All signs point to a Dec. 18 opening of Dakota Ridge where lots of snow has been falling since last week, prepping the area for skiing, snowshoeing and sledding this season.
Staff and volunteers have been working hard to groom the trails and prepare the site to welcome snow enthusiasts on Saturday, Dec. 18.
Dakota Ridge is a user-pay facility boasting several trails for cross country skiers and snowshoers as well as a warming hut, fireplace, outhouse and dedicated tobogganing hill.
There are a total of 20 kilometres of world-class cross country skiing trails and seven kilometres of snowshoe trails for visitors to enjoy on Dakota Ridge.
The fee to ski is $15 a day for adults, $10 a day for seniors and $6 a day for youth. Children aged 12 and under ski and snowshoe for free on Dakota Ridge.
Adults pay $8 a day to snowshoe, seniors pay $6 and youth pay $4.
There is a $6 fee per vehicle that accesses Dakota Ridge to use the tobogganing hill. Passes can be purchased ahead of time at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre or the Gibsons and Area Community Centre as well as at Alpha Adventures in Wilson Creek and Source for Sports in Sechelt.
If you get to the hill and haven’t purchased a day pass, they’re available at the Dakota Ridge trailhead (exact fee amount required).
In addition to day passes, seasonal passes are available for individuals and families at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre and the Gibsons and Area Community Centre.
Fees collected from users of Dakota Ridge help support road ploughing and maintenance of the area.
Dakota Ridge is accessed via the forest service road at the end of Field Road in Wilson Creek.
The winter recreation area is about 14 kilometres up the forest service road, and although the road is ploughed on a regular basis, the nature of the rocky roadway makes it inaccessible to vehicles without four by four capability. Access to the site is restricted to four-wheel drive vehicles with chains. Alpha Adventures offers round trip transport (for a fee) from the store in Wilson Creek Plaza for people and gear.
Find out more about Dakota Ridge at www.scrd.ca/dakota-ridge or keep up to date with weather conditions and upcoming events on Facebook – just search Dakota Ridge.
