Panorama-Loipe am Bachtel

Update: Heute war die Spur in einem Top-​Zustand, obschon der schwierigen Verhältnisse!

It’s 30 minutes walking from Gibswil station, which isn’t too bad but is something you should calculate if the reason you’re coming here is to go somewhere close to Zurich. There might actually be better skiing closer when you take it all into account.
Anyway, the staff was pleasant and it’s well priced: $ 25 for rental gear + day pass. However, it has only 30 km of track with 95% of it being completely exposed and the snow getting quite wet by noon. I felt bad for my friend who I took cross country skiing for the first time.
Anyway, it’s probably fine if you’re just starting out or want to practice your technique and want to go somewhere close to Zurich but I wouldn’t recommend this as a good representation of what good cross country skiing is because the views aren’t great and the skiing itself is average at best.

One of the closest Langlauf (Nordic /​XC skiing) areas to Zürich. Not huge, but a great little excursion.
One word of caution — make sure you plan your snack breaks upwind of the cows. There’s several working farms along the trails, and a few are pretty ripe.
It’s a pleasant (as long as you’re ready for it) 25 min walk from the Gibswil station. If you have your own skis you can ski most of it; if not, following the small country road uphill from the lower parking area is the easiest and quickest way to the touring center, with rentals, trail passes, and a soup wagon.
The rentals are in one of the central barns, near where the main auto road enters the farm; you’ll usually need to call the phone number on the door to roust the owner for rental duties, but he’ll be there in less than a minute.
The rental selection is quite good — skating gear is essentially-​new Salomon/​Fischer RCS standards, well maintained and well waxed. Classic gear is a little more dated, but perfectly serviceable.
We explored the skating trails this time — there’s about 10 km of good, rolling trails with a few steep sections. (The extra 5 km claimed by the trail map is the long access from the farm down to the lower parking area). Some great scenery, and a good mix of flats, rolling, and some little steeps.
Classic is more extensive — my next visit will be kick-​and-​glide, to explore both the Panorama trail, and the steep, wooded ascent to the top of the Bachtel.