middle and High School age nordic racers will compete on the trails Friday in the Scholastic Nordic Legacy Race, a race organized by the California/Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation (CNISSF). This will be the first sanctioned race held in this venue since the VIII Olympic Winter Games in 1960.

See event listing for details and times.

Since the 1960 Winter Games ended, the Olympic nordic trails, which run from what is now Homewood, south to into today's Sugar Pine Point State Park, have been more or less forgotten. Over the years, Mother Nature took over and the facility faded into oblivion amongst the trees and surrounding series of developments. The trails were barely mentioned until a few years ago, when the vision to restore the trails was conceived by a local resident and historian, David Antonucci.

In 1999, after uncovering a portion of the trails in his Tahoma, California backyard, Antonucci, an environmental engineer, author and 35-year Tahoe-Truckee resident, began spearheading the effort to restore the Olympic trails and create a year-round public recreation facility in the area. His efforts, along with the help of many other dedicated supporters, have resulted in a triumphant restoration of this historic location. Today, a total of 15 kilometers (approximately 25 percent) of the 1960 Olympic Nordic Trails have been recovered and restored for hiking and biking in the summer, and this winter, for recreational nordic skiing and a series of special events surrounding the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Winter Games.

The 1960 Olympic Nordic Trails consist today of rolling, single lane parallel Nordic paths located on both private and public land. They are considered to be original elements of the first cross-country ski area in the United States. The trails were designed by former U.S. Olympian Wendall "Chummy" Broomhall and Dartmouth ski team coach Allison Merrill. Here, in 1960, the first-ever biathlon competition was held on a 20-kilometer ski and shoot racecourse looping through the terrain of Tahoma and Homewood along the shores of Lake Tahoe.

The trails are accessible to the public from Sugar Pine Point State Park, Quail Creek Meadow and McKinney Rubicon Road. Approximately five of the original fifteen kilometers are skiable today. At Sugar Pine Point State Park, there are three kilometers of Olympic trail out of a total of 6.9 kilometers of groomed trails. The other two kilometers of Olympic trail is near Homewood Mountain Resort and is not groomed.

Friday's Legacy Race is being held on the site to help reinvigorate the community's interest in the trails and to celebrate the area’s 50-year anniversary of hosting the 1960 Winter Olympics.

A number events have been held at the venue during the Olympic Heritage Celebration. In addition to the Legacy Race, a Biathlon called “Citizens Against the Clock” event will be held on January 16. Several interpretive programs are also being held throughout the week.

For more details about the Olympic Heritage Celebration and a complete schedule, visit SquawValley1960Celebration.com.