Birds Hill Park has 36K 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 / skijor).
– Group Use #1 Road access at the locked yellow gate (winter parking lot): Bluestem and Aspen trails (classic). Group Use #1 Road (skate ski / skijor).
– Nimowin parking lot: Spruce trail (skate ski / skijor).
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 and this new-in-2021-2022 sign.
The Birds Hill Park Patrol works on weekends: 204-792-1849
Birds Hill’s Park Manager is Kathleen Brown (as of 2021-2022) — kathleen.brown@gov.mb.ca 204-654-6730.
Trail Conditions (interactive map, updated in real time) reported by Manitoba Parks.
See below for reports submitted by skiers.
Group Admins
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dlivingston posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 2 weeks, 6 days agoMy last ski of the year (today) but others may be interested to head out tomorrow. It will be more crispy, with the stiffer frost, so lace your boots uber tight an fly along with double poling then eventually skate striding when the surface softens a bit. Best starting point is from the Stables parking lot, head out on the Bluestem – using…[Read more]
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 weeks, 2 days agoSo, I ventured out to the park April 29,about 10:30 am to determine if the postings of dlivingston were accurate. I started at the Chickadee trail head, and went east to the crossroads. The track was doable with minimal hiker tracks. At the crossroads I noted that the trail back to the stables parking lot looked as good as what I had just skied…[Read more]
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 weeks, 4 days agoSo, I was delighted to read dl’s report: I would have put money on that skiing was. over for this season. I may have to pull my gear out to set an all time new record for length of the ski season.
Speaking of gear, as I operate on the trailing edge of technology using 3 pin stuff, does anybody have a pair of boots in decent shape size 45 or 46…[Read more] -
dlivingston posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 3 weeks, 4 days agoMost ski trails are still in good to very good condition and there is even remnants of the Monday night dusting of snow ( 1-2cm) which did a wonderful job of filling in the icy tracks.
Avoid west Bluestem (done in by a group of bicyclers) and Chickadee (now a hiking trail).
Note: mornings, super early, provides the best skiing and does the least…[Read more] -
Tony Hoess posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoI did reach out to Kathleen Brown, BHP Park manager, about the BHP groomer, and she said: “Thank you for your email and reaching out. You are correct the groomer did break down toward the end of the season and we are working on having it repaired. Unfortunately it isn’t as easy of a fix that we had hoped but I can tell you we have been trying v…[Read more]
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoFrom Dan Livingston on Friday morning:
Awesome skiing at BHPP.
Heading out for round two of blue stem!!!-
Thanks for posting Kevin. I dropped by my car for a quick infusion of java and didnt want to waste time logging in CCSAM site.
#2 round was ~ 50% harder as the snow turned to sleet / rain but made it around. Better workout!!!There are two tracks to follow, 1. 4-8cm deep and 2. 2-4 deep. Hoping to make use of them early next week on the…[Read more]
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StephB85 posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoLong-time lurker, first-time poster! I had to create an account to thank the people who broke in the trails at BHP over the weekend. I didn’t get to ski barely at all this winter thanks to working almost every weekend from jan-march, but because of your generosity of spirit I had a glorious goodbye to the ski season yesterday. At 430PM I did the…[Read more]
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoSo, my ears were burning with the thanks on breaking trail; it was not just me but new friends Stef and Will who did the Aspen with me. The skiers who did the Bluestem also deserve thanks, although I did not remember their names.
Hit the trails today Apr18 at 11:30 ish from the Chickadee trail head. East on Aspen to the “crossroads” where I met…[Read more]-
Imagine how great the skiing would be at BHP if someone running the winter program there actually cared. Instead of a rigid bureacracy that cant seem to figure out anything except thier nice pensions . Even a few groomed trails would make a hell of a difference. Or a single run down the GUR with the groomer or even a snowmobile to give skiers…[Read more]
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I talked with a fellow skier on the trail a couple a days ago and he said there are serious issues with the pistenbully,one of them is engine related.Here is the kicker, it may not be repaired in time for the start of next season.I wonder if there is a backup plan because there sure wasn’t one for this season.
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A backup plan / a backup groomer for the BHP trails would be the greatest idea!
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@Bert Graff Have you reached out to Kathleen Brown with constructive criticisms and suggestions?
If so, what has been the response? If not, please do so.
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Agree with Tony, Birds Hill is our best location considering number of trails and city skier access, they need to have two groomer/tracking systems in place, so if one goes down, the other one gets put to use. The 2020/21 ski season was more enjoyable with a fraction of the snow compared to this year which is shame. I got out a lot this season,…[Read more]
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I’ve been reading a lot of the comments over the season and there at times seems to be a lack of appreciation what Parks staff has to contend with. I know the ski season is generally short and we need to make the most of the time we have to ski, but Parks are very understaffed and underfunded. If you need verification, the provincial budget just c…[Read more]
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John Wick posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoI echo Kevin’s comments about ski width; they definitely would have an advantage with wider skis. However, we still conquered Blue Stem and had a great workout. The trail was a mix of soft, crunchy snow to crunchy ice with perfect spots occasionally and some boot drag on the high walls with marshmallow snow polling. The conditions are excellent to…[Read more]
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Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoFrom Lynne Mitchell-Pedersen on Saturday evening:
Six of us had a glorious day.
