STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

If you’re looking for snow, you will find it north of Ketchum.

And the Blaine County Recreation District is offering a chance for you to play in it for free.

The BCRD is holding its second Ski Free Day on its Nordic trails on Sunday, Jan. 7. Outdoor enthusiasts are invited to ski or snowshoe free of charge.

With snow slim to none around Sun Valley, Galena Lodge was bustling during the holidays. The lodge offered soft corduroy tracks and full-on winter scenery.

Proprieters Don Shepard and Erin Zell served up more than 400 lunches a day. And Ski Patrol had to send Nordic skiers over the summit to the cross country ski trails at Alturas Lake and Park Creek near Stanley as parking filled up at Galena Lodge and Prairie Creek.

The pace swung back to “just as locals” on Wednesday.

Skiing is available along the Harriman Trail from SNRA headquarters to Galena Lodge. All the trails around Galena Lodge are open. Billy’s Bridge is not open for skiing but can be accessed by snowshoe.

The best skate skiing is from Baker Creek north, although skiers should exercise caution just south of the bridge at Prairie Creek where a frozen pond has emerged. BCRD has roped off the frozen lake and groomed around it.