East Fork of Mink Creek Nordic Center
Located just 7 miles outside of Pocatello, Idaho, East Mink Creek Nordic Center is a dedicated nordic ski and snowshoe area with 20 kilometers of world-class groomed classic and skate trails. The center is operated by the City of Pocatello through a special use permit with the United States Forest Service and through volunteer services of the Pocatello Cross-Country Ski Foundation (PXCSF).
A trail pass is required to ski at the area regardless of day or hour
Trail passes are required 24/7. Rules apply 24/7 including using designated dog trails; do not walk on groomed trails. We appreciate your help to keep the groomed trails in excellent condition by using them appropriately and supporting them financially.
Season passes are on sale at the City Parks and Recreation Offices. It is important that season pass holders sign-in at the yurt with each use, as this provides us with documentation of the necessary use numbers to justify the area staying open. There is also a red fee box located at the entrance to the trails for trail use when there is no attendant.
Trails are typically groomed daily by city employees or PXCSF volunteers. Everyone utilizing the groomed trails needs to pay the daily trail fee or hold a season pass. Every parking area has a fee box for mid-week and night use. On Friday – Sunday, 9am-5pm please pay in the rental office, the A-frame, near the main parking lot.
If no one is staffing the A-frame please put your payment in the red fee box in the parking lot. To reduce costs, the honor system is in place. Please be honest. The survival of the area depends on it.
Your donations keep the grooming machines fueled up and maintained, keep the trails level, help pay for new structures, etc. So thank you!
East Fork Mink Creek Nordic Center, Pocatello, Idaho 83204
15 Responses
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Groomed all trails tonight. The trails were pretty rough from the evening event but was able to get a decent groom. Spent extra time on cleaning up and redefining trail edges and reset classic tracks. Upper Canyon had good snow and turned out nicely. At 4:30am, clear skies and about 17 degrees.
We got about 4-5 inches of snow yesterday morning which covered all of the ice quite well. Steve and Ian groomed everything except Creekside in the snowcat last night. Things should be setup and skiing really well today (Saturday, 2/8). We have a candlelight event this evening starting at 5:30. If you’re not interested in the event, best to get your skiing in early to avoid the crowds.
Groomed all trails tonight. Creekside is iced over but the rest of the trails groomed pretty well. Started snowing about 10:30pm, light but steady.
Groomed all the trails two passes for skate with a couple exceptions: Lower Creekside was too icy to navigate and I barely made it back to the base. It’s only groomed to the upper CS parking area but not lower than the cutoff to the Base. Did not groom past the Middle Loop on Upper Canyon for the same reason. Race Loop and the Lower and Middle Loop of Upper Canyon should offer the best skiing tomorrow. Upper trails won’t be fantastic but will ski ok if it softens some. I did not try to reset any classic tracks.
Somewhat marginal returns for the effort tonight.
Welcome to the usual mid-winter thaw. I groomed skate deck of all trails with Sherpa and Ginzu, no till. Upper Canyon hadn’t been groomed much, so slid off a downhill corner into the soft. Thanks to Dean for rescuing me with the Gator. Because of getting stuck, didn’t get done until 1PM and 52 degrees. Should be a fair day of spring skating and wet classic. I would not recommend Upper Canyon. Creekside is pretty wet in places but still covered. While I was grooming, the city did a remarkable job of filling in the hole and smoothing out the access road, so it is open to the parking lot again. Cold and snow this weekend?
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