We wish to thank from our hearts all the wonderful folks who made those trails for us. We are an older crowd and could not have skied without the broken trails. So, a big, ‘Thank you!’bless you all! -
Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoSaturday afternoon, -5° and sunny.
We skied on Aspen from the Chickadee trailhead to the inbound/outbound Aspen/Bluestem junction (1K from the stables), Bluestem to the tower, the 3.5K skier-tracked Esker loop back to the tower, Chickadee return to Aspen, west Aspen U to the Chickadee trailhead. The skier-made tracks were all very good.…[Read more] -
Eric Sokolowski posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month agoSaturday A.M.. Roads have been cleared as well as chickadee lot. West bluestem was deep single track and well worked in.Good glide and kick, better than what was expected.Forget about skate skiing.
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Thank you to the forerunners on the trails.
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 1 week agoSo, I set off to the park for the 11:00 trail breaking/packing happening. Hwy 59 to the park was icy but passable. I took the turn in to to West gate and marvelled to myself: wow, this road is cleared better than the main drags in Wpg., until immediately after the park gate booths. Thereafter, there had been no snow clearing with a single path…[Read more]
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Great idea d baniak, thanks! We arrived a bit late. Saw that to left (Bluestem W) and to the right (Aspen/Bluestem) were being skied, so we went straight and did Chickadee to the tower, and a loop on Esker. On Esker where the in and out trails pinch right together (where we looped backed) the in trail of Esker had been driven on by something, but…[Read more]
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I was thinking to myself as I was heading back to town , I wonder if people were able to make it through from the West Entrance. Sure enough they did. Ha ha. Glad that they did as now there are skiable trails to continue the ski season. Perhaps the roads will improve with traffic as the ski trails will.
I will be leaving this area and will…[Read more]
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Gary Wickens posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 1 week agoRoad Conditions Report
I went out at 11 on Fri. to participate in the trail breaking but unfortunately the roads in BHP haven’t been plowed. I went in from the East Gate and around the corner from the stop sign. I soon came upon a guy who was stuck and being pulled out by a tractor from the ranch. That was it for me.
My advice to fellow skiers is…[Read more]-
Getting in from the Hwy 59 entrance was better, but snowy single-track. Some small cars had made it in to Chickadee. I was surprised to find the roads uncleared. They were doing some plowing as we left this afternoon.
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 1 week agoSo, I am rejoicing in the snow dump, but not looking forward to breaking trail.
There are many enthusiasts out there enjoying Bird’s Hill trails, so I am proposing a trail breaking blitz Friday April15 at 11:00 am starting at the Chickadee trail head.
I envision groups of 2/3 skiers taking on a specified part of the Bluestem Aspen and bits of the…[Read more] -
dlivingston posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 1 week agoSkate skied group use area this morning, phenominal conditions!!! Firm base, crisp surface almost no lost edge on push off … and I havnt skate skied since December!!! Get out while you have the chance.
Classic skied east Bluestem – great double poling and / or very good with waxless. Esker also in good shape. Lime kiln destroyed by horse…[Read more]-
I agree. This afternoon (Tuesday) the edges of the Group Use Road were indeed excellent for skate skiing … except the most western north-south part which had a lot of pure ice and one area with lots of bare pavement. The plowed 600m section at the Group Use Road middle road and Chickadee parking lot area results in skiing the GUR out-and-back…[Read more]
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Ha ha, u provide a much more thorough description than what I offered up. Perhaps phenomenal was a bit too generous!? At the suggestion of a long lost friend I met on Saturday, I skied the area that was partially cleared by a front end loader. It was among the best! Only 4-6cm of hard pack snow but smooth and a good catch with the ski edge…[Read more]
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Gary Wickens posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 1 week agoSun. a.m. update. 8:30 plus 2. Tracks and trail surface still frozen. Starting to soften up by 9:30.
Did E. Aspen from Chickadee lot to crossover to E. Bluestem. First 300 m had walkers but thinned out after. Good double poling. W.Bluestem even better.
Plus 10 this afternoon. Good time to stay home to watch the Back 9 of the Masters – the best…[Read more] -
john kim posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 2 weeks agostart – chickadee; start time 5 pm bluestem-west, aspen-west, group use road. soft, but only because of the time of day. other than that, not bad and fair-good coverage everywhere ! even saw semblance of classic trax on all trails. corroborate kevin’s observation re: plowing (site 7b to washrooms near site 4 sign) but you can still ski where t…[Read more]
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d baniak posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 2 weeks agoSo, I arrived at 11:30 Apr.8 and skied Aspen loop backwards , up Chickadee backwards to Bluestem west loop and back to the Chickadee parking lot. Firm track with decent glide.
I still had some energy,so I decided to go east on the Aspen to the “crossroads” to see if anybody had skied the east Bluestem , which from my observations and GW’s…[Read more] -
Kevin Miller posted an update in the group
Birds Hill Provincial Park 1 month, 2 weeks agoBirds Hill Park, Friday morning, -2° to +1° and sunny.
Classic, at a temp just below freezing: Thanks to Chris (dbaniuk) and the other skiers who set a nice track on west Bluestem on Thursday afternoon. It was fast and crispy at -2°, and generally a perfect depth. I skied it in both directions and saw 4 other skiers. I also skied west Aspen in…[Read more]
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