To the runners and the bikers, this is a friendly reminder that the groomed ski trails in Highland Glen are closed to foot and bike traffic.
It’s not that we don’t like runners and bikers. We do (and skiers love those activities, too) and most people are following the signage and staying off of the groomed trail (Thank you!). But we’re stuck in a tough place trying to balance our grooming quality and costs. We try to maintain the highest quality ski trail that we can, and foot traffic rapidly decreases the quality of a ski trail. When we have low snow, such as we do now, we try to groom as little as possible in order to preserve our snowpack. There are several reasons for this: Every time we groom, we lose a little bit of our snow due to the mechanical breakdown and weakening of the crystals. Grooming thin snow risks mixing dirt, grass, and other debris into the trail surface, which only serves to speed up melting and further degrades the skiing. Lastly, grooming is a labor- and money-intensive operation.
All things considered, we are both trying to do as much as possible and as little as possible. Its a tough balance.
With those factors taken into consideration, we cannot groom away the inches-deep divots left by foot prints until we get more snow, and as a result, the quality of the ski trail gets worse and worse.
We’re lucky in Bozeman. We can trail run from Main Street, and there’s groomed skiing just a few blocks away. It’s better for our health and our environment.
Fortunately, there are numerous alternatives for trail running surrounding the Highland Glen area that BSF does not groom.
SKIRT AROUND HIGHLAND: There is an excellent gravel path that runs along the southwest edge of the HighlandArea (right next to the tree streets neighborhood), which connects directly into the Painted Hills trail, which now connects all the way to Triple Tree!
PETE’S HILL/GALLIGATOR TRAIL: Not far away, you can also link up the trails on Pete's Hill and the Galligator Trail.
MAPS: Check those trail options out here, courtesy of GVLT and Bozeman Parks and Recreation: https://gisweb.bozeman.net/Html5Viewer/?viewer=gvlt
AND IF YOU REALLY JUST LOVE RUNNING ON GROOMERS: Beginning on December 2, Sourdough/Bozeman Creek will begin to get groomed by BSF. This is a multi-user trail and foot traffic (and dogs) are allowed—offering you a groomed surface that runs nearly 10 miles to MysticLake. It’s also the most expensive trail for us to maintain because it gets pretty beat up by all the users. So if you enjoy this trail, consider a trails pass or a donation to help keep it groomed throughout the season. You can also help by keeping foot traffic contained to the right as you go up Sourdough (and the left on the way down).
Remember, especially during low snow periods, there are relatively few groomed ski trails in town in relation to the miles of trails open for other uses. Professionally maintained ski trails right in town at a low cost are a very unique thing. We should all take pride in the wide array of trails available to us right out of our doors.
