Cover photo courtesy of Jean Arthur

Sunrise promises a sparkling midsummer morning at 6,644 feet elevation at the summit of Going-to-the-Sun Road at Logan Pass. A dozen vehicles snug into parking spots on an August morning as hikers lace boots for early starts on Glacier National Park’s famous Highline Trail. My family plans to hike another popular trail from the parking lot at Logan Pass, the Hidden Lake Trail to Hidden Lake Overlook, a 2.7-mile climb among wildflowers, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, ermine and the occasional grizzly bear. 

We know from experience that the parking lot—all 236 spots—fills by 8 a.m. on July and August mornings. Until about 7 p.m., drivers will troll the parking lot to find a spot, testing patience and pleasantries. Occasionally arguments break out and rangers must intervene.  

The bustle begs the question: Are we loving our national parks to death? Between resource depletion, crushing roadway overuse, damaging pollution, and resource defilement due to garbage, trampling and theft, park lovers are demanding changes. 

Rangers and park staff can barely keep pace. Since the beginning of 2025, permanent park staff positions decreased by 24% for all parks according to the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association. In Grand Teton National Park, the Trump administration’s budget cuts eliminated 16 of the park’s 17 supervisory positions. 

Glacier, which is America’s 10^th national park and spans 1.2 million acres in northwest Montana, has experienced explosive visitor numbers in the past decade, as have other public lands, challenging the resources, park staff and visitor restraint. 

I have frequented Glacier National Park for five decades. My group and I hit the park early to try to beat the new summer crowds. Tailgate coffee, locally grown fruit and prebaked muffins entice our sleepy crew out of warm vehicles to our truck where my husband cranks up the camp stove and makes a couple of bistro’s worth of coffee. To my family, this morning is reminiscent of two decades ago when there was available parking, room to hike without crowding and lots of wildlife.  

We lock up leftovers and head up the paved trail that climbs to a boardwalk, then dirt, and then a snow-covered route with just a few other humans. Brilliant pink heather hugs the ground. The higher we climb, the more glacier lilies—yellow sprites of the high country—shiver in the breeze. A sizable herd of bighorn sheep skitter across rocks then settle for naps with their lambs.  

With so few boots on turf this morning, it’s hard to imagine the significant increase in visitation that Glacier has endured. In 2024, more than 3.2 million people entered Glacier, its third-highest visitation year ever and an increase of 300,000 visitors from 2023.  

Glacier’s 40 percent increase in visitation from 2012 to 2024 is not an anomaly. According to Zion National Park Superintendent, Jeff Bradybaugh, in a letter to Congress, “There are 423 park units in the National Park System encompassing over 85 million acres across our nation, but visitation trends among the individual parks greatly vary. In 2020, overall visitation dropped to a 40-year low due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.” And then spiked. 

In his statement titled, “Lessons from the Field: Overcrowding in National Parks,” Bradybaugh notes that a third of the national parks saw record visitation during the pandemic as people sought outdoor spaces. In 2021, visitation across all NPS units reached 297 million recreation visits, a year when Utah’s Zion National Park alone saw 5 million visitors for the first time in its history and double the number from 2010. Some mitigation efforts are working. Several parks now use timed entry and ticket systems, including Glacier, which piloted vehicle reservation systems for summer months. Because my crew and I visit Glacier often, we know to use Recreation.gov to purchase a park pass and a Going-to-the-Sun Road ticket.  

On our glorious August morning, the road remained quiet at predawn; we only encountered a pair of motorcyclists who cruised the Sun Road to Logan Pass. But by the time we hiked up to the Hidden Lake Overlook, snapped a few photos and walked back, the parking lot was full and the trail overworked.  

“Pack your patience and plan ahead,” reads Glacier National Park’s webpage, “Tips for Dealing with Crowds.” We’ve also packed out other people’s candy wrappers, broken sunglasses and bad attitudes—a visitor aggressively urged us to rush so they could have our parking spot. We left feeling squeezed and a bit Grinchy about sharing our favorite park.  

For national park gateway communities, the tourism boils down to dollars. According to economists at the University of Montana in Missoula, annual nonresident spending in the state totaled $5.82 billion, a two-year average for annual spending. The Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research found that the region surrounding Glacier saw $2 billion in revenue, while the region surrounding Yellowstone averaged $1.3 billion. Yellowstone’s borders also include Idaho and Wyoming. The two Montana regions collectively saw 57% of nonresident travel spending.  

Oregon park visitor Barbara Nelson and her husband encountered long waits when they entered the park’s west gate at West Glacier this summer, even though they had booked tickets for the road and activities in advance. This was not their first park visit, and they’ve witnessed growing wait times at entrance stations, parking lots, trail heads and concession restaurants. 

