Located in the Hoodoo Mountains, the northwestern-most portion of the Clearwater Mountains, this loop is quite literally a walk in the woods. Don’t expect much, if any, views, but the trail is nicely shaded and if the sharp contrast of emerald-green trees, glazed with a fresh crust of snow, against an azure-blue sky gets your heart rate up, then this is the ticket.
Category: Skiers
Tripp’s Knob XC Ski Loop
Ideal for skate skiing, the Tripp’s Knob Loop is a fun excursion along a lesser-traveled trail in Mount Spokane’s Nordic Ski Park. It leads to a cozy, little-used warming hut on Tripp’s Knob.
Shadow Mountain XC Ski Loop
At just under six miles and less than 400 feet of cumulative elevation gain, the Shadow Mountain loop is an easy beginner’s trail in Mount Spokane’s Nordic ski area. For much of its length, the trail winds along a forested ridge, then curls around Shadow Mountain, which opens up a broad vista of the Twin Lakes area.
Quartz Mountain Lookout Loop
The Quartz Mountain Lookout Loop offers perhaps the best views of any trail in the Mount Spokane Nordic Ski area. On excellently-groomed trails, the 5.5-mile loop winds through pine and fir forest to the base of Quartz Mountain. Then it’s either skiing through virgin snow or snowshoeing up to the former fire lookout tower and its sweeping 360-degree views.
Mount Spokane XC Ski Loop
At an elevation exceeding 4000 feet, Mount Spokane offers prime conditions for cross-country skiing. Groomed trails exceed 30 miles and include two warming huts. Grooming is typically exceptional and accommodates classic (track) as well as skate skiing. Plus, a patrol is on duty, just in case. In short, Mount Spokane offers some of the best cross-country skiing in the Inland Northwest.
Eagle Hut Loop
The Eagle Hut Loop is part of Fourth of July Pass’s winter recreation area. The 8.5-mile loop leads along both groomed and ungroomed trails and culminates at a back-country warming hut. The A-frame, built by Ian Truscott in 2007 as an Eagle Scout project, comes complete with benches and a small wood-fired stove.
Glenrose Cliff Trail
Glenrose Cliff is a new addition to the Dishman Hills area in Spokane, situated in between the Dishman Hills and Iller Creek conservation areas. The trail reaches a highpoint early on, then crosses an open ridge and drops lower and curls around the mountain to end near granite rock formations with commanding views of the Spokane valley.
Fourth of July Groomed XC-Ski Loop
At just over 3000 feet altitude, snow-sufficiency can be hit or miss at the Fourth of July Recreation area. When there’s enough, this is a convenient and popular cross-country skiing and snowshoeing area, located just minutes from I-90. The trail system south of the freeway is entirely reserved for non-motorized recreation, and some of the trails are groomed for tracked cross-country skiing.