News

A Big Thanks to all who came out to enjoy a lovely day during last week's Taste of Trails event! Nature cooperated and brought us 2-3" storms just prior to the event, so it actually looked like winter at Pahaska, even if only for a while. More weather moved in this last week, but alas, it brought some rain, followed by balmy temps. 

The groomers went up yesterday and did what they could to prolong the condition of the trails, and they had some success. How long it will last is the bigger question. 

The highway is still in great shape! Its skis well all the way to the Yellowstone Entrance. No sign of park grooming yesterday, but folks have been skiing in and report back that the snowmobile side of the road is fine skiing.

Outlaw is hanging in there- The top 90% is great, with one narrow spot just down from the top hill. Skate and track lanes al the way to the creek bottom, then intermittent from there. We groomed an access point just past the first guardrail on the highway, where you can climb out of the Middle fork and finish down the highway.

Moose Flats, Crow Creek- Conditions are overall decent. Some trails do not have classic track. We moved snow into thin spots where we could. Be on the lookout for trail hazards. Sunny, south facing slopes are always the first to go, so check them out before you bomb them!

Barn Road is good, until you get to the bend into Race Park. Its connected, but mostly melted out, so be careful. 

Race Park- The middle trails have classic track and skate lanes. These trails will be the first to go, so get the early!

South of the River- Much of these trails are actually in fine shape. the challenge is getting there. Its best to walk down the hill, across the bridge and up into the trees on the far side. The Haul Road, Penny's and Outlaw are good. Becker's is iffy but doable. We did not venture past Sleeping Giant.

The next 5 days look like beach weather, despite some small snow totals thrown in, which could come as rain. We are trying to keep it going as long as we can, and will update as needed. the best skiing is early in the day, before noon! After that, its gets challenging, with patches of soft, grabby snow, which helps you practice your nose dives!

Its probably not a bad idea to start carrying bear spray. It would normally be a bit early, but this year has been so warm, we all have some seasonal confusion...

Keep your tips up!

Good Morning,

We have been hit pretty hard by last week's warm temperatures. The storm that came Monday did produce 2-3" of fresh snow, unfortunately it also rained a good bit before the snow, so we ended up with a wash in terms of trail conditions.

We did a little grooming yesterday, mostly moving snow around to try to preserve trails and keep them connected. We are focusing on the route for our Taste of Trails event, Feb 21. 

Moose Flats is skiable and decent. Look out for ice patches where there were puddles from the rain and thin spots/ narrowed trails due to tree well melt out. Crow Creek is similar, but the far end, where it stays cooler is in great shape and almost makes you forget that we are in a severe snow drought. We leveled and puled snow from the edges, back onto the trail. No track yet, but hopefully for the weekend.

The Highway is actually in great shape! New classic tracks and double-width skate lanes to the gate. Walkers- use the snowmobile side, or the 2.2 million acres of snow-free public lands down river of Pahaska...

Middle fork is great at the top, things start to deteriorate as you get to the bottom, but you can still make it to below Pahaska without too much fancy footwork. One of the ephemeral streams that crosses the trail is running,and may do so for a few more days, so take care in crossing it..

We are planing to go back up toward the end of the week to prep some trails for the Nordic Kids program on Saturday. The following week, we will be on the TOT course with equipment, moving snow into thin areas, so a safe bet to not running into us would be to ski on the road or Middle Fork. 

Lets hope we get some more snow down low in the coming week!

Happy Juneuary,

Well after a week of 50 degree temps, The trails have taken a bit of a hit, although it could be worse. This season has set a very low bar...

The Highway was re-groomed, with new classic track and double-width skate lanes. The only bummer is the amount of dog poop scattered across the trail. Worse than that, is that some of it has been bagged, and then forgotten. Dog owners, PLEASE pick up after your dogs. Carry a scoop and pitch it off into the trees.

Moose Flats got a touch up. We concentrated more on filling in bare spots than leaving a great finished product, but its not bad.

Race Park has lots of thin/ bare spots and the hill down to the highway is sketchy. We closed it off with lathe. Its not worth skiing and not that safe.

Barn road and Crow Creek are thin but skiable, we did not re groom them.