“We got stopped in the hot sun and felt crowded,” Nelson recalls. “That morning, we started about 9 or 10 a.m. from West Glacier. A busy, August day. Getting behind those red buses is annoying. We got stopped at [the] top of [the] pass and there was still snow. So we had a snowball fight as we were waiting in traffic.” 

The Red Busses offer interpretive tours on Going-to-the-Sun Road. Free shuttles between Apgar near the west entrance and St. Mary at the east entrance alleviate some vehicle traffic, but hour-long standstills still occur, and not always where snowball fights can ensue. There are just many people who want the Glacier experience—including my crew. The park is on pace for another record-breaking summer as of early August 2025, with early counts showing a sizeable increase of more than 12 percent over 2024.  

Overtourism is defined as the phenomenon whereby certain places of interest are visited by excessive numbers of tourists, causing undesirable effects for the places visited. The global nonprofit Responsible Tourism offers a platform for change, helping travelers and communities take responsibility for making tourism more sustainable.  

Locals grasp at reasons for overtourism: short-term rentals alluring and available which push out long-term renters, post-pandemic need for healthy outdoor travel, alluring Instagram images sans mega throbs of tourists, and the Yellowstone Effect, in which people watch Kevin Costner’s television drama “Yellowstone” and visit Montana, Wyoming and Idaho believing a fictional tale of the American West—and wanting a piece of it.  

The “Yellowstone Effect” brought 2.1 million visitors to Montana in 2021, according to the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Fans spent $730 million, yet caused some locals to channel Beth Dutton and mean-mug away visitors—it didn’t work. 

The Tourons of Yellowstone Instagram page, dedicated to documenting bad behavior and egregious offenses, stir up locals’ ire too. The Tourons videos often involve humans (and sometimes their pets) getting too close to wildlife in parks or illegally traipsing near Yellowstone’s extremely hot and fragile hot spring features—and sometimes not surviving. 

Thoughtless visitors trample delicate flora, leave trash and feces, and cause congestion and environmental degradation also felt in housing and infrastructure. Instagrammers sometimes position themselves in precariously dangerous spots for the glory, monetizing the public places. My family witnessed a woman who waded through a swift stream below a waterfall for her ego-driven photo taken by an accomplice. Other visitors, who had to wait 20 minutes for an Instagrammer-free view, did not wish her well.  

The organization Responsible Tourism writes on their website that tourism has breached a tipping point: Hosts and guests are often dissatisfied. “The challenge is to make all destinations sustainable and to avoid spreading the problem. For local government and protected area managers, the key question is: Will the destination use tourism or be used by it?” 

Gateway communities are trying to help visitors find their inner angels. In Jackson, Wyoming, the tourism board adopted a “selfie control” campaign after many tourists got too close to wildlife. Jackson’s “Take care of what takes your breath away” includes signage, advertising and smiling reminders from locals. Bozeman, Montana’s “Becoming Outside Kind” campaign encourages trail etiquette by educating new and longtime residents about how to behave outside. Whitefish, Montana created the “Be a Friend of The Fish” campaign to promote visitor stewardship.  

As Responsible Tourism notes, a global backlash to overtourism and bad behavior has resulted in violence. Protestors in Barcelona, Spain attacked tourists with water guns and called for visitor-accommodation restrictions. Protests against mass tourism and gentrification in Mexico City turned violent, damaging storefronts. Venice banned cruise ships from the city center and instituted a tourist tax. Some cities and attractions now limit the number of visitors, such as Bruges, Belgium, which capped the number of cruise ship arrivals and instead encouraged daytrippers. Solutions remain elusive. 

Summer 2025 saw particularly challenging crowding in Glacier, in part because the much-loved Many Glacier Valley, with its lodge, lakes, campgrounds and trails, underwent extensive utilities reconstruction. Limited parking forced limited access.  

The reward for patience, however, includes spectacular views, cool evenings with remarkable sunsets, and incomparable trails. My crew will wait to camp and hike during the slower season, late September, to avoid the crowds and try to be good stewards of our favorite park. 

Jean Arthur hikes and bikes and boats on public lands and waterways with family, friends and dogs. This fall, she’s picking huckleberries after the early frost sweetens up the hucks and the hues of the backcountry.  

The post Loving a Place to Death: How Overcrowding is Transforming Glacier National Park appeared first on Out There Venture.

By Chris Maccini 

Cover photo by Action Sports Media and courtesy of Dogsmile Adventure

On any given day this summer, you’re likely to find Jon Totten sailing the waters of Lake Pend Oreille aboard one of the boats owned by the nonprofit he started in 2021, Dogsmile Adventures. On board, you’ll find a somewhat unusual crew. It might be a group of veterans, youth with special needs, or adults with disabilities. But there’s one constant, the facial expressions that give the organization its name: wide, toothy grins like you’d see on the face of a happy puppy. A “dog smile.” And that smile is not just a side effect, it’s the whole purpose of the organization. 

