Kelly Canyon Ski Resort’s recent announcement that it will set aside a free parking area for people seeking access to National Forest land has several winter recreationists happy.
The parking area is on the west end of the lower parking lot and will be open 24/7 once the resort opens Thursday. In recent years, the resort charged $8 per person for a nordic/biking/snowshoeing pass to park on resort property.
“We think there will be about 20 to 30 (parking spots) depending on how unselfish people are when they park and depending on how cooperative individuals are so that the area can be maintained and plowed,” said Dave Stoddard, co-owner of the resort.
Avid Nordic skier and snowshoer Christine Weimer of Rigby called the change “great” news. She said she has joined family and friends on many trips to the Kelly Canyon area in the past before the resort charged for parking.
“It’s just the best place around,” Weimer said.
Stoddard said creating the new parking area has been a multiyear project working with Jefferson County, the Army Corps of Engineers and Rocky Mountain Power. He said power poles needed to be moved, a culvert put in and permits obtained.
“Now that everyone has signed off on all of those things and no more monitoring is required, we’re in a position where we are able to move ahead with the plans that we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” he said, “to make an area available on a 24/7 basis that would be for the biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoe recreationists.”
In the past, gates were locked when the resort was closed to prevent vandalism, but closing gates would eliminate parking.
“So if people wanted to come early in the morning before they opened or late in the evening or possibly spend the night at the (warming) hut … then they couldn’t because the parking lot was closed or on Sundays it was closed,” said Colby Jacobson a ranger for the Palisades Forest Service District. “Having this parking lot that’s going to be open 24/7 will be really nice.”
The National Forest land beyond the resort boasts several miles of backcountry ski and snowshoe trails.
“It would be convenient to be able to go up there for a short day, just to get out,” said Donna Whitham of Idaho Falls. “Too bad they won’t allow leashed dogs.”
Besides the dog ban, the resort lists a few other prohibitions on its website under the “What To Do” “Nordic” headers for its free parking area.
“No trailers, oversized vehicles, motorized recreational vehicles or pets are allowed in the parking area or anywhere else within the resort special use permit ski area (including the road between the resort and the Y Junction) or on the private property of the resort,” the website says.
Jacobson said the Forest Service is building new signs to indicate where the free parking is for National Forest access.
“We have a lot of people calling and just wanting to be able to get up there,” Jacobson said. “They have been a bit confused on what they are supposed to do. We do expect to have a lot more people coming up there.”
Stoddard said Nordic skiers and fat bikers are invited to check out the resort’s “Shred Trails.”
“The bike trails we made in the summertime, the anticipation is that we will groom those trails for Nordic purposes in the wintertime,” Stoddard said. “A single lift ride up on the chairlift would take people to a spot where they would be able to enjoy some really terrific terrain. It’s all part of the Shred trail system.”
