Grooming Report Fourth of July Park Ski & Snowshoe Area:  January 10, 2026
Snow that we could groom finally accumulated on the area last Tuesday and Wednesday.  Between ten and 14 inches of snow were deposited across the area with deeper snow at higher elevation.  All ski trails (Havin Fun, The Swoop, High Road, Elderberry, Treetop View, Loose Moose, Skateaway, Skywalker, The Eagle Run and Moonrunner to Rose Saddle) have been packed and groomed, however track was not set.  The very farthest end of Elderberry near Ian’s Hut is still blocked by a downed tree.  Kiosks are in place.  Most trailhead and trail signing is in place, with the exception along Skywalker and Moonrunner.
​Snowshoeing is best up on the Twisted Klister system where snow is deeper.  Twisted Klister, Gasline Loops, and Ridge Trail have been cleared.  Makin Tracks and Joe Ds Jump may still have ofallen trees obstructing.  Jeanettes Jaunt Loop has been cleared but Jeanettes Jaunt beyond the loopback may still have obstacles from the recent windstorms.

​Hi All


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year Season.

It has  been a very busy time for many of our club members clearing trails and preparing for the coming snow.  The series of wicked wind storms earlier in the month of November/December brought down more than 150 trees across our nordic trail system up at Fourth of July Pass.  A big thank you for all of our volunteers who helped clear the trails in preparation for the upcoming heavy snows.  We should be able to enjoy the trail network in the coming weeks with more than a foot of new snow in the near term forecast.

The club held our annual Best Hand Fundraiser event on Saturday January 3rd.  Due to a  lack of snow, it ended up being a nice hike in the woods with friends.  The overall turn-out was much better than I expected.  We were able to raise ~$650 for continued support of our club and trail maintenance & grooming activities.  Thank you to all who came out, and especially all of our club volunteers who made this a successful event.  Also a big thank you to all of our generous local businesses who donated many very nice prizes: Sportsman & Ski Haus,Sports Creel,Le Peeps Restaurant,CDA Coffee Company,Hudson’s Hamburgers, Ski Shack,Play It Again Sports,Two Wheeler Dealer,Bakery by the Lake,Vantage Point Brewery,Moontime Restaurant,Emery’s Beer and Mead Works,Post Falls Brewery,Daft Badger Brewery,Trek Bike Store,Little Bear Ranch Camping (Lewis Family),Sunset Sailing Cruise (Gossard Family)

Our next club meeting will be on Tuesday January 6th at the CDA United Methodist Church (starts at 7 pm).  We will have a guest speaker representing our local Sportsman & Ski Haus at the meeting to tell us what types of sporting equipment and rentals they have to offer and their mission as a local business to engage and support our local outdoor activities community.

Our group XC ski outings at Fourth of July Pass (every-other Wednesday) will start on January 14th.  If you wish to join us, meet-up at the Panhandle warming hut at 10:30.  Bring your own snack/lunch and beverage.  We will plan for a 1.5-2 hr group ski.

Our planned multi-day XC Ski trip to Rossland, BC will be on January 25,26,27.  Contact Jim McMillan ([email protected]) if you wish to attend for further details.

Hope to see you all on Tuesday Evening or out on the trails!            

XC - Ski Snow Shoe Event

Jan 3rd 2026

Registration Begins 10:30 am
Raffle Prize Drawings 1:30 pm

4th July Pass Winter Sports Area-Exit 28 off I-90 (Free Ski Day for State of Idaho, no parking passes needed)

$12(adult)/$5(under 13)/$25(family) cash or check only Ski or snowshoe to collect 5 cards for a Poker hand Raffle prizes donated by local businesses & club members

Sponsored by Panhandle Nordic Club

All proceeds support maintenance and ski trail grooming of 4th July Pass Winter Sports Area