Dogsmile is a “therapeutic sailing” program. Unlike other boating organizations that may be focused purely on recreation or instruction, Dogsmile’s emphasis is on creating “powerful opportunities for people to discover healing and potential through sailing adventures.” Through their partnerships with other local organizations, Totten and his small team are helping people in the Inland Northwest discover the healing power of wind and waves.  

An Inland Sailor 

Totten’s journey to founding a sailing nonprofit began when he was a student at the University of Idaho. As an undergraduate, he got involved with the school’s outdoor recreation program and fell in love with the mountains and waters of the Northwest. Soon after graduation, he landed a job 90 minutes north, helping coordinate the Outdoor Pursuits program at North Idaho College (NIC). One aspect of that job included managing a fleet of five small sailboats on NIC’s Lake Coeur d’Alene waterfront. Totten had never sailed before, but he picked it up quickly and soon discovered that sailing gave him a feeling unlike any other. 

“There was just something different about sailing that really captivated me, and it took me a long time to really put a finger on it,” Totten says. “It’s not as hard physically as climbing a mountain, but it takes immense concentration and real coordination. When I got done sailing, I just had this feeling of relief. And it just made me feel better.” 

That feeling developed into a passion that eventually led Totten to get a U.S. Coast Guard Captain’s License and find work as a sailing instructor. For years, he bounced between Washington’s San Juan Islands, Idaho, and the Caribbean, leading sailing trips, guiding on rivers, and working in campus recreation. 

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into everyone’s lives. The recreation industry was particularly hard hit. At the time, Totten was living on the Caribbean island of Grenada, watching his water-based livelihood dry up. That’s when he decided to act on an idea he’d been mulling for years. 

“The longer we were down there, the bigger the boats got, the more wealthy the clientele,” Totten says. “When you’re living in a place that has so much poverty, it started to get to me. And so it was like, god, it’d be great if I could do something with more purpose, and try to use sailing to do good. But it was no more than an idea until the pandemic, when I literally had no option other than starting a business.” 

Sailing with a Purpose 

Once Totten had made up his mind to start a nonprofit, he sailed his J/105—a 35-foot racing sailboat named Dogsmile—from Grenada to Florida, and then had it shipped to North Idaho. He cashed out his retirement account from his time at North Idaho College and launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise the startup capital to launch his dream of a therapeutic sailing program. 

Totten was an experienced sailor, and he’d seen firsthand how impactful sailing could be, but he had no experience running a nonprofit. For help, he turned to an industry that has been providing experiential therapy for decades. “The people who had the most influence on me are the equine therapy folks,” Totten says. “What they’ve done with people and horses is what I want to do with people and sailboats.”  

Totten connected with leaders of equine therapy programs and learned everything he could from them. He even borrowed their templates for his website and 501(c)3 nonprofit application. By the summer of 2021, Totten was ready to officially launch Dogsmile Adventures. 

Therapeutic Partnerships 

Totten’s approach—again borrowed from equine therapy—was to partner with existing service organizations to bring his new idea to people who could benefit. His first partner in the summer of 2021 was a program based in Coeur d’Alene called Specialized Needs Recreation (SNS), which coordinates recreation and socialization opportunities for children and adults with special needs.  

“Initially I was like, okay, let’s go on a boat ride. We’ll see how this goes,” says SNS Executive Director Lindsay Patterson. “But instantly what I observed with a variety of our participants is an overwhelming sense of calmness and peace that literally takes over their whole being the second they step on the boat. It’s like nothing I’ve seen when they participate in any other activity.”  

Sailing has since become the top-requested summer activity for SNS participants. Meanwhile, Totten has gone on to partner with several other area organizations, including those that work with veterans, individuals with ALS, college students, and underserved youth. He’s also expanded his fleet, adding two smaller sailboats alongside the original Dogsmile. With each outing, Totten—along with a small staff and volunteers—is able to tailor the sailing experience to each group’s needs and abilities. It’s an approach that Lindsay and SNS especially appreciate.  “He’ll find a very specific, targeted task that he needs help with,” she says. “Maybe it’s just stacking the life jackets in the cabin, or maybe it’s holding onto a rope that really doesn’t do anything. But sure enough, they feel like they’ve really contributed to the experience.” 

This summer, Totten is hoping to create new partnerships and get more people on the water. He also offers private sailboat charters for tourists and other visitors—which in turn helps subsidize the therapeutic sailing trips. You can learn more about Dogsmile Adventures or book your own sailing voyage at dogsmileadventures.org. 

Chris Maccini is a writer and audio producer based in Spokane. This summer, you can find him hiking the trails of the Northwest with is dog, Hank. 

The post From the San Juans to the Soul  appeared first on Out There Venture.