We closed Middle Fork from the bottom. We need long, sustained cold temps and lots of snow to reopen. it. You can ski it form the top, but don't go down into the bottom along the creek. Lots of open water.

If you decide to ski across the river, its best to walk down the hill and across the bridge and up the far side hill.  Penny's and Haul Road are actually pretty good, Becker's is super thin. Outlaw is decent but not re-groomed. 

We need some Winter. If anyone has any connections, now would be a good time to call in a favor!

This week's storms brought 6-7" of new snow at Pahaska, and 10+" at the East Entrance. This allowed the groomers to get on all the trails, and either roll and pack, or in most cases, level the trails and set track and skate lanes. It really feels like winter now, although there are still early season, thin conditions in many places, so ski with caution.

Here's the rundown:

Moose Flats, Crow Creek Loop, Barn Road and Race Park all have classic track and skate lanes. There's a few thin spots in the tracks in each area, so be on the lookout for them. Otherwise, they are skiing great.

The Highway is great; double-width skate lanes and classic track set to the east Gate. It looked like the Park Service was getting ready to groom, but I cannot confirm, there's only one way to know...

Middle Fork: the top 3/4 of the trail is awesome, with classic and skate lanes, however the persistent problem of a thawed, overflowing frog pond crossing the trail in 3 spots has made the bottom portion unskiable without hip waders. Its best to access MF from the top and ski it both ways, or climb out at the guardrail before the trail drops down along the creek. 

Haul Road, Penny's, and Outlaw are all good. Haul Road is groomed all the way to Sleeping Giant. Becker's is thin with intermittent track, keep an eye out for debris and hazards. 

The SG East and Canfield Trails were rolled, but they aren't ready for prime time yet.

The Dog Trails East of the Highway Bridge were rolled and should be decent for skiing without tracks.

The First Nordic Kids program starts tomorrow at 10AM, so look for a bunch of wigglers on skis.

The forecast for next week continues to call for warm temps, so lets hope our trails hold up until the next storm cycle comes around. Keep doing your snow dances!

6" of snow from yesterday's storm are helping to get the ski trails into shape again. The Highway is in great shape, with classic track and skate lanes to the YNP gate. The  Park Service also groomed yesterday, but the tracks are likely already covered. Nevertheless, the skiing into the park is really good.

Moose flats was leveled and some track was set, along with Crow Creek Loop. Its still a little thin, so ski with caution. The recent rains have recharged springs that are normally dry/ frozen this time of year, so they have flowed across the trail in a few spots. The cold snap last night should help to firm them up. 

Everyone has asked about Middle Fork: There are a handful of seasonal creeks that cross the trail that were flowing too much to set trail on. They should be frozen after last night, so we will try to get something done on it today. 

The next week will see warm temps again. Luckily, it will get cold each night so the trails shouldn't take too much of a hit if they don't get a lot of sun.

A friendly reminder to pick up after your dogs on the highway. At the very least, throw it over the guard rail. 

Enjoy the last days of 2025 and Happy New Year!

See you on the trails!

Happy Winter Solstice,

We apologize for the radio silence lately. The fact is, there wasn't much to report, or at least nothing good... Two weeks of Chinook winds and inches of rain obliterated our  24" snow pack and left us with an ice slick and ruts, not much fun to ski on. However, the storm and drops in temperatures left us optimistic, so we headed up top Pahaska to see what we could see:

The Good- We were able to tiptoe the Cat up the highway and despite only having a few inches of coverage, lay down a pretty good skate lane. There's also classic track that starts about a hundred yard up the first hill. Everything is firm and fast, with transformed snow. Also, the Park service groomed inside the East Gate, so there should be decent skiing for the next day or so. 

Also, we rolled down the Middle Fork from the top to where the trail drops down along creek level. Below that, the frog ponds still have open water, so the trail sort of dead-ends, but you can get your Middle Fork Fix going down from the top and then back up.

The Bad- Nothing else is really skiable, unless you have skis you don't like and don't mind throwing yourself of the trail to stop.  Also, we will likely get some of the incoming precipitation as rain, as the temps for the coming week look absurdly warm for Christmas. Santa will need water skis at this rate. Things look to cool off by the end of the year, so lets hope we can start off 2026 with skiable trails!  

