BLM pushes White Mountains winter season to Nov. 1 for lack of snow

The Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday pushed the start of the winter season in the White Mountains National Recreation Area and Steese National Conservation Area back to Nov. 1, saying snow cover isn't expected to reach its 6-inch target in time.

The switch normally comes Oct. 15. Until it does, summer rules stay in place, so wheeled off-highway vehicles can keep running under summer weight limits for 17 more days, according to the agency's announcement. Winter rules allow snowmobiles only and keep wheeled machines off the trails. The agency has said wheeled vehicles damage the trails and complicate grooming.

For most visitors, the White Mountains are a winter place. The million-acre recreation area, about an hour's drive from Fairbanks, has 13 public-use cabins and about 250 miles of groomed winter trails, and travel gets much easier once creeks, rivers and bogs freeze. "Most of the cabins become difficult to reach in the summer," the BLM says on its White Mountains page.

One of the area's main entry points is also shut for now. The Wickersham Dome Trailhead, at about mile 28 of the Elliott Highway, closed Oct. 1 for parking lot and entrance road construction and is set to stay closed through Oct. 21, or until work is done for the season, Alaska News reported last month.

Snow is on the way, though not much yet. The National Weather Service in Fairbanks' zone forecast issued Wednesday afternoon calls for about an inch Thursday night in the White Mountains and high terrain south of the Yukon River, with more chances of snow next Tuesday and Wednesday.

The BLM said it will announce an earlier start if the snow reaches its target before Nov. 1. Winter rules then run through April 30. Hiking, horseback riding and bicycling stay open year-round.

The date has moved both ways before. In 2022, the agency held summer rules through Oct. 31 because the snow hadn't come. In 2024, snow piled up sooner than forecast, and it moved the winter start up to Oct. 25 from a planned Nov. 1.

Some trail work is still underway and some areas may be poorly marked, the agency said. It recommends carrying its georeferenced PDF maps, which can be used with a phone's GPS where there is no cell service.