If you’ve ever wondered about Dry Fly Distilling’s logo, a hand-tied fishing fly, it’s because the idea for a regional grain-to-glass distillery was born on the banks of the Gallatin River in Montana when founder Don Poffenroth was fishing with a friend. There’s nothing dry about the result, which debuted in 2007 as Washington state’s first distillery since the prohibition era. Dry Fly has since evolved from making craft vodka and gin to a full lineup of whiskies, a downtown Spokane tasting room and a place in the heart of the region’s outdoors and restaurant communities.  

“We just very much appreciate our community, and that permeates through all of our products,” says now-President Patrick Donovan, who began as Dry Fly’s first employee about 17 years ago. Donovan’s favorite Dry Fly drink is the gin and tonic, which he enjoys after a local trail run or while hanging out in camp at Farragut State Park.  

In the last five years alone, Dry Fly has onboarded two canned cocktail lineups, made sanitizer during COVID-19 for the community (called Spokanitizer), moved into a multi-million-dollar new facility and, most recently, partnered with one of the premier wine makers in the country. 

What has stayed true to Dry Fly’s ethos is sourcing the good local ingredients we have in the Inland Northwest. Grains for their alcohols come from family farms within 30 miles of the distillery in a totally grain-to-glass operation. Some of the spent grains from the distillation process are fed to cattle in Medical Lake, where they source beef for the burger at their tasting room and restaurant location that opened downtown in 2021. 

Dry Fly loves to collaborate with companies like Revival Tea, Side Hustle Spirits, DOMA Coffee and Spiceology to bring creative and flavorful cocktails that bolster local businesses. “We very much believe in partnering with people in our community to create cool things,” says Donovan. “Sometimes it makes it harder, but most of the time it makes it a lot more fun and a lot more interesting.” When you sit down to a menu at Dry Fly’s happy hour, you’ll find a celebration of local goods.  

Dry Fly’s newer facility also includes a gift shop and large windows into the distilling room, notably marked by the giant copper stills set with gauges and threaded with pipes. “It’s like a Willy Wonka factory for adults,” says Donovon, a place where guests can book a tour or sign up for an interactive class like custom, small-batch gin making. (Check out dryflydistilling.com for a summer lineup of in-house events.)  

Dry Fly’s latest partnership with winemaker Charlie Wagner of Caymus Winery has resulted in a new line of wine-based canned cocktails, meant to be enjoyed on hikes, lakes, rivers and ski hills for their easy packability. (Read the Provisions article in this issue by Jon Jonckers for a deep-dive on those tasty new profiles.) These wine-based cocktails will also allow Dry Fly to get involved with community events in ways they couldn’t as a spirits provider. 

This summer you can find Dry Fly at Bourbon, Bacon and Brews (June 14), sponsoring Spokane Pride (June 14), at the Coeur d’Alene Emerge Block Party (July 11), and at the Wine, Women and Shoes event benefitting Idaho Youth Ranch (July 24).  

As Dry Fly widens their cast, the distillery is staying committed to community and an intimacy with each beverage that is unique to the marketplace. The love is something you’ll taste in the glass. Explore Dry Fly headquarters, restaurant and gift shop at 1021 W. Riverside, Spokane. Dryflydistilling.com  

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Cover photo courtesy of Alana Livingston

Located inside Yaya Brewing in Spokane Valley, Sauced! serves up Detroit-style pizza and wings in a casual, family-friendly environment built for comfort—and great food.

Sauced! began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the team behind Spokane’s Heritage Bar & Kitchen experimented with new takeout options to stay afloat. Detroit-style pizza quickly became a local favorite, inspiring the team to head to Detroit to try the original pies and fine-tune their approach. Today, Sauced! is the only dedicated Detroit-style pizzeria in the Spokane area.

Detroit-style pizza is rectangular, baked in a deep steel pan, and layered with toppings so the cheese hits the edges and crisps into a caramelized, golden crust. Sauced! adds hearty toppings and rich tomato sauce on top for the perfect balance of crispy, chewy, and indulgent. Try house specialties like the Spicy Dave & Hot Doug or White Iverson—creative topping combos that make Sauced! a must-visit for pizza lovers.

The wings at Sauced! are equally popular—crispy-skinned, juicy, and tossed in flavorful sauces or dry rubs. It’s next-level comfort food made with care.

The Sauced! location offers a relaxed vibe with a spacious patio near the Centennial Trail—perfect for bikers and walkers looking for post-ride pizza and beer. And coming soon: ice cream floats with your choice of soda—a sweet and nostalgic nod to summer.

There’s nothing flashy here, just good food, good vibes, and a clear sense of purpose. Sauced! was built from a time when people were craving connection and comfort. They’re still serving up both.

The post Sauced! Serves Up Authentic Detroit-Style Pizza in Spokane Valley appeared first on Out There Venture.