Hope you all are ready for a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.
Since our last meeting, a solid crew of folks have cleared trails and prepared all of our temporary shelters across 4th July Pass trail system.  We are grateful for everyone that participated.  We are ready to kick-off the season just as soon as we get that first big snow.      
Our next club meeting will be held on Tuesday December 2nd at the CDA United Methodist Church [7 PM].  This meeting will include a social gathering with Christmas cookies and hot chocolate.  Attendees are requested to bring a dozen or two Christmas cookies to share with the group. All leftover cookies will be donated to our IDOT friends who plow our parking lot at the 4th of July Ski & Snowshoe Trails.
Our annual Best Hand fundraiser event will be held on January 3rd, 2026.  This event will need volunteers to help set-up & tear-down, staff our card distribution stations, and keep the fire going, etc.   I will have a sign-up sheet available at the upcoming meeting for volunteers.  We would greatly appreciate you taking a shift at the event and helping us out.
The Club Board is in the process of gathering prizes for the event from local businesses including: Trek Bike Store, Sport & Ski Haus, Trader Joes, Super #1, Pilgrims Market, Starbucks, Two Wheeler Dealer, Ski Shack, Gear Garage, Moontime, Vantage Point Brewery, Post Falls Brewery, Daft Badger Brewery.  We would welcome efforts by any club members to solicit donations from other stores or even donate an item of your own.
A preliminary draft copy of our Panhandle Nordic Club-Events Calendar is included with this newsletter.  We will finalize the events schedule as part of our December Meeting.  I will email our final schedule soon thereafter in addition to posting on our website and FaceBook page.  The Trip Leader will send out the details for their trip at least 4 weeks prior to the event with details on how to sign-up.
I have also attached a digital copy of our YA-I-DU-SKI LOG-25-26 Season blank form so you can start logging your km's ASAP.
Do not forget to obtain your annual Park N Ski sticker at any participating retail outlet or order online. 
Also please join or renew your membership electronically via our club website at:  www.panhandlenordicclub.com.
Our guest speakers for the December meeting will be Nancy and Greg Lewis presenting the highights of their recent trip to the Azores.
I look forward to seeing you all on December 2nd for cookies and hot chocolate and holiday cheer!     
​

​The Panhandle Nordic Club has a XC-Ski trip planned to the Winthrop/Methow Valley Area for February 20 thru 22, 2026.  Travel time to Winthrop is ~4 hrs from CDA.  This trial system is a very popular ski destination with one of the largest groomed trail systems in the USA.  Winthrop is also a very nice Old Western looking town with many different shops, bars, and eateries

Anyone wishing to participate please email [email protected] and include the names of everyone in your party and a contact phone number.      

Participants will be responsible for making their own lodging arrangements and purchase of ski trail passes.  If you are planning to come on the trip, I would highly recommend making your lodging reservations ASAP (I have already booked my room at the Abby Creek Inn). 
  

Itinerary

1. Friday February 20
   1. Travel to Winthrop, WA (leaving at 7 AM from CDA)
   2. Afternoon Ski session ~2.0 hrs (If you Wish)
   3. Group Meet-up for Supper @ 6 PM ( Location TBD)
   4. Develop Group Plan for Ski Sessions for next day
2. Saturday February 21
   1. Morning Skis Session-location tbd
   2. Lunch
   3. Afternoon Ski Session-location tbd
   4. Group Meet-up for Supper @ 6 PM ( Location TBD)
   5. Develop Group Plan for morning Ski Sessions for next day

1.   Sunday February 22
   1. Early Morning Ski Session (for those that wish to participate)
   2. Lunch in Winthrop Area
   3. Travel Home to CDA-Late Afternoon

Lodging Options (Winthrop, WA)

1. Abby Creek Inn
2. Winthrop Inn
3. Virginian Resort

Ski Passes
Cross country ski trail passes can be purchased at Winthrop Mountain Sports in downtown Winthrop at 257 Riverside Ave, from 9:30 am to 6 pm or online from https://methowtrails.org/ where you will also find a wealth of information on the trail system.  

Trail passes options include single day pass and 3-consecutive day pass.  There are three different major trail system areas including: Sun Mountain, Winthrop Valley, and the Mazama trail system.

Welcome to the 2025/2026 season of our Panhandle Nordic Club.  I am excited and very much looking forward to the start of another great ski and snowshoe season. 
Our club will hold our first seasonal kick-off meeting on Tuesday November 11th at 7:00 PM:
United Methodist Church
1470 W Hanley Avenue
Coeur d’Alene, ID  83815

During this meeting we will meet and greet any new club members, provide an overview of our club, compile a draft schedule of outings for this season including volunteer trip leaders, I will share some fresh baked chocolate cookies, and we will play a little winter sports trivia.       

