Outdoors

It’s 7am on another powder day. Time to check the snow report while sipping your morning coffee and planning the day ahead. The staff at FAR help with favourite stashes and runs from each of the five bowls to keep you smiling all day long.

Fernie offers some of the finest cross-country skiing in all of the Kootenays. The Fernie Nordic Society offers nordic skier only trails at the Fernie Golf and Country Club in town and at the Elk Valley Nordic Centre near Mount Fernie Provincial Park. There is also Nordic skiing to be found on Island Lake Road from the lower parking lot, in the Montane area of Fernie, and up at Fernie Alpine Resort. So to help you make the most of it, we’ve put together a few of our favourite loops for you to enjoy!

The Lizard Range’s wild and rugged peaks seem to have a knack for capturing moist weather patterns holding them hostage while snow falls hard and heavy for days. This makes Fernie the ideal winter playground for countless outdoor pursuits. 

Sometimes, when the snow flies covering the Valley in a blanket of white, fluffy powder, instead of heading to the hill with the masses, a solo walk meandering in the trees is just what you need. Here are three of my three favourite places to “get lost” in winter.

A cemetery is the surest place to find peace. St. Margaret's Cemetery in Fernie is one such cemetery. Old stones mix with old trees, standing quietly together just above town, touched only by the passing breeze.
 

Sometimes all Jesse wants is to hike alone. Alone enough to feel the thud of her boots against the earth. To have your face tickled by the breeze as it blows between yellowing larch needles.