Out There Membership

“Out There Venture” celebrates its 20th year of publication with the September-October 2024 print edition, and one of the ways the publication is celebrating this landmark is by launching an Out There Membership option for readers, businesses, and organizations. Membership will provide perks for members and help make the print publication more resilient for years to come.

Scroll down to see all of the Out There Member discounts and deals below!

Membership Partners & Deals

 One Free Ski or Snowboard Tune per membership per year at Spokane’s Solnix.

$60 Value!

+

Free Limited edition Solnix
hat or beanie (good through 2026)

$15 off Bike Tune-Up at Spokane’s
North Division Bicycle Shop
or Hillyard Bicycle

One per member per year (good through 2026)

30% off any ski/snowboard service for the 25/26 winter season at Spokane Alpine Haus.
(limit one ski or board per day)

Two for the price of one lift ticket (some blackout dates apply, one-time use per season per member)
Pending for 25/26 season

$15 day pass (regularly $20) and a $59.50/month autopay membership (regularly $70) at

Coeur Climbing Company
(good through 2026)

 

15% Discount on a mid-week lift ticket!

(not valid holiday periods 12/20/25 – 01/04/26, 01/19/26, and 02/16/26

(good through the 2025/2026 season)

10% Discount on any Negative Split race. (good through 2026)

Offer pending… stay tuned!

$15 off a Full Flight Zipline Tour at Timberline Adventures in Coeur d’Alene  (good through 2026)

10% Discount on any ROW Adventures 1-Day Rafting or Fly Fishing Trip!

Valid for one discounted space per member. Cannot be combined with other discounts (expires on 12/31/2025)

15% off any purchase of $50 or more at Kizuri, downtown Spokane’s fair trade shop.

$60+tax Prepaid Month Membership w/gear. Includes unlimited yoga and $20 belay class at Spokane’s Wild Walls Climbing Gym (good through 2026)

SOLID FIRE PITS

15% Off any Purchase of any fire pit from Spokane’s Solid Fire Pits.

Complimentary 30 minute nutrition and lifestyle consultation with Spokane’s Pure Wellness. 

10% off any tour
including food tours
wine tours
beer tours
walking tours
and private tours!
 with Wander Spokane

why start a
membership campaign?

Out There was first published in an era when quality online information about the outdoors was scant, and smart phones and social media were not widely used. Out There weathered many challenges, from the Great Recession to the rise of the digital revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic. While many other print publications have struggled or disappeared, niche publications like Out There with a hyper-local focus on outdoor recreation, nature, and meaningful storytelling have seen a rise in popularity.

 “We hope to continue to publish Out There in print for another 20 years,” noted Out There owners Derrick and Shallan Knowles. Out There’s readership and advertising base has grown over the last decade, with an estimated 100,000 readers mostly in Spokane and North Idaho picking up 32,000-35,000 free copies of each edition (published six times per year).

“Our advertisers and readers make publishing Out There in print possible, and we are grateful for the opportunity to create each issue and contribute to the local outdoors community,” says Shallan. But with the costs of putting together a print publication growing every year, combined with the Knowles’ desire to keep advertising costs affordable for many small business and non-profit advertisers, the new membership campaign will give loyal readers the opportunity to contribute toward continued publication with additional reader-supported stories and articles.

Sign Up NOW!

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Present-day recreational use for the airfield started in 1998 with plans for a 24-hour mountain bike race with the help of park manager Jack Hartt and other promoters. The initial 24-hour mountain bike race was held in 1999, and all the necessities, including water, electricity, toilets, and shelters, needed to be brought in for the event. The 24-hour bike race continued successfully for another 20 years, right up until the Covid-19 pandemic. Obviously, other race directors saw how convenient and successful the location was, but it would take many seasons and lots of fundraising to bring electricity and water to the area.

Thanks to Round and Round Productions, Avista, and Riverside State Park, a new electric panel in 2018 allowed event organizers to ditch noisy generators. New inroads were added to improve traffic flow and eliminate conflicts with park neighbors. But the biggest necessity for the airfield was always water. In recent years, the regional community has employed the airfield for orienteering gatherings, equestrian events, campouts, military exercises, and dog sledding.

As far back as 2018, the push to get a well drilled at the airfield began with financial donations and monetary commitments from the Riverside State Park Foundation (RSPF). The RSPF representatives checked on ownership of the area and worked with the Department of Ecology to secure water rights for the land parcel containing the airfield. Meanwhile, the State Park took over the required archeological study to assess any culturally sensitive areas before everything was approved. In 2020, the State Park initiated budget requests to fund the well project, and they added plans for a vault toilet and a picnic shelter. Soon after, the Spokane Rotary Club 21 and Evergreen East donated to the project. Then, like so many other projects and events, the pandemic slowed things down.            

