Subscribe
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Menu
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events

Hyalite Canyon’s nordic trail network

in News
Megan Paulsonby Megan Paulson
February 21, 2012

By Jamie Kujawa Explorebigsky.com Contributor

Bridger Ski Foundation trained and raced on the ski trails that meander through Hyalite Canyon, on and off, as far back as the 1970s, all the way into the ‘90s. So in 2006 it was only natural that BSF was one of the groups involved in getting the Hyalite road plowed during the winter.

Gallatin County maintains the road year-round, something Brian McNeil, roads and trails manager for the Gallatin National Forest Bozeman Ranger District, is tremendously grateful for.

Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad Article Inline Ad

“[The plowing] opened up many opportunities for us to do great things in the canyon,” he says. For McNeil, that means working and recreating on the network of groomed and un-groomed nordic ski trails.

McNeil and his crew of two other groomers, Adam Norlander and Will Shoutis, are up in Hyalite weekly, depending on snow and weather. They’re essentially storm-chasers: after a big dump, they’ll groom up to 20 kilometers of trails for classic skiing. The team keeps some of the trails un-groomed so hardcore backcountry enthusiasts can have the option of skiing virgin dendrites after a storm.

The goal for the Hyalite ski network is to “keep the look, feel, smell of the whole area as a backcountry experience,” McNeil says.

With this winter’s unseasonably warm weather, however, grooming hasn’t been just about big dumps. Because hikers and dog-walkers pack down the snow on the trails, the groomers still go out weekly or every other week to “set some corduroy and set down some track,” McNeil said.

McNeil works with the Bridger Ski Foundation and the Southwest Montana Climbers Coalition to maintain grooming and road access in Hyalite. According to Hal Stanley of BSF, the Forest Service team does 80 percent of the grooming, and BSF supplements that.

This year, BSF and the Forest Service made a big push to improve the groomed cross-country trails. This past fall, BSF used roughly 700 volunteer work hours and spent about $10,000 on materials for trail improvements.

Volunteers helped with trail maintenance like lopping branches, building small bridges over creek crossings and removing large rocks from trails. One of the major goals was to connect the different segments of trail into one big loop around the reservoir.

All of the groomed terrain in Hyalite is two-way skier traffic, so some of the work this fall was to reshape trails in order to prevent collisions or fast descents. Stanley says there is still work to do to optimize the trails for skiing.

Because Hyalite is too far from Bozeman to be a training facility for race teams, these efforts by BSF and the Forest Service are meant for the community to enjoy.

“It’s just a beautiful, beautiful place,” Stanley says.

Stanley and McNeil agree that during the early part of this winter, Hyalite was one of the best places to be for great nordic conditions. And with McNeil and crew out working through early April, conditions should stay good all winter.

All of the skiable trails are marked with blue diamonds to keep folks on course, and detailed maps are provided at all parking areas. For a printed map, stop into the Gallatin National Forest Bozeman Ranger District or download one at bridgerskifoundation.org.

Jamie Kujawa is not much of a cross-country skier, but she sure does like Hyalite Canyon.

Outlaw Realty Outlaw Realty
Outlaw Realty
ADVERTISEMENT

Listen

Hoary Marmot Podcast

Joe Borden & Michele Veale Borden

Lastest Episode
See More Episodes

Upcoming Events

May 15
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Event Series

Flag Raising at Soldiers Chapel

May 16
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Event Series

Trivia at Waypoint

May 17
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Event Series

A Spiritual Awakening: Verdi, Simon, Ives

May 18
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm Event Series

A Spiritual Awakening: Verdi, Simon, Ives

May 20
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm Event Series

American Legion Bingo

View Calendar
Event Calendar

Related Posts

Big Sky May 6 election results
Featured

Big Sky May 6 election results

May 6, 2025
Big Sky track teams race towards end of season
News

Big Sky track teams race towards end of season

April 29, 2025
Wildfire Wire: Pitch in for all of us 
News

Wildfire Wire: Pitch in for all of us 

April 29, 2025
Skim or swim: Big Sky’s closing weekend makes a splash with the return of pond skim
Featured

Skim or swim: Big Sky’s closing weekend makes a splash with the return of pond skim

April 28, 2025

An Outlaw Partners Publication

Facebook-f Instagram X-twitter Youtube

Explore Big Sky

  • About/Contact
  • Advertise
  • Publications
  • Subscriptions
  • Podcast
  • Submissions

Outlaw Brands

  • Big Sky PBR
  • Hey Bear
  • Mountain Outlaw
  • Outlaw Partners
  • Outlaw Realty
  • Plan Yellowstone

Copyright © 2025 Explore Big Sky | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Your Privacy Choices

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Yellowstone
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Real Estate
  • Events

©2024 Outlaw Partners, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Explore Big Sky Logo
  • News
    • Local
    • Regional
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Outlaw Partners
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Yellowstone
  • Events
Subscribe
Facebook X-twitter Instagram Youtube