Hidden Valley Ski Resort tentatively set to open December 20

“We have a couple of days of cold weather coming our way, followed by highs of plus six out in Elkwater, and then some future cold weather. We are going to make the opening day call next week, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday.”

Making sure the resort is open safely, with the required snow, is a priority, explained Dodds.

“We are somewhat reliant on Mother Nature to give us snowmaking conditions. It was interesting this year. On Nov. 23, I believe it was bare ground. On Nov. 24, we had a bunch of snow come,” Dodds said.

“Since then, our folks have been out there making snowmaking. They’ve blown about 4.7 million gallons of snow. It takes, on a good year, where we have an average snowfall, about seven to nine million gallons of snowmaking,” he added.

“We’re a little under where we hope to be, but with any luck, the weather forecast will change again, and it will be cold all the way through the week, and we can make snow, and we’ll get some natural stuff.”

There are a few changes at the ski hill this year.

“We’re back to season passes for families, adults, seniors, youth, and so on. Essentially, it’s direct to lift. So you can purchase a pass online, upload your image, sign the waiver, and pick up your pass at the resort,” Dodds said.

“Then you can skip the ticket line, go right on to the chairlift and start enjoying your time at Hidden Valley,” he added.

“The same goes for our lift tickets. You’ll notice that if you visit our page on albertaparks.ca/hiddenvalley, we’re back to our 2019 pricing. There are very few ski resorts still charging the same amount of money that they did in 2019, and we are luckily one of them.”

Dodds said they have also brought back books of five passes.

“That was popular before COVID, books to use as giveaways or stocking stuffers. So you can now pick those up,” Dodd said.

“We’ve also changed some of our lessons. We still offer public, group, and private lessons. We brought back camps. There are now four-week ski camps, on the holidays over the Christmas and March breaks, and on Sundays,” he added.

“We’re trying to run some higher-end camps for carving, short turns, moguls. A cool opportunity to come out and either refresh your skiing technique so that you can go and ride in the mountains or learn how to ski for the first time.”

Some new things coming up throughout the season will be posted to Hidden Valley’s social media and events page, according to Dodds.

Once the season begins, Hidden Valley will be open Wednesday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the lift open at 9 a.m.

During holidays, the hours are expected to extend a little later.

If the hill opens on Dec. 20, it will stay open until Dec. 23, then close Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

It will then open again from Boxing Day until Dec. 31, before closing New Year’s Day, and re-opening on Jan. 2, 2026.

Staffing is in place for the season, but they are looking for one more CSIA-certified ski instructor.

Dodds said they will do their best to announce weather closures.

“If you bought a ticket for Dec. 20 and we’re not gonna be open because we don’t have enough snow on the ground, we’re going to automatically refund tickets,” Dodds said.

“Cold weather closures, when the weather gets to -20 C and below, that’s a guest safety thing that’s really important,” Dodds said.

“Our lift is a 12-minute ride that can get quite chilly at the end of the day.”

Dodds said that other things are also in the works around Cypress Hills Provincial Park for the winter.

“We still are planning on grooming 15 to 20 kilometres worth of Nordic and cross-country ski trails. We’re trying to groom some hiking trails for snowshoeing, trail running, and walking in the park this year. So, pay attention to those on our trail reports,” Dodds said.

“The lakes are coming along. I can’t tell you how thick the ice is, but we have already seen some people out there ice fishing, which is great,” he added.

“We have winter camping all year long, and we do have the comfort and backcountry cabins that are available for rent in winter. And there might be a few surprises out there this year as well over the course of this break.”

A secondary outdoor skating area in Elkwater is being proposed at one of the marina parking lots.

They are also looking to turn the Old Baldy campground loop into a multi-use walking and hiking trail.

The skating track in the campground loop, seen in prior years, isn’t expected to be done this year.

“We found that in previous years, with how the weather’s so variable, it’s just a lot of work to maintain. So we’re hoping this skating area is a little easier for us to look after and still provide an opportunity for people to get out,” Dodds said.

Cypress Hills Provincial Park is also still offering tree permits online for those looking to cut down a Christmas tree.

“Permits are available up until Dec. 24. Great way to come up there and have a family activity, to head out, go to the top of the plateau, grab a tree, bring it back home,” Dodd said.

“The learning centre is open on the weekends between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. So it’s a great place to go. There’s a little toboggan hill out there. You can head inside and warm up. There’s a hot kitchen, and the ability to have a hot chocolate.”

by Jesse Gill

Hidden Valley Ski Resort tentatively set to open December 20

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