Where to Ski
Several locations offer excellent opportunities for cross-country skiing and skating. Soldier Hollow, White Pine, Snowbasin, Solitude, and Sundance each has a Nordic center with between 10 and 20 km of groomed trails. The upper 8 kilometers of the Mill Creek Canyon road is groomed at least once a week. Mountain Dell ski area is operated by TUNA and has 5 - 9 km of trails that are groomed most days of the week. In addition to the trails groomed specifically for cross-country skiing, several hundred kilometers of groomed snowmobile trails exist within one hour driving distance of Salt Lake City.
You can also view these locations in a table or in a map.
Alta Ski Area
From the Alta website: Come up and check out the classic or skate skiing on our 5km groomed track. Later on in the season, when weather and snow conditions permit, we groom a track at mid-mountain which is accessible via Sunnyside Lift with your Nordic Pass or Track Ticket. Track tickets are only available at the Wildcat Ticket office.
American Fork Canyon
The Forrest Service grooms the Little Mill and Granite Flat campground roads for skate and classic skiing. They also groom the Alpine Loop and Silver Lake roads for snowmobiles but they are good for XC skiing. See the Google map link for a more detailed map with the following areas indicated:
Little Mill parking - Park here to ski up the Little Mill campground road. The sign says Sawmill. Distance is about 1.1 - 1.2 miles (1.8 - 2.0 km) to the end. Classic tracks set after the hill. Groomed twice a week.
Pine Hollow - Park here and ski up the road. Groomed for snowmobiles and usually in good condition. Plenty of opportunities for off-track skiing, like the Timpanogos Perimeter road.
Tibble Fork - Park here for access to Granite Flat, Silver Lake Flat, etc.
Beaver Bottoms
From Logan, travel east on Hwy 89 about 25 miles to the Beaver Mountain turnoff (0.8 miles past milepost 486). Turn left here and go about 1/2 mile, where you'll find parking for both Beaver Bottoms groomed track (across the road to the west) and the Sink Hollow trail (to the north). Click here to download a trail map (pdf). During the 2010-2011 season, Nordic United will arrange to have the Beaver Bottoms trail groomed several times primarily in advance of GenXC and other cross-country ski events. Check the event schedule and grooming report for details.
Beaver Creek Ski Trail, Uinta Mountains
The six-mile trail between Yellow Pine and North Fork trailhead areas is groomed by Utah State Parks officials. There is a $6 (three-day pass) fee to park along the Mirror Lake Highway. Dogs are only allowed on odd-numbered days. Call the Kamas Ranger District at 435-783-4338 for more information.
Green Canyon
Green Canyon: From Logan, go to the intersection of 1900 North and 1600 East. From there, head east on 1900 North for about a mile, where you'll find a parking area with restroom facilities. A groomed trail continues up the canyon for about 4 miles. Nordic United and the City of North Logan will groom the trail several times per week during the 2010-2011 season.
Guardsman Pass
Guardsman Pass is at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon and not groomed on a regular schedule.
2.4 miles to the top of the pass, climbing 800ft, then dropping 800ft over 1.7 miles down the east side of the pass to the gate. Great high elevation skiing.
From Wasatch Nordic: Guardsman will be difficult to groom once the winter starts in earnest, so we are treating it as a pre-season location. Once low elevation snow comes in, we will cease grooming up there.
Homestead Resort
The Homestead is a luxury resort located in Midway, Utah near Soldier Hollow.
Mill Creek Canyon
Mill Creek is an out and back with over 1000 ft of elevation gain. The lower section of the ski trail gets a lot of foot traffic, but the upper section (above Elbow Fork) is generally very quiet. At the top of the canyon, there is a Yurt than can be reserved from December to April.
Grooming will start for the season on November 30th. We will try to groom once before the weekend and then after the weekend, depending on conditions and weather. Both skate and classic tracks are set.
Fees
The daily fee is $3.00 per car. A yearly pass is $40.00. Fees were increased Jan 1, 2009.
Mirror Lake Highway
Trails: The road is groomed by the Forest Service for skiers and snowmobiles.
Location: Hwy. 150, the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway The highway is closed from the Soapstone Campground, 15 miles past Kamas, to the East Fork Campground, 33 miles from Evanston, Wyoming.
Mountain Dell
The ski track at Mountain Dell is created and maintained through the volunteer efforts of the TUNA Mountain Dell Grooming Crew. The crew strives to set fresh track, skate and classic, each day that there is sufficient snow coverage. That usually means the track is reset every 24 hours, although during a storm cycle the track is often set twice in one day. The latest grooming reports are available from the Snow reports tab above.
