Anchorage recorded its first official measurable snow on October 1, and it was a tenth of an inch. Alaska's News Source reported that the first official freeze came late the same day. Nobody skied on it. Still, the Hillside trail system has been getting ready for winter since July. The biggest change this season isn't how the trails will ski. It's where the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage wants skiers to get on them.
The First Snow Is the Least Important One
The Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage, or NSAA, grooms the Hillside and Far North Bicentennial trails. Its grooming page puts Anchorage's average first grooming day at November 11 and says base work starts in July. The gap between the October 1 dusting and that average date is what the base-building process needs. NSAA lays it out as a sequence:
- Dirt and tree work. Once the trails dry out, crews cut dead and downed trees, pull stumps, and chip or haul away brush.
- Mowing twice. The second pass comes after the leaves fall. Mulching them into the grass keeps the leaf layer from insulating the ground or turning slick, which would stop the first snow from bonding to frozen dirt.
- Bonding the first snow. The goal is a thick first layer that sticks hard to frozen ground. Packing cold, delicate snow too early breaks the crystals into "sugar snow." Packing wet snow too early can make ice.
- First packing. Crews roll, compact or blade the snow into an even layer, depending on temperature and moisture.
- Snow cat grooming. The Pisten Bullys cover 50 to 80 percent more kilometers per hour than a snow machine. If they go out before the base is ready, the treads cut through and "flip" grass, rocks and dirt on top of the snow.
- Tracks. Groomers need 2 to 3 inches of consolidated base before they set track. Without it, a dirt strip shows along the edge of the trail.
NSAA says the cats get tested in its Kincaid operations yard first, then on flat trails. Its groomers often find the bond holds on flat ground and fails on the first hill, which leaves a dirt streak up the middle. That matters on the Hillside, which has plenty of hills.
What Crews Fixed While the Trails Were Still Dirt
According to the October 2026 issue of The Alaska Nordic Skier, NSAA's Operations crew finished two Hillside projects this summer. The work took a little over three weeks, with several rain days in between.
Richter Loop is classic-only, and it was full of dead trees and stumps. Crews hauled several big loads of beetle kill to a parking lot, and some trail users got free firewood out of it. The loop also had pinch points and a rough surface from exposed roots and rocks. Rebuilding the uphills was the hardest part because there was very little extra dirt to work with. NSAA says the loop will now be "much easier to groom and more pleasant to ski."
The South Bivouac Connector was a primitive trail, badly off-camber on the steep climb to and from the parking lot on Basher Drive. It was originally built with an "up" trail and a "down" trail. Because it hadn't been maintained, grooming had been limited to the up side. It's now 12 feet wide and level. The project took three days. There were no trees to remove, but there were plenty of rocks, and the crew ran them through a MeriCrusher to turn big rocks into small ones.
The Richter work makes an existing loop easier to groom and ski. The South Bivouac work changes how skiers get into the system.
The Rebuild Is Meant to Change Where Skiers Park
NSAA states the purpose of the connector project directly:
"We hope this restoration will encourage more trail users to park and enter the Hillside Trail system from Basher Drive instead of using the Abbott and Hilltop parking lots."
Someone driving in from Abbott Road usually treats the Abbott and Hilltop lots as the front door. NSAA's trail map labels both the Hilltop Ski Area lot and the Abbott Road Hillside lot as parking for the system. The restored connector improves the existing route in from the north. The question for this winter is whether the Basher Drive end can handle more cars.
Basher Drive Has the Smallest Lot in the System
The Municipality's Basher Trailhead sits where Campbell Airstrip Road ends at Basher Drive. A June 11, 2026 Parks & Recreation memo says the lot holds about 16 vehicles and fills regularly at peak times. Overflow cars park along Campbell Airstrip Road and Basher Drive, and the memo lists the safety concerns that creates: congestion, short sight lines, winter road conditions and restricted emergency access. A stakeholder summary later in the same memo puts capacity at about 20.
Winter makes it worse. The memo says snow storage and ice cut into usable parking, and that Campbell Airstrip Road and Basher Drive are the only way in and out for residents of the Stuckagain Heights neighborhood as well as trail users.
