Ely, MN Cross-Country Skiing

Cross-Country skiingMN Ski Pass

You’re invited! Here in Ely, our cross-country ski season is longer than anywhere else in Minnesota, so our trails are open before other areas even have snow! The Ely area offers a unique blend of trails with machine groomed or user-tracked trails, and several area lodges offer direct cross-country ski trail access. Visit Ely this winter to ski one of the wooded wilderness trails, shoreline trails, Nordic trails, or break your own trail across the hundreds of lakes in the area. With an average annual snowfall of 84 inches, our ski season starts in early December and lasts through to April!

Ely, Minnesota Cross-Country Ski Trails

The Ely area offers some of the finest cross-country ski trails in Minnesota. Several local trails include terrain inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Here, a cross-country skier will leave the pace of everyday life behind as they experience the pristine splendor of our wilderness trails. Skiers will be compelled to pause on the trail and simply take it all in.

North Arm Ski Trail – 42km
North Junction Ski Trail – 13km
South Farm Ski Trail – 8km
Hegman Ski Trail – 3km

The Ely area also offers several groomed ski trail systems offering classic and skate-style skiing. The diverse terrain varies from groomed shorelines to winding and rolling trails through towering birch and pine trees.

Bear Island 25 – km
Hidden Valley – 15km
Hidden Valley Extension – 8km
Trezona – 6.5km

Ely Trail Guide

Trail Name Distance from Ely Trail Length Activities
Angleworm + 17 14*   hiking iconskiing iconsnowshoeing icon
Bass Lake 6 6* hiking iconsnowshoeing icon
Bear Head State Park #   Varied hiking iconskiing icon
Birch Lake Plantation/Birch Trail   3 hiking iconskiing icon
Farm Lake +   16* skiing icon
Fenske Lake 11 1 hiking icon
Fire & Ice - Meander Lake Trail   1/8 hiking icon
Flash Lake 20 2 skiing iconsnowshoeing icon
Flathorn - Gegoka   16* hiking iconskiing icon
Hanson Lake 11 4 skiing icon
Hegman Lake + 15 2 skiing iconsnowshoeing icon
Hidden Valley Trail 1/2 Varied   hiking iconskiing iconbiking icon
Jasper Lake 19 Varied skiing icon
Kawishiwi Falls Trail   1 hiking icon
North Arm 14 32* hiking iconskiing icon
North Junction 7 17* hiking iconskiing icon
S. Kawishiwi River + 10 1 hiking icon
Secret-Blackstone 20 5* hiking iconsnowshoeing icon
South Farm + 7.5 7.5* skiing iconsnowshoeing icon
Thomas Lake + 22 21 skiing icon
Trezona Trail 1/2 4    hiking iconskiing iconsnowshoeing iconbiking icon
NOTE: All distances are in miles. If multiple loop options are available, an asterisk*will be shown by the trail miles.
# A state park sticker or day pass is required to access trails within Bear Head Lake State Park.
+ Some trails travel into or through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and may require a day use or overnight travel permit. Click here for more details on the permit process