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3.0 miles

Alpine WY XC Ski Association Trail

Gros Ventre & Wyoming Ranges

Fee: $0.00 - donations appreciated

Access:

From Jackson Town Square, drive south on Hwy 89/191, past Hoback Junction to the town of Alpine (total 37 miles). The trailhead parking lot has changed for 2016: It is west of the Airport (north of Alpine) off County Road 100 just passed the Rugby field.

Description:

Alpine is a small town on the Snake River bend, just before the river turns north and enters Idaho and the Palisades Reservoir. The valley is flat and offers some nice Nordic skiing with views of the southern Snake River range. The Alpine XC Ski Association has begun grooming both a classic and skate ski track when snow permits.
For Winter 2022-23, grooming will be on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

From the parking lot, there is no kiosk (coming soon), but the start of the trail is pretty obvious. There are signs along the trail requesting that snowmobiles respect the groomed tracks.

The Alpine XC Trail area now has 3 groomed ski trails - Yellow, Purple, and Orange. The map shown here is the Purple Trail, the longest at 4.87 km. The Yellow Trail is 2.58 km, and the Orange = 2.41 km.

The new trail head is at the end of HYW 100, next to the rugby field. Due to volunteer grooming, check Alpine Cross Country Ski Association's Facebook page for grooming updates. The trails loop over over the bed of the Palisades Reservoir. You can ski one , two or all three, for a total of nearly 6 flat miles. There is no tree cover so the trails are subject to wind and sun.

The Palisades Reservoir has receded almost to a river at this point, so the trail isn't actually over frozen water ( as it looks on the GPS maps), rather, over the dry lakebed.

Trail usage is free, thanks to the Alpine XC Ski Association, however donations are welcome. The cost of operation and grooming is kindly supported by local community members and organizations. Thanks to local Star Valley skiers for sharing this local trail.

Alpine XC Ski Association manager, Sue Haun, has been posting trail conditions on their Facebook page. Or contact Sue for conditions: 307-883-5640, sue@alpinexcski.org. website coming soon: www.alpinexcski.org

N.B. This trail is classified in Region 5 – Wyoming Range-Gros Ventres based on its proximity to the ski trailheads of the southern area beyond Jackson Hole proper. It is in fact on the west bank of the Snake River, but not accessible from the other Westbank trails ( Wilson area) due to winter closure of Fall Creek Road.

Elevation gain: 0m