How to Play at Eastern Oregon Sno-Parks

When the season’s first snow blankets the mountains of Eastern Oregon, the area’s sno-parks transform into winter wonderlands for outdoor enthusiasts from all walks of life. With four mountain ranges crisscrossing the expansive region, backcountry sno-parks provide easygoing sledding and tubing hills, groomed cross-country skiing trails through quiet forests and hundreds of miles of paths for heart-racing snowmobile rides.

However you prefer your wintry excitement, here are some fun sno-parks in Eastern Oregon to inspire your next getaway.

Huddleston Snowpark

Roughly 33 miles southeast of John Day, Huddleston Snowpark provides access to hundreds of miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the Malheur National Forest. The trails, routinely groomed by the Grant County Snowballers Club, head through forests of pine and across open fields that offer occasional views of the surrounding Strawberry Mountains. An on-site warming hut hosts a crackling fireplace and a restroom.

Starr Bowl Snowplay Area

Take the family to Starr Bowl Snowplay Area, which sits roughly 16 miles south of John Day in the Strawberry Mountains. The simple, kid-friendly park — set amid a clearing of fir, pine and aspen — hosts a small hill that’s perfect for sledding, tubing and easy snowboarding. At its base is a warming hut that was built as a Civilian Conservation Corps project in the 1930s.

Salt Creek Summit Sno-Park

Just 20 miles southeast of Joseph and along the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway sits Salt Creek Summit Sno-Park, one of the top snowmobiling destinations in the Wallowa Mountains.

In all, the sno-park provides access to more than 175 miles of snowmobile trails — groomed and signed by the Wallowa County Gamblers Snowmobile Club — that cut through dense forests and across rolling hillsides. Cross-country skiers can access about 20 miles of trails that are groomed by the Eagle Cap Nordic Club.

Clear Creek Sno-Park

Head into the heart of the Wallowa Mountains at Clear Creek Sno-Park. The park sits in a forest of ponderosa pine, roughly 60 miles east of Baker City, and is surrounded by nearly 90 miles of groomed snowmobile trails, as well as 19 miles of ungroomed cross-country skiing trails.

The snowmobile trails, groomed by the Panhandle Snowmobile Club, cross wide-open slopes that afford views of nearby peaks in the southern Wallowa Mountains. Cross-country skiers, meanwhile, can choose among six loops that are geared to outdoor enthusiasts of all skill and experience levels. Two vault toilets and a three-sided log shelter are also on-site.

Horseshoe Prairie Nordic Ski Area

Horseshoe Prairie Nordic Ski Area has been welcoming cross-country skiers since the late 1980s and is today one of the top winter destinations in Northeastern Oregon’s Blue Mountains.

Roughly 35 miles north of La Grande and 65 miles west of Joseph, the long-running park offers roughly a dozen trails groomed by the Blue Mountain Land Trust Blues Crew, comprising more than 15 miles of rugged terrain. Trails cater to cross-country skiers of all skill levels and afford sweeping views that include a canyon in the neighboring North Fork Umatilla Wilderness and the nearby Wallowa Mountains. A warming hut is available as well.

Meacham Divide/Mt. Emily Sno-Park

In the Blue Mountains, 36 miles east of Pendleton and nearly 20 miles west of La Grande, sits Oregon’s second-largest cross-country skiing area. The trail system at Meacham Divide/Mt. Emily Sno-Park comprises eight paths totaling more than 12 miles in all. Along the way, skiers head through meadows and forests of ponderosa pine, and enjoy views of the 1,400-foot-deep Meacham Canyon.

Trails are typically groomed between late November and March by the Blue Mountain Nordic Club, whose website also provides trail conditions and maps throughout the season.