NO DOGS! Mountain Dell is a part of the SLC Watershed. Dogs are not allowed, even inside your car in the parking lot. Save yourself a lot of money a trip to court, leave the dog at home.
North Fork Park
Beautiful mountain setting with groomed classic and skate trails maintained by Ogden Nordic. A peaceful place to spend the day....watch for Moose that live in the area and take in the mountain scenery. This venue is located on the East side of Ben Lomond Mountain at a base elevation of 5,800' and holds great snow from December to April. Grooming is scheduled 5 days per week with PB-275, or Skandic work sleds and YTS Ginzu's. Please donate $5 each day you ski or $75 for a season pass as all grooming expenses are born by Ogden Nordic. Trail Length: 20 Km, Elevation: 5,800'
Rendezvous Ski Trails
Ideally situated at just over 6800 feet (2000 meters) in altitude, the Rendezvous Ski Trails provide perfect conditions for high altitude training or recreation at any time of the year. The altitude and location adjacent to the Continental Divide also mean that snow comes early and stays late. The Rendezvous Ski Trails are groomed on an as needed basis (except on Mondays and not during daylight hours) by Doug Edgerton of Yellowstone Track Systems (www.yellowstonetrack.com).
Round Valley
The Round Valley trails are accessed from a variety of points in Park City. The most convenient is probably the Quinn's Trailhead near the National Ability Center complex off UT 248. These free trails are maintained by the Mountain Trails Foundation. For more info, go to www.mountaintrails.org.
Ruby’s Inn / Bryce Canyon
Ski from right outside your guest room door.
Trails interconnect with ski-set trails inside Bryce Canyon National Park.
Location: Hwy 63, Bryce, Utah
Snowbasin
From the Snowbasin website: Snowbasin grooms and maintains 26 km of Nordic trails. The trails start near the Olympic Parking Lot, where Nordic trail users may park, or utilize a free shuttle service from the Day Skier Lot.
Soldier Hollow
USA Today: one of "10 Great Places to Peacefully Glide Cross Country".
Outside Magazine: one of four top nordic resorts in North America.
Solitude Nordic Center
Located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, between Brighton and Solitude ski resorts, the Solitude Nordic Center can offer good skiing with lots of snow when other locations are struggling. The Nordic Center offers nearly 20 kilometers of groomed trails set for both classic and skating styles of Nordic skiing. The skiing is mixed - open up by the Nordic Center on the lake, and in the trees as the trails descend toward Solitude. The base elevation is 8,700', so be ready to feel the altitude. There is a shuttle than runs from Solitude back up to the Nordic Center if you want to skip the climb. Snowshoers will find an additional 10k of well-marked snowshoe trails that meander between the Nordic Center and Solitude Village.
SR65
SR65, also known as Big Mountain or East Canyon Road, will be groomed periodically from December through February. Check here for updates. The road will be groomed from the gate at Little Dell Reservoir to the Salt Lake/Morgan County line, 5 miles up the road. The first 1.5 miles is fairly flat and then the road climbs steeply.
Note that there can be snowmobiles, walkers, runners, snowshoers, cyclist and other skiers present at any time. Be aware and play nice. If you are skiing after dark, be sure to at least wear reflective clothing so that snowmobilers can see you. A headlamp and/or blinky lights are a good idea, too. Do not stop in corners or anywhere else that there is a restricted view.
This road is in protected Watershed. Dogs are not allowed on the road, off the road, or in your car in the parking area.
There are no fees for skiing this road. This grooming is provided courtesy of TUNA, The Utah Nordic Alliance.
Sundance
From the Sundance website: Sundance offers the rare combination of a pristine back country experience, immaculate wide groomed trails, and separate snowshoe trails. A full 26 kilometers of daily groomed trails are available for skating and classic skiing. Snowshoers can explore our terrain on 10 kilometers of dedicated trails through the woods. The Cross Country center is a full service facility with rentals and new demo equipment available for all ages and abilities. Coaching sessions for all levels available daily.
White Pine Touring Center
White Pine Touring operates a 20+ km cross-country ski center in the heart of Park City. Enjoy the spectacular mountain views along one of three groomed loops. With 3k, 5k and 10k+ loops, they are perfect for the beginner, intermediate and advanced classic or skate skier. Heated underground parking, passes, equipment and lessons are all offered on site. Rentals and Lessons are available. Also available, ski archery range.
For more information, call 435-649-6249 or contact Charlie Sturgis at csturgis [at] whitepinetouring [dot] com or Tony Chesrow at tchesrow [at] whitepinetouring [dot] com.
