By Carli Johnson REGIONAL NEWS INTERN
In the wintertime, there’s a system of community hiking trails in Big Sky that are groomed to appeal to winter recreationists, particularly Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.
However, use of this local 85-kilometer (approximately 53-mile) trail system means taking on some responsibility so all can enjoy them equally. Avid Nordic skier Bill Rode spoke on the importance of proper trail use on groomed trails. Due to the lengthy, intertwining trail system as well as the different entities caring for different sections of trails, Rode explains how it is easy to confuse what traffic is allowed where.
The Lone Mountain Ranch trails begin just north of Town Center and move west towards Big Sky Resort. The trails at LMR do require a pass that can be purchased at the Big Sky Nordic Center or online. The cost of the pass goes directly towards the cost of grooming and maintaining the trails.
LMR cares for and grooms the Nordic ski trails using a snowcat that creates specific tracks for Nordic skiers throughout the winter. The groomers will run at night or early morning so as not to conflict with daytime skiers. On these tracks walking is prohibited, as are dogs since it impacts grooming patterns, and disturbs the tracks to make skiing more difficult.
Big Sky Community Organization trails are located around Town Center and reach over 30 miles all together. These trails are free to the public and open to skiers, walkers, snowshoers, dogs walkers and essentially any non-motorized winter use.
BSCO uses a device pulled behind a snowmobile that covers a wide range of terrain and creates a flat packed, easy trail for almost any recreationalist.
Denise Wade, manager of the Big Sky Nordic Center, notes that a long-term goal for the Nordic community is to have all of these trails linked so that in the winter, people can ski right from their homes and access different parts of Big Sky without having to drive.
“It’s an ongoing process with lots of different entities,” Wade said. “Besides Lone Mountain Ranch and BSCO, we are working with landowners and developers to allow public access to link these trails.”
Both Wade and Rode emphasized the importance of responsibly recreating and adhering to the signs to maintain the quality of these trails. The LMR and BSCO grooming reports are available online and updated daily to reflect the trail conditions.