Our Club Board recently met on September 23rd to start the planning process for upcoming events and activities for this season.  We have thus far set the dates for two of our primary events to be held at Fourth-of-July Pass:
·         Best Hand Fundraiser: January 3rd, 2026
·         Rock Soup Ski & Shoe Social: February 7, 2025
Please all be thinking of additional daytime  or extended weekend outings for our club members during the upcoming season.  We will be looking for suggestions and trip leaders during our November Club Meeting with a finalization of the schedule during our December 2nd Club Meeting.   
I am planning on hosting a group ski outing at the  Fourth-of-July Pass on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month starting in January.  We will meet at our Panhandle Hut near the trailhead at 10:30 AM for these group ski events.
Additionally, I am planning on hosting a couple of different learn to ski instructional events on a Saturday in the months of January and February.  Stay tuned for specific dates and times once I have the entire seasonal schedule finalized.  If you have any friends or family who are beginners and would like to learn to cross-country ski please encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity to get to know our club and the Fourth-of-July Pass winter trails.
Do not forget to obtain your annual Park N Ski sticker at any participating retail outlet or you can order online for home delivery at: getoutside.idaho.gov on the [Permits] menu.  When you purchase your sticker, please select Use Area: Fourth-of-July Pass as the designated location.  This ensures these supporting funds are directed to support the maintenance and grooming activities for our home trail network.  You can also purchase the stickers at Super 1 (Hayden & Post Falls) or the Idaho Parks & Recreation-North Region Service Center (2885 W Kathleen Ave).    
Please also join or renew your membership for our club.  This is also critical in supporting the maintenance of the trails and facilities at the 4th of July recreation area and ensuring that the club will endure for many years to come.  We strongly encourage you to join or renew your membership electronically via our club website at: www.panhandlenordicclub.com.  We would also prefer you pay for your annual membership thru the electronic payment methods available within the registration process. If you wish to be on our email list, please make sure you select the box [Add to PNC Group Membership List] within the registration form.  Also, make sure to Key [Submit] after you have completed the form and payment process.  Please sign up as soon as you can.  It really helps to get the membership list for the year completed early.  Thanks again for your support!
The fall season brings several required preparation activities to the fourth-of-July Trail network.  We will soon be looking for volunteers to support a couple of trail workdays to get things ready for an enjoyable season.  Stay tuned for a request for volunteers from our Geoff Harvey.  The more the merrier!
If you are in the market for any new ski equipment or wish to sell any equipment please be aware that we have two different ski swap events in the area over the coming weeks:
Look forward to seeing you all on November 11th to kick-off another exciting season.

​

​Hope you all are making the best of this early Spring weather. While I am sure we will still see some snow in the coming weeks, it has been a very abrupt end to our ski and snowshoe season on our Fourth of July Pass Trails. Our next club meeting will be held on March 11th (NOT our normal 1st Tuesday of the month) at the CDA United Methodist Church (starting at 7 PM). We will host guest speaker Sharon Bosley from the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission to inform us on the superfund clean-up activities within the Coeur d’ Alene River watershed, Lake, and upper reaches of the Spokane River. Our next Panhandle Nordic Club Event was originally planned for Priest Lake-Hannah Flats Nordic ski outing on March 8th. Due to the lack of snow, I am going to swap this outing for the Lookout Pass to Taft outing originally scheduled for March 15. I will send out the details for this trip under a separate email. Our last club meeting of the season will be held on April 1st at the Vantage Point Brewery-Special Event Venue-top Level [208 E Coeur d’ Alene Lake Drive, CDA ID 83814]. We can each order our own food from a limited menu including smashburger, chicken sandwich, tri tip hoagie, ceasar salad (with chicken or salmon), or street tacos. We will meet at 6:30 PM to enjoy food, drinks, good cheer, and the development of a summer schedule of club activities. Bring your suggestions for summer club outings you might wish to lead.  

Grooming Report Fourth of July Pass – February 15, 2025
The Fourth July Ski Area received snow all day Friday, Feb 14th; about two and a half inches of powdery snow by 3 PM. The groomers covered the entire area today. Runs were packed, groomed and track set area wide. All runs will have some snow cover Saturday morning. After the cold snap last week, the area has the best snow cover and best snow conditions of the year for skiing and snowshoeing. ​Ski and snowshoe while it is still cold. We are expecting more snow Sunday and maybe Monday, but expect to groom again after it falls. Yet it is getting to that time of year when the thaw is on its way so don’t put off ski or snowshoe trips because condition are doubtful to get better after this coming week.
Touch up grooming was completed this morning on the inner core trails, Dwight’s Skateaway , and lower Skywalker. About an inch and a half of snow was packed, groomed ,and track was set.

Grooming Report Fourth of July Pass – Monday, February 10, 2025

The Fourth July Ski Area received about three inches of snow Saturday (2/8) after the Friday (2/7) grooming. The area was groomed Monday, February 10th. All the trails of the inner loop ( Havin Fun. The Swoop, and High Road) were groomed and track was set. Loose Moose was left with three inches of powder snow on a packed surface. Elderberry to The Benches, Treetop View and Skateaway were all packed, groomed, and track set. Skywalker and Moonrunner were packed between the Skywalker entrance and Rose Creek Saddle. The runs were groomed, but track was only set between the Skywalker Entrance and the Skateaway Junction. The roller was run over the entire length (two passes) of both runs to prepare a path for snow bikes. However, the Moon runner portion of the packed trail is likely still quite soft. Skywalker has been packed and groomed twice since the fresh light snow came in the past week and a half. However, Moon runner received packing and grooming only today. The Groomers reported that the machines were “floating” while working Moon runner. So, it may take another run over that surface to develop a good surface for Snow bikes.