Old Man Winter Still Bringing Recreation Opportunities In NCW
Spring weather is quickly taking hold in North Central Washington, but winter activities are still easy to find in the Cascades.
There's still more than 90 inches of snow at the Stevens Pass SNOTEL, according to the USDA.
Robin DeMario with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest says the current level of snow can be surprising to some people.
"They'll come from, say, Wenatchee or someplace where there's no snow, or from, say, the westside, and be surprised by the amount of snow that is still present in the National Forest," said DeMario.
The National Forest is still seeing plenty of Nordic skiing and snowshoeing activity at the higher elevations.
Demario says winter recreation opportunities will be available for awhile to come.
"Oh definitely," DeMario said. "Until things start melting out later in the spring, there are still good winter recreation type opportunities in the National Forest."
There's still almost 90 inches of snow at Snoqualmie Pass, which reflects the availability of winter activities in the back country.
Meanwhile, the Forest Service is still employing contractors to groom Forest Service roads for snowmobilers. DeMario said there are different contractors that handle grooming at different locations, such as the Lake Wenatchee area or the Cle Elum area.
Four-wheel vehicles are not allowed on those roads until the snowpack starts to significantly melt off.
DeMario says the Forest Service wants to keep its roads available for winter recreationists for as long as possible into the spring.
Grooming on snowmobile trails on the north and south shore of Lake Chelan has stopped, but there is still lots of snow to snowmobile on in the Chelan Ranger District.