Yosemite — Badger Pass & Glacier Point Rd
Yosemite National Park · near Yosemite Valley / Oakhurst · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Nordic & Snowshoe
At a glance
- Best season
- mid-Dec–Mar; dependable snow (~7,200 ft)
What is here
- Activities
- classic · skate · backcountry · snowshoe
- Setting
- forest
- Amenities
- Groomed classic & skate trails · Glacier Point Road tour · Glacier Point Ski Hut · Rentals, lessons & ranger walks
- Best for
- Iconic Yosemite Nordic skiing
- Features
- Groomed trails at Badger Pass · Ski to a Half Dome overlook · Backcountry ski hut · Ranger snowshoe walks
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Long Glacier Point tour — plan carefully · Cold, high elevation, sun · Backcountry beyond groomed trails · Chains & park-road conditions
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Rentals
- Yes
Nordic & Snowshoe detail
- Venue
- park
- Ability
- intermediate
- Snow
- 4
- Trail notes
- Yosemite's Nordic hub — groomed classic and skate trails plus the famous groomed tour down Glacier Point Road to a stunning overlook of Half Dome, with a backcountry ski hut
- Terrain note
- ~7,200 ft; groomed trails + 21-mi Glacier Point tour; dependable snow
- Intl tip
- The hub of Nordic skiing in Yosemite (the Badger Pass area — California's oldest ski area, est. 1935). Groomed classic and skate trails fan through forest, but the star is the groomed Glacier Point Road: a ~21-mile round-trip, gently graded tour to the Valley rim at Glacier Point, with an unforgettable Half Dome panorama — you can normally overnight at the rustic Glacier Point Ski Hut (closed for the 2025–26 season due to a lack of power, though the groomed tour and day skiing continue). Rentals, lessons, ranger snowshoe walks, and snowshoe trails too. Dependable snow at ~7,200 ft; bring chains, mind cold/altitude, check park road conditions. Extraordinary.
The guide
The Badger Pass area (officially the Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area, California's oldest ski area, established in 1935) is the h…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Yosemite — Badger Pass & Glacier Point Rd — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.66, -119.66