Nordic skiing trails open in Whitefish, Bigfork, Columbia Falls
A cross-country skier enjoys the trails at Glacier Nordic Center in Whitefish on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. The trails received about 4 inches of snow overnight. (Matt Baldwin/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier Nordic Center in Whitefish finally opened for the season this week after a winter storm dumped just enough snow to thoroughly blanket the trails at Whitefish Lake Golf Club.
About 4 inches of snow had accumulated in Whitefish on Tuesday morning, allowing groomers with Glacier Nordic Club to roll and pack the entire course for the first time this winter. Wednesday morning, all of the trails on the north and south courses were groomed for skate and classic skiing.
“Conditions are fantastic; expect firm trails with occasional thin spots under trees,” the club posted on X, the social media site formally known at Twitter. “It’s a great day to ski!”
The center on U.S. 93 West includes the Glacier Nordic Shop and 12k of rolling trails along Whitefish and Loon lakes. Some of the trails are illuminated for night skiing.
The recent snow also allowed the club to groom the Nordic trails at the Round Meadow trailhead just off Star Meadow Road north of Whitefish, as well as 9k of trails at Meadow Lake Golf Course in Columbia Falls. A classic track won’t be set at Meadow Lake until more snow falls.
Glacier Nordic Club, in collaboration with Iron Horse Golf Club, has been grooming the network trails off Big Mountain Road in Haskill Basin since early December, where skiers can enjoy challenging terrain and good coverage.
Near Olney, Dog Creek Lodge on Wednesday had 23k of trails groomed for classic and skate skiing after 6 inches of snow fell over the weekend. More snow was needed before the lodge can open its newest trail up Dog Mountain. The restaurant on site is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Some of the trails on Blacktail Mountain above Lakeside were rolled Tuesday following a decent snowfall. The North Shore Nordic Club expected to groom the Alpine Loop on Wednesday.
The North Shore Nordic Club was also able to groom all of the trails at the Bigfork Community Nordic Center on Tuesday, but planned to halt all operations there until after the predicted snowstorm this week.
“Once the snow passes, we’ll be back out packing and rolling in whatever we get,” the grooming report stated.
The Nordic trails at Izaak Walton Inn at Essex are not being groomed regularly this winter while the inn undergoes a major renovation. However, Michael Reavis has been voluntarily grooming the Dickey and Essex roads on Fridays.