Category: Trail Report

Multi use trails at Chief Joseph Pass were groomed this morning for the dog sled race. Other trails have about 8 inches of new snow on them. Should be good conditions for classic skiing and snowshoeing.

Friday night our volunteer grooming crew was out at lake Como and groomed all of the trails. They are now flatter, smoother, and wider than after the first grooming, tracks are even set in a few places. Temperatures were above freezing during grooming, and have now dropped to 25f, so the trails should be very firm this morning. It should be great conditions for skate skiing, and for fat biking while the temperatures are below freezing. If you are riding a fat bike on the trails please remember it’s not the current temperature that you need to consider, it’s the temperature when you get back to the trailhead. Don’t wait until you are leaving a rut to turn back when temperatures are rising.

On January 1 our volunteer grooming crew groomed 14.5 miles(24 KM) of trails on the south side of Lake Como. These trails have not been groomed for the last 4 years. We are very excited to be reviving this trail system, and hope to be able to continue grooming it in the coming years.

There are not classic tracks set, that will happen next time we groom. The trails are not totally flat, there were some pretty large tire ruts that needed to be smoothed out, but they’re looking pretty good, and will get flatter next time they are groomed. Most of the trails are not firm enough for skate skiing yet, with the exception of the first 2.5 miles of the 550 road which are skateable, though probably not for beginning skate skiers. None of the trails are firm enough for biking yet.

There are 3 parking areas, the Lake Como boat ramp, the junction of 550 and 550a(Lower Road), and 1/3 mile up Lower Road. For beginner and intermediate skiers the best option is going to be parking on Lower Road, as the other parking options all start out on steep, sometimes-icy sections of road.

The Como Trails are free to use and open to all modes of travel other than wheeled motorized vehicles. This includes cross country skiing, snowshoeing, Dog Sledding, and Fat Biking. Please remember that these trails are groomed by volunteers, and our volunteers groom them because they like to ski on them. If your activity is causing significant damage to the trail surface, or leaving large ruts please stop and come back some other time.

The trails are open to dogs, but please pick up dog droppings, to avoid large messes when the trails are groomed.

There is currently no signage at the trailheads, but we will have signs, and sign-in boxes soon.

The attached map shows what has been groomed, and the parking areas. We will have a more formal map, and map signs at the trailheads soon.

If you would like to support the grooming of these trails please consider becoming a member of the Bitterroot Cross Country Ski Club. You can join on the club website, or find a membership form in the sign-in box at the trailhead.

A big thank you to everyone at the Bitterroot National Forest who worked with us to make this happen, and rushed to get the paperwork done before the government shutdown.