Nordic Trail Report 3.5.26
Appreciating land conservation for cross-country skiing
Thank you to the Jackson Hole Land Trust for putting together a cross-country ski tour and sharing the amazing story of skiing, conservation and community engagement at Trail Creek Nordic. As we skied, the JHLT staff and board, along with the JHSC director, shared pieces of history and the importance of collaboration among organizations, neighbors and community.
Supporters of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem enjoying the sun and appreciating the work that goes in to the land conservation, which allows for opportunities to recreate on this mixture of public and private land.
At a Glance
- Continued mixed weather
- Tech Tip: watch the temperatures and cloud cover to gauge hardness
- Events for the weekend
General Weather – continued mix
Today is forecasted for snow showers with a high of 36 in the valleys. Targhee recorded 5 inches of snow at 8800 feet, and the Raymer plot showed 2 inches at 9360 feet this morning. The coming days have a little bit of everything. See the full Mountain Weather forecast.
What’s Groomed Today?
Planned Thursday Grooming
Alta Nordic – grooming might be delayed Thursday morning. Check the map.
Daily grooming
Turpin Meadow Ranch – classic track is in still, may be shallow in some spots but all skiing well.
Groomers continue to balance snow preservation, conditions for best grooming outcomes, the base depth and planned schedules.
Always check the grooming page for the most current snapshot.
Tech Tip Thursday – How to time your xc ski
A firm track in Grand Teton National Park helps you go the full distance from Taggart parking area to Signal Mountain.
Check overnight temps to gauge ski surfaces
A couple of things you can do to estimate when skiing will be most fun for you are check for specific groomer notes and look at temperatures and cloud cover.
Groomers in Jackson and Teton Valley are generally adding comments to the real-time map. They may share timing, what conditions they are seeing, and grooming outcomes. This is not true for every trail system every grooming day, but true often enough it is a great things to check before leaving the house.
You can also look at overnight temperatures. Once the snow starts getting soft with high day time temps, check out what happened overnight. If there are not many hours of freezing temps. or just barely freezing, the snow generally will take less time to soften. The hardest snow that is slowest to warm generally is after a really warm blue sky day (with lots of moisture being released in the snow) followed by well below freezing temps for many hours overnight.
Paying attention to temperatures as you get out on your cross-country skis (groomed track or xc touring) can help you predict when the skiing will fit your desired conditions – hard and fast or a little softer and more forgiving.
Upcoming opportunities for fun
Moonlight Bike and Ski
As a prelude to the Togwotee Winter Classic fat bike ride, or a stand alone fun thing to do, head out the Deception Creek Trails on Togwotee Pass for a Friday evening bike or ski.
Togwotee Winter Classic
March 7, 2026
A not-for-profit fat bike event taking place on groomed snow and/or snowmobile trails at 8000′ to 9,600′ in elevation on the Continental Divide. The TWC goes way back in fat bike history as once the longest standing, contiguous fat bike race in the Lower 48. Registration is free but limited to 74 riders. Donations accepted.
West Yellowstone Rendezvous
Come be a part of the American Ski Marathon Series—North America’s longest-running and largest citizen’s racing and touring series, highlighting long distance ski events throughout the country. This race is in our backyard on some phenomenal trails with excellent grooming.
The trails are in great shape! @k to 50k distances!
March 7, 2026.