Birds Hill Park has 38K of classic ski trails.
The Group Use #1 Road loop (5.2K), including the two new-in-December-2017 additions (~2K), and the new-in-December-2017 out-and-back Spruce trail (~5.5K) are groomed for skate skiing and skijoring (and kick sledding … and dog sledding on the Spruce trail).
Trail map
Approved Trails Plan
Please do not ski on trails that are designated for other uses. Skiing on a horse trail, snowmobile trail, and walking trail does not have the same negative impact as walkers, snowmobiles, horses, and ATVs have on ski trails, but it does add to the level of conflict between different users.
There are signs at the Chickadee and Riding Stables trailheads that inform park users that groomed ski trails are for cross country skiing only.
Birds Hill Park Patrol: 204-792-1849
There is a warm-up building at the stable area that is available for park users during regular park hours. It has a common area and two wheelchair-accessible washrooms / change rooms, and there are some vending machines.
Birds Hill Park’s District Park Manager is Joanne Podolchuk (Joanne.Podolchuk@gov.mb.ca 204-654-6730).
Trail Conditions reported by Manitoba Parks.
See below for reports submitted by skiers.
Group Admins
yboat posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months agoBHP was again busy today. Wow, it got warmer than was forecast this afternoon. Shoulda gone in the a.m. But Esker trail still had more good-enough-to-keep-going spirit than my kids did. We gave it 5/10. A mix of sticky and slushy with a bit of slippery and occasional grass etc. No ponds or big muck though. Lift a ski here, swing off the trail a…[Read more]
Floyd Reichel posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months agoSkied Lime Kiln and Esker on skier set tracks today along with a bunch of other people enjoying the day. The tracks are fair with some dirt and slush showing so recommend rock skis. Should be good for the rest of the day and tomorrow morning. It was worth the trip. Just nice to get out 🙂
Earl Isaak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months agoThere are skier-made tracks on all the classic trails, and they will likely still be good tomorrow morning. The Chickadee parking lot was busy.
Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months agoFrom Joanne Podolchuk, Park District Manager, Birds Hill Provincial Park on Friday morning:
There has been a few inquiries about grooming with the recent snowfall. The District will not be grooming at this time, equipment is down for post season maintenance. The Park remains open, the ski community can continue to ski, please continue to practise…[Read more]C Hill posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 1 week agoI skied late in days Sunday 3-6-pm-ish and only hit lime kiln. The ski to the cabin was near perfect for spring skiing conditions. The flooded parking lot and rough conditions At start (lots of pine tree debris, melted track) almost had us turning around but we plowed on and we’re shocked at how wonderful the trail conditions were! No boot p…[Read more]
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 1 week agoSunday morning 7:15 to 10:00, -2° to 0°, sunny.
The Group Use Road has a gazillion footprints. It was icy the entire time I was skiing on it. You just adapt after awhile.
The snow is still contiguous, although one very short section on the SW internal bay will be completely bare (impassible) by the end of today. Other than that, it should still b…[Read more] -
Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 1 week agoFriday morning 7:15 to 9:30, -1° to +1°. Fortunately, clouds didn’t fully clear until 9:30.
Classic: Bluestem and Aspen are still fairly good. Icy-fast, but “soft-icy” at this temperature. There are a few places where the track has melted away, but it was a minor inconvenience. Very enjoyable ski.
Skate: The Group Use Road was very good. Like c…[Read more] Floyd Reichel posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 1 week agoJust want to thank Birds Hill Park staff for grooming the trails 7 days ago and also throughout the winter. That decision resulted in fantastic conditions this past week for the skiing community to enjoy.
Alison Steele posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 1 week agoThursday 11:30-1:00 – it was snowing when I started, and a light layer had settled in the tracks, but it was still a fast ski. Aside from evergreen debris on the return stretch east of Chickadee, Bluestem was in very good condition, and well skied in by the time I finished.
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 1 week agoClassic trails (Esker, Lime Kiln, Chickadee, Aspen), Wednesday 11:15 to 1:30, -5° to -3° and bright sun.
All classic tracks are still fairly well-defined, but they are widening. I encountered two bare spots of less than 1 metre long and only one track wide — on Lime Kiln and on Aspen. For the first hour, the tracks were ice/icy and of course e…[Read more] Alison Steele posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 1 week agoWednesday afternoon – sad to say the Spruce trail is deteriorating. It was soft/slushy with dirt patches in sun-exposed areas, then rock hard and icy in other areas, not very safe for skate-skiing. There were many dog walkers out. Has anybody been on the classic trails today?
Just came back from the fastest conditions of the season on the classic trails starting at noon @ -4 to -1 degrees. The trails were starting to soften up but were still fast.
Thanks Floyd – good to know they’re still skiable!
Alison Steele posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoMonday morning – the north portion of Spruce trail was hard and fast for skating, with many footprints (human and dog). Hope the afternoon walkers stayed closer to the edge to keep it skiable for the days ahead. Thanks to everyone for posting helpful reports, to park staff for the wonderful grooming, and especially Kevin for all his hard work!…[Read more]
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoMonday morning, -7° to 0°. We skied all classic trails except Aspen east of Chickadee.
All tracks are still very well defined. They are icy, except near the trailheads where they are closer to being ice.
We did 90% double poling. Skin skis worked great for the few short/steeper ascents. There are many instances of Vs cutting across the tracks, b…[Read more]Maybe that herd of hacks got off the trail… it was early going after the Chickadee trail entrance, they were heading CCW…
C Hill posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoSkied lime kiln Sunday afternoon and wow, so happy to see so many skiers out enjoying the trails. No walkers on line kiln so tracks looked perfectly set. Kudos to the staff and management at BHP for all their efforts this year keeping the trails beautifully groomed and managing trail use conflicts. I hope to take advantage of these amazing…[Read more]
Chris Ashley posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoFurther to what Allan H posted skating on GUR.. ran into a group of 4 people walking on GUR who were also pushing large baby strollers, walking 4 across the skate lane… ran into them twice while doing this… finishing I ran into a group of 15-20 walking down the trail including a bunch of kids.. with the soft conditions its gonna leave alot of…[Read more]
Allan H posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoSunday afternoon, temp 0C The GUR is starting to get a little soft and imagine it will be icy in the mornings.
Counted over 20 hikers on the GURL Hanson posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoSaturday afternoon the GUR was good and the other trails looked good. The main parking lot was full and people were jockeying for spaces like Walmart at Christmas. Do yourself a favour and use the overflow lot. You can pretend the walk in is your warm up
Yes, the park was a busy place today! People were walking, cycling, skiing; even families having picnics. The Bluestem trail was in beautiful shape, and fast despite the leafy debris that was sticking to our wax. Awesome ski!
Earl Isaak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoEd is right. The Lime Kiln trail, and likely the other classic trails, are in great shape! Pristine groomed tracks with almost no debris. Very fast at the end of the afternoon.
Allan H posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoFriday afternoon skated the GUR, it was harder than I expected but had no problem getting an edge. It was my fastest lap time of the season.
Many family members with children getting out to ski the classic trails.-
Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoBirds Hill Park, all classic trails, Friday late morning to early afternoon, -14° to -9°, sunny, calm: A+.
Some of tracks have started to become a bit glazed, so consider using a grip wax that is one can warmer than the temperature. - Load More
I agree.
And specific thanks to park manager Joanne for emailing me when her staff were re-grooming the trails. Information is king and knowledge is power.