Park Meadows Has a Nordic Track Down the Street. In a Dry Spell, the Skiing Moves Elsewhere.

Last Christmas Day, White Pine Touring's Nordic Center closed for the first time in its history. By early February, after only 6 inches of new snow since Jan. 5, the shop had suspended grooming on the 3k loop at Park City Golf Course and pulled its equipment off the trails, KPCW reported. In that same story, Mountain Trails Foundation was still grooming Bonanza Flat above Empire, and Soldier Hollow was open on manufactured snow.

That is the useful lesson for a Park Meadows household going into November. The golf-course loops are the closest groomed track, and they are also the ones that rely entirely on what falls from the sky. Each of the other options solves the snow problem in its own way. One trail was rebuilt to need less snow, one area sits high enough to keep it, and Soldier Hollow set aside a pile of snow last spring.

The track at the end of Thaynes Canyon Drive

White Pine's Nordic Center is at 1541 Thaynes Canyon Drive, and its retail shop is at 1790 Bonanza Drive. When it's running, the center grooms classic and skate loops of 3, 5 and 10 kilometers every day and offers rentals and lessons. Counting the trails near McPolin Farm, White Pine sets more than 20 kilometers of track each winter.

The 2026-27 pass sheet says the golf-course center is "usually open by November 20th." The early-purchase pricing ended Oct. 31. Since Nov. 1, an individual season pass costs $380, a family pass $540, and the 10-punch pass is still $220. Households in the 84060 ZIP code get a lower rate of $358 for an individual pass and $508 for a family pass. White Pine's track pass page says local passes are sold in the store only, and buyers must show a current Utah ID card or Utah driver's license as proof of residency.

The course still has no snowmaking to back up that schedule. At a Sept. 17 discussion of replacing the golf course's irrigation system, Councilmembers Molly Miller and Tana Toly said they wanted snowmaking included among any upgrades, according to KPCW. The Council said it would take up golf course improvements again later this year. Until something is built, the loops near the clubhouse open and stay open on natural snow alone.

Four places to ski, ranked by the snow they need

Round Valley rebuilt its main route to need less snow

Mountain Trails Foundation lists about 25 kilometers of Nordic trail at Round Valley, groomed daily or as conditions allow, with classic tracks set when there is enough snow. Access is from Quinn's Junction, Highland and Round Valley Way.

The detail that matters in a thin year is Round Valley Express. It is a continuous 3-mile route between the Quinn's Junction trailhead and Highland Drive, through the middle of the valley. It replaced a patchwork of old ranch roads that, by the foundation's own account, often didn't groom well. The rebuild added drainage, road base and a durable surface, and Mountain Trails' announcement of the reopening says the even surface "requires minimal snow coverage for grooming." The project cost $250,000, paid for by a Summit County RAP Recreation Tax Grant and Mountain Trails donors.

Preseason work is already done. In a late-October post on the Mountain Trails winter trails page, the crew said it had finished setting snow markers in Round Valley, filled marmot and badger holes on Big Easy, and repaired the lips on Cousin Eddy.

Round Valley is also the closest groomed area to Park Meadows that welcomes more than skate skis. The Big Easy loop is groomed for fat bikes, and so are the one-way PorcUclimb and Down Dog trails. Well-behaved dogs can run off-leash outside the Nordic-only areas. Mountain Trails asks snowshoers and winter hikers to use marked winter singletrack so the groomed surface stays intact.

Bonanza Flat keeps its snow because of elevation

The week before Halloween showed how much elevation matters this fall. The Park Record's Oct. 31 forecast story described a warm, wet system that would bring rain to lower elevations, put most of its snow above 9,500 feet, and be followed by a break in storms into mid-November. In a pattern like that, the trails high above town hold onto snow that the valley floor loses.

Bonanza Flat has 12 kilometers of groomed Nordic trail. Upper Marsac Avenue is closed to public vehicles in winter, so trips start from the designated parking areas. Parking at Empire Pass, Bonanza Flat and Bloods Lake costs $5 an hour on weekdays and $8 an hour on weekends and holidays, and it's free from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. Park City residents can register for a free seasonal parking pass, which makes regular trips much cheaper.

Soldier Hollow saved a pile of snow from last spring

Soldier Hollow is in Midway, lower than the resorts around Park City, and the best snowmaking temperatures there come later in the season. Last spring, the crew built a pile of snow the size of a football field, planning to insulate it over the summer. The goal was that the venue can open as soon as it's cold enough for snow to stay frozen, by spreading snow it already has instead of making new snow. General Manager Luke Bodensteiner told the Park Record the pile holds enough for one trail, and that "we hope by the middle part of November that we've got some snow that we're skiing on." At peak season, Soldier Hollow usually opens 10 kilometers.

For a Park Meadows skier, Soldier Hollow is the backup for weeks when nothing near home is skiable, and the pass prices reflect that role. The 2026-27 regular annual pass is $235 for adults, $115 for youth and $135 for seniors. Premium passes are $265, $130 and $170. A regular family pass costs $400, or $325 if bought before Nov. 15, which is three days after this post publishes. A premium family pass is $440.

When the outing is mostly for the dog

Some winter days are less about kick-and-glide than about getting a dog out on packed snow. Basin Recreation's Trailside Loop is a packed, multi-use winter route for snowshoes, fat bikes and Nordic skis. It's too narrow for skate skiing, and it's an off-leash area, with signs showing where leashes are required. Run-A-Muk covers 2.8 miles of hiking-only trail. Dogs there need to stay within sight and voice control, owners must carry a leash, and dogs must be leashed within 150 feet of the trailheads.

Basin's winter map says there is no fixed grooming schedule on its broader trail network. After a storm, commuter paths and trailheads get cleared first.

The dates that decide early-season skiing

The forecast picture for this winter is mixed. In October, TownLift reported that NOAA's outlook gave northern Utah equal chances of below-normal, near-normal or above-normal precipitation from December through February, with El Niño strengthening. With no clear forecast, the calendar is the most useful guide over the next week and a half:

• Nov. 14. Last day to buy Soldier Hollow's regular family pass at $325, since that price applies to purchases made before Nov. 15.
• Nov. 19. NOAA's next outlook update, per TownLift.
• Nov. 20. White Pine's golf-course center is usually open by this date. It's also Park City Mountain's opening target. The resort started making snow on Nov. 2, KPCW reported.

The alpine resort's snow guns cover lift-served terrain, not the golf course on Thaynes Canyon Drive. For the loops closest to Park Meadows, the opening date still depends on natural snowfall. On a dry week, the Round Valley trailheads at Quinn's Junction and Highland and the Bonanza Flat parking areas are the places to look before driving to Midway.

If you'd like to talk through how Round Valley, Bonanza Flat and the golf-course loops fit the neighborhoods you're considering, Tricia Cohen is glad to help. Schedule a Private Consultation.