Merry Christmas, and do your snow dances!

It finally snowed!  And it's making up for lost time!  Around 18-20" at Pahaska, and at least 24" at the YNP line have officially opened the season. 

The groomers went up early this morning and started packing it all down. Its humid, cold snow, so it should really set up and make a firm base. This is good, because the weather next week is moving back into a warm, (maybe rainy) pattern, so durability is key. 

Groomed:

The highway has been groomed to the YNP line, with track and skate lanes.

Moose Flats, Crow Creek, Barn Road, Race Flats, (the hill down onto the highway was not groomed yet). Early season conditions exist, ski with caution!

Rolled: Middle Fork, Some of the South Trails

Not Groomed:

Outlaw, Becker's, Haul Road, Penny's, or the SG East Trails, (Granny's, Canfield, Powerline). The Dog Trails have also not been hit yet

What's coming:

As mentioned earlier, the upcoming week looks warm. We will likely hold off of more grooming until the temps cool off, otherwise we do more damage than good. The Highway should be Great skiing. 

The bears are still out. Lots of tracks this morning. Ski with someone slower than you and it shouldn't be a problem...

see you on the trails, 

The Groomers

Well... First the good news. With the six inches of snow that fell at Pahaska, were able to extend the grooming season another week!

The less good news, Its not going to stay groomed for long. Snow forecasts have increased in the last day and now it looks like We may get another 2-4" over the weekend, along with some wind, so go enjoy it while it lasts.

It's been a great season, and this extra snow is always welcome. And although we don't intend to groom anymore, this snow will set up into a nice crust and provide excellent spring skiing. In the meantime, the touring on wider skis will be exceptional and the trails still have great coverage. There are some thin spots and places where the trail narrows, so keep an eye out.

A couple of things to note:

Bears could be out anytime now, so plan accordingly.

We will begin pulling signage next week and plan to remove the bridge over the middle fork sometime the first week of April.  After that, if you plan to ski on the South side trails, (which hold snow longer as they are North-facing), you'll need to access them via the Sleeping Giant Parking Lot. Also, the Portia-potties will be pulled the first week of April, so you'll have to do what the bears do...

See you on the trails,

The Groomers

The groomers went up today to refresh the trails for the weekend,and all things considered, the trails are in great shape, but they are on borrowed time.

The highway to the East Entrance is still in fantastic shape, with classic track and full skate lanes reset.

Moose Flats, Crow Creek, Barn Road and Race Park are still pretty good; there's a few tree wells that have melted out and narrowed the trail but all in all they still quite intact and great skiing. They were too firm to reset classic track, but the skate lanes are in fine shape.

The Hill from race park to the Highway is done for the season, as is Jackson Hill, the top trail in Race Park. Don't try it unless you have skis you don't like.

Middle fork is good up high, (skate lanes are reset) until the frog pond area at the bottom, which is getting melted out. Its best to ski it from the bottom to the top so you don't get too much speed and hit a dirt patch, unless you're into that sort of thing...

All the South Trails; Outlaw, Penny's, Haul Road and Becker's are in great shape with fresh classic track and skate lanes. Beware of one melt out at the East end of Becker's.

Trails east of Sleeping Giant are really good, with a couple of sunny corners that are melted out, Fresh classic and skate lanes out there too.

We haven's seen any bear activity yet, but it will be any day now. You may want to bring bear spray along.

The East gate is officially closed for winter travel, and plowing will start in the coming weeks, although it will be a while before they make it out of the park.

This may be our final weekend of grooming for the season, unless the storms next week bring more snow. The skiing is still great, so enjoy the last of it!

No new snow from the recent storm that just moved through.  The conditions are fast and firm until 1PM and then start to get slow.  The groomers reset skate lanes on all the trails and classic track on all the North-side trails and the Highway, with varying degrees of success.  Its full-on crust season already, which makes the whole forest a groomed playground, just get out there early.

We are starting to see some melt out under trees and on south-facing slopes. It doesn't look like much snow is in the forecast, so I'd bet we have another week of good skiing on all the trails before we start losing connector trails between the highway, North and south sides.  Its great spring sking, enjoy!