The good news is that most of Fernie Trails are open and in excellent condition! The less than average snowpack has melted quickly with favourable weather this spring. Only the high alpine trails remain covered in snow, all others are in near perfect riding and hiking condition.
The Mount Proctor trails; Fairy Creek Falls, Swine Flu, Mad Cow, and Far Side have been good for weeks. On Castle Mountain Hyper Ventilation, Hyper Extension, Castle Rocks, Southern Comfort, and Today’s Special are in excellent condition. Mt. Fernie trails take you to old growth forests and great recreation—most of the trails are snow free and riding well. Be aware of the improvements being made to the Mt Fernie Provincial Park Campground, it is getting a much needed upgrade.
Fernie’s snowpack is well below average and the trails reflect this. Here is the current snowpack data from Morrissey Ridge:
The bad news for trail users is that two groups have been aggressively logging and a number of trails are closed. Fortunately these closures have the potential to be short term and trail recreation should return to a near-normal in the coming months.
Read more about the logging here:
Industrialization of the Elk Valley
Fernie’s Big Clearcuts Big Problems
Ridgemont is closed for the summer due to logging by the private land owner and developer, Pollyco. This situation is congruent the headlines that have dominated BC news recently.
Parts of the Trans Canada Trail below Ridgemont are also closed due to the logging activities in Ridgemont.
The pink area on the following map shows the trail closures. You can clearly see that only a small percentage of Fernie’s trails are closed.
For detailed information on what is open see Fernie Trails on TrailForks.
To support Fernie Trails get your Fernie Trails Pass here.