Ultimately, State Parks finalized the well in 2022 with a three-purpose water fountain perfect for drinking, or filling containers, along with a pet watering station at the base. Beyond providing the necessary hydration for events, the fountain eliminates a lot of single-use plastic waste. The vault toilet is also complete and the shelter area should be finalized in late spring. The 7 Mile Airfield is one of many projects championed by the Riverside State Park Foundation. More info at Riversidestateparkfoundation.org

The post New Drinking Fountain at Riverside’s 7 Mile Airfield appeared first on Out There Venture.

It’s now time to enjoy those bits of the great outdoors that have been off limits. And what better place to bust out again than Rossland, British Columbia, the capital of Canadian mountain biking less than three hours north of Spokane?

In-Town Epic Riding

According to Caroline Rousselle, one of the owners of Revolution Cycles in Rossland (a must visit!), what makes Rossland befitting its status as Canada’s mountain biking capital is the wide variety of trails that are accessible directly from town, no car required. Anyone enjoying these trails has the Kootenay Columbia Trail Society (KCTS) that built and maintains them to thank.

The trails, says Rousselle, as described on the Trailforks app, are accurately labeled. When there’s a black diamond, you better not overestimate your abilities or fitness.

If you are looking for something Rouselle describes as a “bit more flowy,” then the blue-square intermediate trails are for you. That means, if you want to tackle the local epic Seven Summits, you need to be fit and capable. It may well contain the toughest 30 kilometers (18 miles) you’ll ride, with more than 4,500 feet of climbing.

Bring all the food and drink you’ll need for the average five hours it takes to complete. The Trailforks rating for the Seven Summits is “extreme.” And they mean it.

Along with a great trail system, Rossland has become a leader in adaptive mountain biking, providing a welcoming space for athletes who have suffered spinal cord injuries that would otherwise keep them from cycling. Similarly, every trail but the Seven Summits, due to the delicate trail surface and ecology, is open to Class 1 eBikes.

New Trails & Amenities Open along with the Border

So what’s happened in and around Rossland since the COVID-19 border closure? Stewart Spooner, operations manager for KCTS, says “We’ve had quite a few developments in the past couple of years.”

The Millennial Trail Expansion opened in 2020, adding 5.8K of trails at the base of Red Mountain with advanced, intermediate, and novice climbing and cross-country terrain and connections to Paydirt trails. Another new trail is the machine-built, bermed, and jump-filled Dragontail, adding a bike-park experience, though without lift access.

Spooner says that KCTS has also created an entirely off-road loop of trails connecting the Larch Ridge trail network, including the popular Monticola trail. KCTS is also developing the new Mxiɬp Xewílh (Cedar Trail), an 18K moderate trail connecting Nancy Green Pass to the Larch Ridge Trail network and RED Mountain Resort. The lower section will open mid-summer 2022, with the entire trail ready for Spring 2023. That’s lots of new terrain for those who have previously ridden the Rossland area.

It’s not just that trail system that has grown in Rossland since the border closure. Kylie Lakevold of Tourism Rossland reports that “during the pandemic more new businesses opened versus closed.”

New restaurants include Rossberry Hill Bistro at RED Mountain Resort and The Underbelly Bistro downtown. There’s a new chef at The Velvet Restaurant too. Shopping has expanded, there are new and expanded art options, and lodging has improved with renovations at The Wild Turkey and The Flying Steamshovel inns.

When to Go

Rossland’s elevation of 3,356 feet means warm weather begins in late-May and many trails can hold snow in places through June. The subalpine Seven Summits doesn’t typically open until early July, closing in late October.

Most trails receive regular maintenance one the snow melts and the trails dry out, but it’s always worth a call up to Revolution Cycles in Rossland for a trail update.

Find more stories about Rossland, B.C., in the OTO archives.

The post New Mountain Biking Trails in Rossland, B.C. appeared first on Out There Venture.

By Robin Redman

Ski for Light Inc., a non-profit founded in 1975 by a group of Norwegian-Americans, promotes skiing for individuals with vision and mobility-impairments.

Five members of Spokane Nordic Ski Association had planned to join skiers from across the globe at the 47th annual Ski for Light international event. However, the event was canceled “due to changing conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the Ski for Light website.

The event was to take place at Snow Mountain Ranch, Colorado, January 30-February 6, 2022. Organized entirely by volunteers, the week-long winter adventure is held in different geographic regions each year.

The word “Light” in the organization’s name reflects the metaphorical human struggle to challenge perceptions of personal capability and achieve the unimaginable through perseverance.

Two cornerstone beliefs led to the creation of Ski for Light. First, is the principle that individuals with vision or mobility impairments can successfully learn to cross-country ski and have fun if they are given proper equipment and are paired with a sighted and experienced Nordic skier to act as instructor and guide.

In addition is the belief that experienced sighted skiers will also find it fun and rewarding to share their love of Nordic skiing by being an instructor and guide for someone who can’t easily experience the sport independently.

