General Information
Season and Hours of Operation
- The Nelson Nordic Ski Club trails operate from mid-December to mid-April, depending on snow conditions.
- Trails are open from dawn to dusk daily.
- Apex lighted loop is open until 11 pm daily.
- Day passes and Club memberships (season’s pass) can be purchased from the Apex Kiosk from 9 am to 2:45 pm weekdays. View our rates.
Trails and Facilities
- Apex Kiosk is located 10 minutes south of Nelson on Highway 6 at the the Whitewater Ski Area turnoff: View location map
- Approximately 30 km of groomed trails
- Classic and skating tracks – beginner to expert level
- View trail conditions and weather
- Daylodge at Apex trailhead (currently closed due to Covid-19)
- Warming huts at far end of Euphrates trail and at the top of Clearwater loop (currently closed due to Covid-19)
- 1.5 km lit trails for night skiing
- NNSC trails KML file. Free download of Google Earth.
- Our geo-referenced digital map is compatible with the Avenza maps app
Trail Maps
NNSC Ski Trail Map 2020 With Contours
Trail Descriptions
Beginner Level:
Apex – A gentle 3 km loop with easy access from the parking lot to the warming hut and trail head. Private land.
Night Loop – A 1.3 km, wide, double-tracked lighted loop with the warming hut as its terminus. Private land. Daily to 10 pm.
Night Creek – 1.3 km variation on the Apex Loop that passes along the creek and stays out from under the tree canopy. Private land.
Cottonwood – follow Apex trail to its north end where the Cottonwood trail begins (keep right). Approx. 4.6 km out and back along the rail trail. Crown land.
Intermediate Level:
Camp Busk – from the Clearwater Cr. Forest Road parking lot, register (and pay) at the kiosk, then keep to your right. You can also get here from the south end of the Apex trail by removing your skis and crossing the highway. This trail plus Euphrates trail totals 6.5 km; can be skied in sections to reduce the length to 3 or 4 km. Private land.
Euphrates – A continuation of the Busk trail south from where you cross the Salmo River. Named after the Euphrates mine across the river from the trail. Crown land.
Clearwater – Keep left from the kiosk at Clearwater parking lot. A 15 km round trip along the Clearwater Creek FSR. Climb 7.5 km up a steady grade with a few steeper hills. Options include a viewpoint loop, a short wooded loop at 3 km and an old growth forest loop at the end. Returning takes half the time and is twice the fun! Crown land.
Download a map showing Clearwater hill grades.
Trail Etiquette
Good Trail Etiquette makes skiing more enjoyable for all:
- Keep to marked trails
- The warming hut is user maintained – please remove your garbage.
- Don’t “park” on the trail. Step aside for overtaking skiers.
- Fill in your sitzmarks!
- During recreational skiing, slower skiers yield to the right when faster skiers are passing. Faster skiers should call out “track” when approaching slower skiers, and should pass on the left.
- During a race, the faster skier calls “track”, and the slower skier moves out of the track to allow the faster skier to pass in the track.
Two skiers meeting head on pass to the right of each other. - If a trail is too narrow to allow safe passage past another skier, wait until the other skier passes.
- Skiers coming downhill have the right of way.
- Try to ensure a safe run out from a downhill section of the trail to avoid slower skiers at the bottom of the trail.
- Leave trails in the same or better condition than you found them in.
- If you need to stop, or if you fall, move off of the trail to allow clear passage for other skiers.
- Move off the trail if you wish to socialize.
- Do not litter. If you packed it in, pack it out.
- Obey all trail signs – ski in designated areas only.
- Respect private property.
- It is customary to say a friendly “hello” when passing other skiers.
- Please leave your dog at home – for the safety and enjoyment of all skiers.
Common sense goes a long way to make skiing more enjoyable.