A bigger lot is funded but not built. Anchorage voters approved $300,000 for design through the Chugach State Park Service Area bond in April 2025, and another $1.725 million on the April 2026 bond for construction-phase services, an extension of the Lost Cabin Trail, and operations and maintenance. The design went from 60 spaces at 35 percent to 45 spaces after community feedback about scale and traffic. The revised 65 percent design now shows 52 spaces, including 6 ADA-accessible spaces.
So the connector is wider this winter, and the lot at its end is still the old one. Here are the access points near the Hillside and what's known about each:
| Access point | What it reaches | Parking status this winter |
|---|---|---|
| Abbott Road Hillside lot | Hillside trail system | Labeled trail parking on NSAA's map |
| Hilltop Ski Area lot | Hillside trails and Hilltop | Labeled trail parking on NSAA's map |
| Basher Trailhead | Far North Bicentennial trails, Wolverine Bowl, Near Point | About 16 vehicles; expansion to 52 spaces designed but not built |
| Glen Alps Trailhead | Chugach State Park | $5 per vehicle per day, or a 2026 annual decal |
If you have a 2026 Alaska State Parks annual day-use decal for Glen Alps, it cost $60 and expires December 31, 2026, according to DNR. The daily rate is on DNR's fee table. DNR also notes that some summer trails out of Glen Alps make poor winter routes because of avalanche and other hazards, and that Upper Huffman is the only snow-vehicle access point.
Hilltop Runs on Its Own Snow Clock
Hilltop Ski Area, on Abbott Road next to the Nordic trailheads, doesn't wait for the natural base the way NSAA's groomers do. Hilltop says all its trails have 100 percent snowmaking capability.
Even with snowmaking, Hilltop opened slowly last season. The Anchorage Daily News reported on November 27, 2025 that Hilltop would open that weekend. It opened to season-pass holders Friday, November 28, and to the public Saturday, November 29. Alaska's News Source reported that about 15 percent of trails were open that weekend and that crews were making snow whenever the weather allowed. As of mid-October, Hilltop hadn't posted a 2026–27 opening date.
Season passes are on sale now. Hilltop's shop lists the 2026/27 adult pass at $650, with a free companion pass for one child 6 and under when you buy a full-price adult pass. The other tiers are $600 for ages 7 to 18, $600 for college students and first responders, $450 for seniors, and $450 for ages 6 and under. The lifts are the same as before: a triple Riblet chairlift, a magic carpet and a platter lift.
November's Calendar, Before Tracks Are Set
Most of what's scheduled for November doesn't depend on groomed trails, based on NSAA's season calendar:
- November 7: Nordic Nights Benefit and Fashion Show at the Wildbirch Hotel, supporting NSAA's community outreach and Ski Mobile.
- November 13: A free wax clinic from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Kincaid Park Wax Bunker, run by NSAA and AMH, with stations for glide wax, kick wax and structure.
- November: NSAA plans to post its adult lesson schedule and registration, with lessons starting "as soon as snow conditions allow."
- November 21–22: Anchorage Winter Start.
- November 30: Junior Nordic begins.
- December 6: AMH Anchorage Cup #1.
Junior Nordic runs November 30, 2026 through March 13, 2027 and includes Hillside practice groups. Fees are $350 for weekday sessions, $200 for Saturday sessions, and $100 for ski rental.
The 2026–27 trail pins that pay for the grooming come with NSAA membership. Trail Member is $60 a year for an individual or $100 for a family. NSAA says memberships fund winter grooming and year-round trail maintenance, and pins can be picked up at AMH, Hoarding Marmot, the NSAA office or NSAA events.
If you live on the Hillside and the Abbott lot is full on a snowy Saturday this winter, the restored South Bivouac Connector is now a wider, level way in from Basher Drive. Just remember that the lot there was built for about 16 cars.
Whether you're within walking distance of the Richter Loop or weighing how close you want to be to a trailhead, I'm glad to talk through how the Hillside works through the seasons. Emma Shibe knows these neighborhoods from the trailheads in. Let's Connect.
