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 designated dog trails and walking on groomed trails. We appreciate your help to keep the groomed trails in excellent condition by using them appropriately and supporting them financially.
Friday-Sunday 9am-5pm please pay in the rental office near the main parking lot. 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. If no one is staffing the A-frame, simply put payment in red fee box near parking lot or Creek Side parking spots. To reduce costs, the honor system is in place.
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 even during mid-week and night use. Please be honest: The survival of the area depends on it. Wouldn’t you like to see the area get better? Leveler trails, grooming machinery maintained, new structures, lights…? The growth potential is endless, but we need your help. Grooming isn’t free even with volunteer groomers.
Word is the forest service will be closing lead draw gate tomorrow morning 3/24. Hope all diehards were able to ski today, it was stellar. We end on a high note. Thanks everyone for coming out, 2021/22 was a great season! See you next year!
The snow is still looking pretty good considering our weather. I did two passes with the groomer on the Race Course, Ermine, Screamer, Lagamorph, Water Trough, and High Basin. Temperature was 34 when I started and 30 when finished at 10:15.
As this will probably be my last time grooming this year, I want to say Thanks to the City crew for all that they do as well as our other Groomers especially Joe for keeping the Sherpa running really good all winter.
4 inches fresh snow today! I groomed every trail except Jackrabbit. Set new classic track on every trail except Upper Canyon and Lagomorph. Good coverage on all the lower trails. There’s some thin areas on Daley’s and getting to Lost Groomer. Looks like a few more days this week of very good skiing. 27 degrees and clear at 10:30pm.
Nordic ski fans, rejoice! Amazingly, there is still coverage on most trails. Certainly, hazards are appearing here and there and I could not groom Jack Rabbit. I did groom everything else with the exception of Upper Canyon. Beware of water hazards on Creekside. Get there early as it is forecast to be almost 60 tomorrow. Slush is no fun.
I’m sure it rained before I got to the ski area tonight but when I arrived it was snowing lightly and eventually it turned into a real snow storm! We might have gotten just under an inch before it ended. I groomed everything except Upper Canyon. When’s last time we’ve been able to groom everything in the middle of March?! Coverage is still really good on all of the trails. The junction between Dailey’s and Lost Groomer is pretty bare so be careful there. I was even able to set decent classic track everywhere except Creekside. It looks like it’s going to get fairly cold tonight so expect the trails to be pretty hard first thing in the morning but if you can get up there between mid-morning and mid-afternoon, I’d expect pretty good skiing!
Groomed everything except upper canyon. There is a large dirt spot on Jack Rabbit, and the entrance to lost groomer is very thin, mostly dirt. Did just one pass on Daileys. 28F with some snow flurries at 10pm.
I would like to address an issue that has come up more frequently this year. As most of you are aware, outdoor activities are on the rise all over the US. This has put a serious strain on public resources. Some areas are being loved to death. Mink Creek Nordic Center has also been exceptionally busy this year. We have seen an increase in new skiers as well as snowshoeing and sledding. As it happens, I have, almost daily, come across evidence of users violating the restrictions granted by our permit. Just this evening while grooming, I saw snowshoe tracks on several of the ski trails. Worse yet were hiking tracks heading to Meadow. Adding insult to injury, there were footprints and sled runs down Deer Trail. For some reason, I have never caught these people in the act. Boy, I wish I could. I am appealing to your sensibilities to help police the ski area. If you see people in violation of the restrictions, whether ignorant or willful, please be polite but firm and let them know the rules. In the A-frame are the numbers for Lance Clark, the Forest Service and the County Sheriff if necessary. Thank You!