Volunteer guides are paired at the start of the week with a participant to assist with activities like skiing, biathlon, sledding, and mechanical bull-riding. This all culminates with a 5 and 10K race celebration at the end of the week.

Guides adapt for the unique needs of their ski partner and, more importantly, can carry the “light” back here to the Inland Northwest by assisting local vision- and mobility-impaired skiers in Spokane’s Nordic community.

Even if unseen, the transformational experience of gliding through forests and meadows can still be fully appreciated—in a totally unique way—through smell, hearing, touch, and taste.

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Washington State Parks, City of Spokane Parks and Recreation, Spokane Nordic Ski Association, and community volunteers, user-friendly trail systems are easily accessible at both Mount Spokane State Park and Dwight Merkel Athletic Complex each winter.

For information on how to support, participate, or volunteer, visit Spokanenordic.org/adaptive or email info@spokanenordic.org.

Originally published in the January-February 2022 issue before this event was canceled.

Find more stories about Nordic skiing or local adaptive skiing and snowboarding programs in the Inland Northwest in the OTO archives.

The post Ski for Light Helps Adaptive Skiers appeared first on Out There Venture.

Trail Improvements Underway

Trail projects continue into winter at several Spokane County Parks. The work may not be fully polished until next spring, but these in-progress trails may be at least partially ready for winter visitors.

New Trail at Mica Peak

Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance – Eastern Washington Chapter has been taking the lead on the new Green Diamond Trail as a lower-elevation loop route on Mica Peak.

Snowshoe Route Markers at Hauser Conservation Area

Washington Trails Association has been working on improvements to the Hauser Conservation Area trails and will be placing snowshoe route markers on several Conservation Area trails to help with navigation once the trails are snow-covered.

Some general trail maintenance will also be completed throughout the system over the winter months.

Volunteer

Be sure to check the Out There Stewardship and Trail Maintenance calendar to learn about upcoming project dates and get involved with volunteer opportunities: Outthereoutdoors.com/volunteer-scheduling.

Conservation Futures Acquisitions

Spokane County Parks’ 2021 Prioritized Conservation Futures Acquisition List has been unanimously approved by the County Commissioners. The nominated Trolley Trail is expected to be acquired via an administrative acquisition.

Other top-ranked Conservation Futures nominations include a 118-acre addition to Palisades Park, a 54-acre addition to Saltese Uplands, and a 188-acre addition to Antoine Peak.

It will take some time for these acquisitions to be finalized, but updates will be posted at Spokane County’s Conservation Futures website.

Self-Guided Eagle Tours & Count This Year

The Bureau of Land Management is unable to host eagle viewing hikes near Coeur d’Alene this winter season due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns.

Instead, BLM encourages the public to take self-guided hikes and participate in the annual eagle count via the free iNaturalist app under the North Idaho Eagle Watch 2021-2022 project (open through the end of January). Mineral Ridge is a popular trail to try for prime eagle viewing.

Regional Outdoor Events Return

Several events that were cancelled in 2021 are scheduled to return in 2022. Mark the calendar for these fun regional outdoor opportunities, although stay tuned for potential cancelations due to the Omicron variant.

January 2022

• Republic Winterfest (Jan. 15). Not your typical fun run: three-person teams participate in outhouse races down Main Street in this event.
• Winterfest at Mount Spokane (Jan. 16), hosted by Spokane Nordic Ski Association with ski events for both adults and kids.
• Ferry County Rail Trail Ski Day (Jan. 22), a community ski event as snow conditions allow.
• Schweitzer’s Winter Trails Day (January 29), trail fees waived for both Nordic skiing and snowshoeing on 32K of trails at Schweitzer in Sandpoint, Idaho.

February 2022

• Loup Loup Randonee Race (Feb. 5), part of the Snowgoat SkiMo series. The competitive event will have one and four hour divisions.
• Langlauf Nordic ski race at Mount Spokane State Park (February 6).
• Souper Bowl for Women (Feb. 13) at Mount Spokane State Park. A fundraiser for the Women’s and Children’s Free Kitchen with both ski and snowshoe events.
• Spokane Great Outdoors & Bike Expo (Feb. 19-20), including local bike and gear shops, travel destinations, and more at the Spokane Convention Center.

Free Park Days

Washington State Parks: Discover Pass fee-free days this winter are January 1 and January 17, and the more upcoming free days are in March. Note that Mount Spokane State Park is a SnoPark during the winter months, so fee-free days do not apply.

Idaho’s Park N’ Ski: January 8 free day–no parking permits required. Priest Lake Nordic Club will be sponsoring a free ski and snowshoe event at Priest Lake State Park that day.

