STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
You can save between $50 and $106 on your Nordic pass if you purchase it by Sunday, Nov. 19.
THE BLAINE COUNTY RECREATION DISTRICT is offering season passes for $205 for adults who purchase them online by Nov. 19. The passes will increase to $255 after that date.
Children 17 and under ski free. Season passes for dogs are $49. And snowshoe season passes are $65.
A BCRD/Sun Valley Combined Nordic season pass, good for trails maintained by both the BCRD and Sun Valley Resort, is also available for a discounted price of $384 during the pre-season sale. The price increases to $490 after Nov. 19.
This year’s day passes will cost $17 for North Valley Trails and $10 for Croy Nordic. Three-day passes, which can be used on non-consecutive days, cost $45, and seven-day passes, which must be used on consecutive days, costs $89.
A one-day snowshoe pass for the North Valley Trails costs $5, while a one-day dog pass costs $5.Mountain Rides will once again offer its Ride ‘n Glide bus service from Ketchum to North Valley Trails and Galena Lodge.
The service will operate Fridays through Sundays for 11 weeks from Dec. 15 through Feb. 25. A season pass for the bus service can be purchased or $65 on the BCRD website.
The 160-kilometer BCRD Nordic trail system is one of the largest in the United States, offering a diversity of skiing ranging from the mostly flat Harriman Trail at its south end to the hair-raising Psycho, which plummets within sight of Galena Lodge. Revenue from pass sales and donations pays for the grooming.
Tax dollars support the grooming of the 20-mile multi-use Wood River Trail or bike path that runs from Bellevue to Ketchum. Use of that trail is offered free to the public.
Those who wish to show support of the trails and Galena Lodge can make a tax-deductible donation of $250 or $100 to receive a complimentary platinum or gold Nordic pin.
Passes can be bought online at www.bcrd.org.
SUN VALLEY’S NORDIC season passes cost $219 through Nov. 19 and $289 afterwards. Senior season passes for those 65 and older cost $219, and youth, $99.
The purchase of Sun Valley’s Nordic passes include two one-day passes for family or friends. They also include two half-priced equipment rental vouchers, two half-priced daytime sleigh rides, excluding the Christmas and President’s Day weeks, and a free equipment tune.
A one-day trail pass for Sun Valley Nordic Center costs $25 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for youth 12 and older. Skiing’s free for children.
A half-day pass, which begins at 1 p.m., costs $20 for adults and $13 for seniors. Two- and three-day passes cost $40 and $60.
Sun Valley’s snowshoe trail fees are $10 for adults and $5 for youth 12 and older. Fat bike trail fees are $15.
Sun Valley passes can be purchased at www.sunvalley.com.