The secret ski resorts hidden inside America’s nationwide parks

Waterfalls and scenic overlooks, somewhat than chairlifts and ski patrols, extra readily come to thoughts when picturing America’s nationwide parks, however do you know three quietly welcome skiers? West Coast mainstays Yosemite National Park and Olympic National Park, and under-the-radar Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, every present a singular likelihood to hit the slopes.

America’s oldest nationwide park ski space

Surrounded by lodgepole pines and majestic Sierra granite, Badger Pass Ski Area sits at 7,200 toes on a broad alpine saddle alongside Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park. Modest by trendy resort requirements, its place in American ski historical past is outsized. Opened in 1935, Badger Pass is the oldest ski space working inside a U.S. nationwide park, its previous tied to Yosemite’s bid to host the 1932 Winter Olympics. A uncommon survivor of an period when park planners embraced alpine snowboarding to attract winter guests, Badger Pass—additionally California’s oldest ski resort—options downhill terrain, a ski faculty, and a lodge, whose significance extends far past the 800 vertical toes that stretch from its summit to base.

“For locals, coming here is a way to embrace where we live in a different season,” says the Director of the Badger Pass Nordic Center, Josh Helling, who has skied in Yosemite most of his life. “As soon as we have enough snow, all the familiar faces start showing up, from toddlers to longtime elders,” he explains.

Lift ticket costs are among the many most reasonably priced within the Sierra. Seniors over 70 ski free, and weekday faculty ski days convey kids to the slopes from Yosemite Valley and gateway communities like Mariposa and Oakhurst. “Badger is a community gathering place as much as it is a ski area,” Helling says. “Traditions like the Yosemite Nordic Holiday Race have anchored winter here since 1969, but we’re hoping to revive once-celebrated alpine ski races when conditions allow.” 

With snowmaking prohibited in U.S. nationwide parks, Badger Pass is fully depending on pure snowfall, a coverage that additionally protects a fragile meadow beneath its slopes. Although seasons have grown much less predictable within the Sierra, epic winters nonetheless arrive—in March 2023, snowfall climbed to the lodge’s second flooring, breaking a decades-old document. 

Even in low-snow years, this storied ski space reveals a facet of one among America’s hottest nationwide parks few guests see. Badger Pass is one framed by uncrowded slopes and uncommon winter entry through groomed Nordic trails to its world-famous overlook, Glacier Point, and past into the backcountry.

Yosemite isn’t the one nationwide park the place winter reshapes the expertise. Nearly 1,000 miles north in Washington, skiers get to take pleasure in summit-to-sea views inside Olympic National Park.

(How do you keep away from the crowds in nationwide parks? Visit throughout winter.)

From sea degree to ski degree

From the waterfront city of Port Angeles, the street climbs greater than 5,200 toes to Hurricane Ridge. On clear days, views stretch north to Vancouver Island, and when storms roll in, clouds race up from the Pacific. “It’s an upside-down ski area,” says Roger Oakes, ski area historian and founding father of the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club. “Since opening in 1958, the phrase, ‘Thirty minutes sea level to ski level,’ has been printed on lift tickets here.” 

Two rope tows function through the weekends and holidays from December by means of March, and a single Poma floor elevate serves roughly 620 vertical toes. “Our little ski area stays alive because of a small but dedicated group of skiers and a good relationship with Olympic National Park,” Oakes provides.

The base stays native primarily, supported by a nonprofit mannequin that features a volunteer ski patrol affiliated with the National Ski Patrol. Rising costs at bigger Washington resorts have began to draw households from Tacoma (and different cities) to Hurricane, significantly for ski faculty. “It’s challenging here. People are often surprised by how much variety we have in such a small place,” he provides, pointing to double black diamond “the Face,” the place steep, slender chutes and gladed runs check professional skiers. The season averages about 28 working days, typically dictated by climate and street entry. Like Badger Pass, Hurricane Ridge depends fully on pure snowfall—generally in extra. In 1999, a single storm buried the Poma elevate and lodge.

Although solely 1 / 4 of winter visitors use the lift-serviced ski space, it stays a neighborhood hub. According to Oakes, a long-standing relationship with the National Park Service offers a way of perpetuity. He says, “Hurricane Ridge is included in the park’s General Management Plan and essentially grandfathered into park policy.” 

Oakes says planned federal funding to replace its historic day lodge, misplaced to the 2023 fireplace, is now within the early planning phases and in addition presents hope that this grassroots outpost will anchor winter recreation within the Olympics for years to come back.

If snowboarding at Olympic National Park feels outlined by its remoteness, Cuyahoga Valley National Park guarantees the other. 

(Forget the street journey—these nationwide parks are greatest visited by practice.)

Ohio’s shock mountain playground

Set on non-public land throughout the park on reverse sides of the Cuyahoga River, Boston Mills and Brandywine are sister ski resorts—individually named hills now operated collectively underneath the identical possession—lower than an hour’s drive from Cleveland and Akron. A Midwest mainstay since 1963, the 2 areas predate the valley’s nationwide recreation space standing and, over 4 many years later, its designation as a nationwide park. “Being surrounded by the national park shapes how we operate—we share the same goal to attract residents and visitors into the valley throughout winter,” says the General Manager of Boston Mills and Brandywine, Jake Campbell. 

Less than 10 minutes aside by automobile, the 2 resorts span 88 skiable acres with 18 trails between them, share elevate ticket entry, and performance as one complicated. Boston Mills has change into the valley’s freestyle hub whereas Brandywine’s groomed slopes function an entry level for households and first-time skiers. Together, their location (between two of Ohio’s largest cities) makes late-night skiing a significant draw, with buzzing floodlit slopes that generally run till midnight, sustaining its loyal, multigenerational following. Campbell, who began snowboarding and driving right here in 2000 by means of the School Club program, counts himself amongst them. “It’s where I found connection and community, and our guests feel that too,” he says.

From the Sierra and Olympic Mountains to the Ohio River Valley, these last-of-their-kind ski areas stay etched into the lives of the individuals who return to them every winter. A poignant and significant reminder that loyalty, not measurement or spectacle, is what retains snowboarding alive inside America’s nationwide parks.