A winter sunset in Yosemite Valley, with the Merced River reflecting the morning glow over El Capitan.
They may not have the Winter Olympics pedigree of the Palisades Tahoe or Lake Placid, or the après-ski scene of Aspen or Park City, but many US national parks have pretty cool winter sports scenes.
Pun intended, because some parks – given their northerly location or high sky elevation – can get a ton of snow and be very cold when winter comes.
Here are some of the best parks for snow season fun:
Yosemite’s Olympic Pedigree
The legendary California park lost out to Lake Placid in its bid to host the 1932 Winter Olympics. But many of the winter sports facilities built by the park authorities during that time are still in place and very active.
With so much snowfall in the High Sierra in January, the Yosemite winter sports season looks far beyond its traditional mid-March end.
Badger Pass is the oldest ski area in California, offering 10 downhill skiing and snowboarding trails from beginner to advanced and a ski school established in 1928. This is a great place for families and anyone learning how to ski.
Badger Pass also offers snow tubing, backcountry ski tours and snowshoeing (including ranger-led snowshoeing). It’s also the start of the epic 21-mile round-trip cross-country ski ride to and from Glacier Point, which can be done in a day or overnight at the historic Glacier Point ski lodge.
The Curry Village Ice Rink in Yosemite Valley is also an outgrowth of the Winter Olympics bid, an outdoor facility with fire pits, mood music and Half Dome as its backdrop.
Yellowstone’s Winter Wonderland
Vintage commemorative postcard from 1940 depicting cross-country skiers and elk in winter … [+]
America’s oldest national park goes into hibernation between mid-December and mid-March. The only roads open to private vehicles are the route through Lamar Valley and Tower Junction between the North and Northeast Gates. This makes snowmobiles, snow buggs, snowshoes, and cross-country skis the only means of accessing Yellowstone’s interior.
The park offers 35 dedicated cross-country and snowshoe trails, but overnight adventures are only for those experienced in winter backcountry camping. Several outfitters are permitted to run guided snowmobile and snowmobile tours in the park, with West Yellowstone as the main hub. Snowmobile rentals are available outside each of the main entry gates.
The Old Faithful Snow Lodge in the heart of the park is one of the few lodgings open during the winter months. Accessible by snow shuttle, the lodge offers cross-country ski and snowshoe rentals, lessons and guided adventures. There is also an outdoor ice rink where skates can be rented for free.
Traveler: Warriors of the Ice Road
Ice Fishing Hole in a Frozen Lake in Northern Minnesota Near Boundary Waters Canoe … [+]
Hidden in the forests of northern Minnesota, the Voyageurs transform from a watery wonderland in summer to a snow-covered paradise in winter.
Almost completely flat, the frozen lake and coastline provide almost ideal conditions for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. Spunge Island offers toboggan and tube slides for the kids.
Avid anglers should obtain a local fishing license and icehouse registration — and check the ice — before venturing into the park’s frozen lakes for walleye, perch, pike or perch.
It might not be a sport in itself, but the park’s biggest cold-weather thrill is driving the Rainy Lake or Kabetogama Lake Ice Road across icy surfaces. Although the route varies each year due to icy conditions, the roads are well marked and can accommodate cars or trucks weighing up to 7,000 pounds.
Olympic: Let it snow!
Winter snowscape in Washington’s Olympic National Park.
Hurricane Ridge, on the north side of the massive Washington State Park, offers what many consider to be some of the best downhill skiing and snowboarding in any U.S. national park. With an average annual snowfall of about 400 inches, the ski runs are covered in copious amounts of powder.
Two ropes and an elevator take visitors to the top of ten trails, including one with an 800-foot vertical drop. The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Educational Foundation offers skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing lessons for everyone from toddlers to beginners.
The Ridge also boasts a terrain park, tubing hills, and plenty of off-road and snowshoeing trails.
Cuyahoga Valley: Ohio’s Winter Playground
This relatively new national park (established in 2000) just south of Cleveland may not have the stunning views or wilderness vibe of the western parks, but it does offer a surprising variety of winter sports.
Nestled between the family-friendly Brandywine and Boston Mills Ski Resorts, Cuyahoga Valley is the only national park east of the Mississippi River that offers downhill skiing and snowboarding.
More than 125 miles of trails—including the historic Ohio and Erie Canal towpaths—are perfect for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Kids of all ages can slide down Mount Kendall on the dedicated toboggan and toboggan run. And the park’s frozen ponds and lakes promote ice fishing.
Alaska Parks: Into the Winter Wild
Camping on a Glacier in St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell Mountain, Alaska … [+]
With their remote wilderness, extreme weather and variety of wildlife that doesn’t hibernate, Alaska’s national parks offer a more rugged and aggressive way to explore the outdoors in winter.
Denali, with its own kennel, is a great place to go for a dog sled ride with your own hounds or a ranger-led trek through the snowy wilderness that seems straight out of a Jack London short story.
The Kenai Fjords offer winter boat tours, snowmobiling and ice climbing at the end of the glacier outlet, though the latter is only recommended for experienced climbers.
The largest national park in the United States, the vast Wrangell-St. Elias Park allows for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and winter hiking on a network of trails that stretch more than a hundred miles into the southeastern Alaska wilderness travel.
