Birds Hill Park has 38K of classic ski trails: Bluestem, Aspen, Lime Kiln, Esker, and Chickadee.
The Group Use #1 Road (5.2K) plus its center connecting road (.5K) and its two interior options (1.2K + .6K) is groomed for skate skiing and skijoring, as is the out-and-back Spruce trail (5.5K one way).
Trails map
Approved Trails Plan
There are 5 trailheads for cross country skiing:
– Riding Stables parking lot, north end: Esker and Lime Kiln trails (classic).
– Riding Stables parking lot, south end: Bluestem and Aspen trails (classic).
– Chickadee parking lot: Chickadee, Bluestem, and Aspen trails (classic). Group Use #1 Road (skate ski / skijoring).
– Group Use #1 Road access at the locked yellow gate (winter parking lot): Bluestem and Aspen trails (classic). Group Use #1 Road (skate ski / skijoring).
– Nimowin parking lot: Spruce trail (skate ski / skijoring).
The Riding Stables trailheads have a warm-up building that is available for park users during regular park hours. It has a common area and two wheelchair-accessible washrooms / change rooms. The warm-up building is attached to the restaurant.
The other three trailheads have pit toilets.
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 trailheads that inform park users that groomed ski trails are for cross country skiing only. This sign and this sign .
The Birds Hill Park Patrol works on weekends: 204-792-1849
Birds Hill Park’s acting Park Manager is Melissa Bergen (as of 2021-Feb 22) — Melissa.Bergen@gov.mb.ca 204-654-6730.
Trail Conditions reported by Manitoba Parks.
See below for reports submitted by skiers.
Group Admins
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Bert Graef posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoWent out this evening not expecting much, but did manage to classic ski most of chickadee in reverse a few times .
I should have skipped the kick wax as the trail is slippery and uneven and best suited for double poling in most places. The snow was very dense and soft and moist in places. Railroading was often. Makes one appreciate a packed…[Read more] -
d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoOops. I made a mistake in my previous post. Upon speaking with ER I determined I only tracked one-half of Group-Use road clockwise from Chickadee parking lot to the road bisecting the Group Use road and terminating at the parking lot where all the dog skijorers start their outings. If I’m in the mood I may complete the loop tomorrow.
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoSo, I lived up to my user moniker today. I arrived at the Chickadee lot @ 11:30, fully expecting to take advantage of some enthusiast’s track, but there was none. I proceeded to walk around the Group Use road and set a decent track. It was totally silent in the woods and the snow was sticking the branches of the trees and shrubs: beautiful and…[Read more]
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Alison Steele posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 months, 2 weeks agoMonday afternoon April 12 – walking on the Spruce Trail, I was surprised by a woman skijoring with 2 dogs. She said the snow was very sticky, and in places her skis had bottomed out through 3″ of soft snow. If it firms up overnight, Tuesday the trail might be skiable (with rock skis) – just sayin’…..
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john kim posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 1 week ago2 pm today (wed). sufficient snow still remaining on the group-use-road for skate skiing. heading ccw you’ll have to take your skis off at the ~ 1km, 2.1-2.3, 3.2 and 3.6 km marks on the 3.9 km loop. that will change soon but for the diehards, hope remains.
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 1 week agoFrom Melissa Bergen, A/Park District Manager, Birds Hill Provincial Park on Wednesday morning:
Upon a discussion with our Maintenance Supervisor this morning, we have determined we will be converting our signage from winter to spring/summer/fall and “officially” closing the ski trails for the season by the weekend. Most trails have det…[Read more] -
Bert Graef posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 1 week ago7-9PM. Had to go out for just one last kick at the cat. Wasnt terribly disappointed. A really good evening, but I think its getting close. I stayed on the east side, and its ok from the parking lot to the little hill near the lookout. Skied back and forth a few times without having to dismount .Tomorrow evenng will probably be a different story…[Read more]
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoMonday afternoon, 5° to 7°, sunny.
The Group Use Road was very good. It was generally very firm with a fairly soft top. A few short well-shaded stretches were very icy. There was one 10 metre stretch of bare pavement on the west section that requires an easy ski-walk on the grass, another 10 metre section in the SSW was bare with ice-under-water o…[Read more]-
Went out this evening til 9pm and did one loop. Just skiing on the best parts and avoiding the west side from now on. Bits of asphalt on that side are beginning to poke through .. Otherwise a perfect spring ski evening.
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Arni Jakobson posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks ago16 km skate on the GUR this morning! I had so much fun out there. Skate is very good on the South-South East side of the loop wheras the West-North West side is more icy and you will want to double pole some of that area likely. With the nice temps today, skate should be alright actually as it melts a bit of the snow and gives you more push off…[Read more]
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I think we will have a few more days of skating. Im just avoiding the west section, its not going to last much longer. Its easier just to turn around and go back and forth on the still very good other sections.