Methow Valley’s Backyard Ski Day: On January 21, fees are waived for the entire Methow trail system, including Nordic ski trails, snowshoe trails, fat bike trails, and free dog passes for the dog-friendly trails. Some local business will have free ski and snowshoe rentals on a first-come, first-served basis (make reservations ahead of time).

Schweitzer’s Winter Trails Day: On January 29, trail fees waived for both Nordic skiing and snowshoeing on 32K of trails.

Published in the January-February 2022 print issue.

The post Trailhead News: Improvements & Upcoming Events – Winter 2022 appeared first on Out There Venture.

The flakes are already flying up north in Canada. And your skis are calling, saying, “Hey you—this winter can we please do a B.C. adventure? I miss soft and fluffy snow on my bases.” Besides, you need to clear your head out, with everything that has built up over the past months (or years).

Let the powdery snow work its magic to refresh the mind, let your soul run wild, and harness all that’s good. Let it all come back. Point ‘em north and explore all the hidden gems we have to offer.

But first, let’s go through what crossing that border looks like these days, followed by a few key places to shred this winter along British Columbia’s Powder Highway.

Don’t Let Paperwork Get in the Way of Powder Dreams

It’s a sweet drive north to Canada from Spokane and North Idaho as farm fields give way to forested hills before you reach one of the many border crossings.

In this evolving COVID era, reaching one of the Kootenay’s quiver of powder pleasers along the Powder Highway (Whitewater, Red, Fernie, Kimberley, and Kicking Horse) requires you to show proof of vaccination and get a COVID PCR test showing negative results within 72 hours of your planned arrival into Canada.

Before you head out, visit ArriveCAN online to enter your proof of vaccination with approved vaccines (Moderna, Johnson, Pfizer and AstraZeneca).

Stop Staring at Webcams—Let’s Do This

There are many ways to experience a Kootenay escape this winter. Here are a few favorite options.

1. Family Escape

To make it easy, the key is slopeside stays. Kimberley’s Trickle Creek Lodge comes complete with a pool and condo-style accommodations, including a kitchen to whip up delights. Right out front is the learning area, separate from regular skier traffic—voila, the kids are taken care of at Kimberley Alpine Resort.

Throw in those epic kids’ trails through the woods for the little rascals, which they’ll dare you to follow them into, and the kids will be over the moon. Don’t worry, there are endless gladed trails for tree skiing and real killer fall-line runs for the ‘rents’ to get their fix here.

2. Snow Dreams

Living in a snow globe is so sweet. To experience it first-hand, head to Fernie, B.C., with its cool authentic mountain town that has it all, from craft shops, to epic eats and some of the best artisan coffee in existence. Let’s focus on Fernie Alpine Resort though, as it boasts the most alpine bowls, biggest vertical, and deepest snow in the Canadian Rockies—of course, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?

3. Steeps, Chutes, & Champagne

It’s still a secret, so keep it to yourself. Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is the real deal. We’re serious. Honestly, until you try this place, you won’t know what you’re missing. So don’t go another year without experiencing the most chute skiing in North America (over 80 chutes!).

Just think how many people talk about Jackson Hole’s similar terrain when it only has a handful of chutes, and nothing to match the caliber and variety that this Horse has.

But it’s not all gnarly terrain. There are tons of groomers and intermediate trails too. Kicking Horse is also home to the 5^th biggest vertical in North America and Canada’s highest restaurant to boot, perfect for that cheers, eh!

Some Don’t Miss & Additional Details

Be sure to check each ski resort for their COVID safety update section before you go, so you are aware of any required protocols. Currently at ski resorts across British Columbia, all will require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, and some have that mandate for all indoor facilities.

Be prepared with a mask for lift lines and gondola rides too. But double check the latest before your departure, because as of this writing, many are still working out final details and protocols.

A Few Sweet Kootenay-Local Secrets

Enjoy ski-in and ski-out. Only 50 feet from the lift at Fernie Alpine Resort, stay at Lizard Creek Lodge with its newly-renovated main lodge. You won’t mind the sweet slopeside pool and hot tub either.

Get in your Pod. A new pod hotel experience is now open at Raging Elk Adventure Lodging. Save money, ski more, and enjoy this fun environment in downtown, Fernie, B.C.

Purcell Heli Skiing. Same incredible terrain, awesome guides, and now new ownership are part of the CMH family. They are one of the few daily adventure heli skiing options, so book a date for heli skiing after you have skied a couple days at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. That’s what we call a perfect powder combo.

Powder Matt is a professional ski bum and writer from Kimberley, BC, who lived in his car for 63 days one winter so he could ski every day. He wrote about skiing the Kootenays during the COVID border closure in the March-April 2021 issue of Out There.

This story was originally published in the Out There Snow special section in the November-December 2021 print issue.

Find more stories about skiing in British Columbia its Powder Highway in the OTO archives.

The post Return to the Kootenays: Ski & Ride Again in Canada appeared first on Out There Venture.