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Adam posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoOut this morning with the Jackrabbits. Mostly ice. Skated GRU loop. Fast for sure! Skied Chickadee a bit too. Lots of portaging necessary and very icy. Not great. Skating the loop is the best bet. No bare spots yet! Soon though. Nice to see lots of people out for this tail end of the season ski.
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Bert Graef posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoA small smattering of snow helped the hard packed and somewhat icy GUR situation a bit but not much. Still a good outing because the temps were great and sun was out . 5 other skaters were out. Good to see. Hope the park doesnt plow it. If we get lucky with an inch or two of snow, and temps stay seasonal, we could be skiing for a while yet. I…[Read more]
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It was 2012-2013. I skied from Nov 12 to Apr 24, a 164 day season. It was also a big snow winter, unlike this year.
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Nice meeting you boys today! What we would all do for winters like that again. Lets pray for a little more snow before we put the skis away for the season and tear a few more km’s to finish off for the year.
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoFriday afternoon, +1° to +2°, sunny.
Today was my worst skate ski of this season. 90%+ of the Group Use Road was hard ice-snow, which made it extremely difficult to fully weight shift, edge, and push-off hard. The other 10% was pure ice or very close to it. The west side (north-south section), the middle connector, and the two interior bays were t…[Read more]-
Yeah it was probably better in the afternoon after you left. Mostly did double poling in icy places .I did 3 laps and could have done a bit more but saving something for the weekend. It was still very hard surface in the late afternoon . Hard on ankles and knees for sure, but I needed my fix. Met Arni and another older guy who said he was on…[Read more]
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Yes, you started just after I finished. Arni started 10 minutes after you. I talked to him for 5 minutes in the parking lot. We hadn’t previously met but of course we knew of each other via trail conditions reports, so that was nice. The “other older guy” was Neil Ferguson, who is a very proficient/fast skate skier (and road cyclist) and one year…[Read more]
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Definitely a more challenging skate today Kevin for sure. I didn’t feel near as confident as usual in my glide to push off phase as there was mostly nothing to push on and felt as though you could bail at any moment. Still managed to keep upright the whole time and did an average of 22 minutes per lap moving time which i thought was not bad…[Read more]
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoThis season is over. Many thanks to Kevin Miller for moderating the CCSM website, and to all persons posting helpful info throughout the season.
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Al posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoWell I guess this weekend will be the last bit of winter. Hopefully more snow next year. Every year we seem to get less and less. Need those storms to hit us once in a while. Would be so nice to get some deep powdery snow again.
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Bert Graef posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoWednesday 3-5pm- still had a decent skate session on the Group use road. Some icy ruts and a very hard surface in most areas. Most places are still in good shape except for a few rutted areas. The middle section connecting south to north loop has10 foot bare asphalt spot that needs to be walked over . . Encountered some walking their…[Read more]
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Thanks Bert! Perhaps last week’s grooming on GUR has extended the skate ski season a bit. Sadly, I can’t say the same for Spruce – Wednesday afternoon there were many bare patches, footprints, and ruts from a vehicle, some filled with water/ice.
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Arni Jakobson posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 2 weeks agoAs of today, does anyone know how the skate loop on the GUR is holding up still? Thanks
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Its still pretty good, except for a few icy areas and rutted spots. Did two laps this afternoon. Some boot tracks but not bad at all. An inch of snow would make it great and cover a lot of sins. The east area is still very good, though I saw 3 walkers and 3 dogs as I was leaving at 5pm. Non walking signs were still up.
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Thanks Bert!
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 3 weeks agoMonday afternoon, +14°, sunny.
I skate skied the Duff Roblin trail from the Cedar Bog parking lot to the west gate road. 2.75K round trip. 20m vertical ascent per lap. 22K in 1:35, so glide was OK. Good snow coverage, but one spot may be asphalt from edge to edge by the end of Tuesday. I would expect the Group Use Road to have better snow coverage. -
Bert Graef posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 3 weeks agoSaturday 330-730PM. Started off doing Lime Kiln trail ,used the short cut to Esker, and back on to Chickadee . Was fine , just some bare spots in places. Ranged from slightly spongy in sunny sections to hard in shade. Still fairly decent classic skiing. Used red/silver mix of klister which worked ok. Switched to skate near sundown, and the track…[Read more]
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 3 weeks agoSaturday morning, -1° to +5°, sunny.
Classic: Anita doesn’t have anything to add to Brent’s report. Interesting that she was skiing for two hours and didn’t even know he was skiing at the same time. She knows him extremely well.
Skate: I counted skate skiers and lost count after 40. There were also a few skijorers and a couple was k…[Read more]
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Brent posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 4 months, 3 weeks agoSkied all the classic trail Saturday morning. They are in great shape, still a lot of snow. The first part of Chickadee has a couple bare spots that are starting the creep across the trail. Otherwise only a handful of one leg lifts required.
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