Trail Maps and Information

See the documents side bar for Ski and Snowshoe trail maps in PDF format.  Listed below are additional details and descriptions of each of the trails.

General Ski Trail Info

How the ski trails are organized

All official ski trails at PSR have their full distance measured from the chalet and returning to the chalet, and all the trail signs on the trails follow this approach as well.  This makes it easy if you want to ski a 10km trail, you simply have to follow the signs for the Yellow at every intersection and you will complete the full Yellow. 

Where to begin

There are multiple different options for starting the ski trails at PSR.  Each trail has its 'official' start; however, because all trails start on the Green, and the Green is bidirectional, any of the start options can be used for any of the trails.  In general, you have the choice of starting by heading west or south from the Chalet. 

Difficulty Ratings

The 'difficulty' of a trail is based entirely on the hills.  For downhills, this includes both the grade of the hill - speed - and the technical difficulty - having to make turns at speed. The distance of a trail in not factored into its difficulty.  All skiers need to assess their own ability to ski longer distances.

Official Ski Trails

Green Trail

Distance: 1.25km
Difficulty: Beginner
Direction: Bidirectional
Trail Lights: Yes

The green trail is the shortest and easiest trail at PSR.  If you are new on skis, we recommend you stick to the Green until you are comfortable both climbing and descending the one small hill on the trail.  This trail is bi-directional meaning you can ski the complete trail in either direction.  Please stay to the right of the trail to allow room for skiers moving in the opposite direction.  Every other trail on the system starts and ends on the Green trail.

Pink Trail

Distance: 1.9km
Difficulty: Intermediate
Direction: Unidirectional
Trail Lights: Yes

Once you are ready to move on from the Green, the Pink trail adds a little more distance and a couple of more significant hills.  This is still a relatively easy trail, but it will provide more variety and interest than the Green.  Note that if you decide to start this trail using the 'west' direction start, you will add 0.5km to the total distance.

Blue Loop

Distance: 3.0km
Difficulty: Intermediate
Direction: Unidirectional
Trail Lights: Yes

The Blue Loop is a great trail for once you are comfortable on your skis, but still want to avoid larger hills.  This is the longest trail you can do under the lights, and is probably the most frequently skied trail on the system.

Blue

Distance: 5.0km
Difficulty: Intermediate
Direction: Unidirectional
Trail Lights: Partial

The Blue is the most popular of the longer trails.  It adds a 2km section to the Blue Loop, which includes a couple of nice downhills as well as two significant up hill climbs.

Red

Distance: 5.3km
Difficulty: Expert
Direction: Unidirectional
Trail Lights: No

The Red trail is almost two different trails.  The first 2km are intermediate level and a very nice section of trail.  The Red and Blue intersect after 2km at Junction 'D'.  Many skiers use this first 'half' of the Red as an alternate way to start the Blue trail. As long as you switch over to the Blue at Junction 'D', intermediate skiers are fine on this part of the Red.

At Junction 'D' the Red trail gets more serious, and this is where the "Expert" rating comes in.  The last 3 km of trail contain several steep uphills as well as two or three very challenging downhills with some sharp corners to handle.  This is a great section of trail for those looking for a workout and to practice technical skills on the downhills.  If that is not what you are looking for, switch to the Blue after 2km.

Jr. Olympic

Distance: 7.5km
Loop Distance: 2.5km
Difficulty: Expert
Loop Difficulty: Advanced
Direction: Unidirectional
Trail Lights: No

The Jr. Olympic essentially consists of the Red trail + the first half of the Yellow trail.  However, at Junction 'D' you need to follow the Blue trail for 300m or so in order to join up with the start of the Yellow.  As the name implies, this trail is designed to challenge you, and you will spend lots of time going up and down hills.  The "expert" rating is due only to the difficult hills on the back half of the Red trail (after Birdfeeder hill).  Doing your final 2km on the Blue rather than the Red will reduce it to "Advanced" level.

Yellow

Distance: 10.0km
Loop Distance: 5.0km
Difficulty: Advanced
Direction: Unidirectional
Trail Lights: No

The Yellow trail is very popular and 10km is a good workout for most skiers.  The Yellow 'loop' is 5km and is added to a combination of the Red and Blue to give a full 10km trail.  The trail begins on the Red, switches over to the Yellow loop, and then finishes on the Blue.  The first 2.5km of the Yellow, shared with the Jr. Olympic, are hilly as described above.  The second half of the Yellow loop is flatter although there is one tricky downhill with a sharp right turn in the final 2km of this loop.

Loppet

Distance: 14.6km
Loop Distance: 4.6km
Difficulty: Advanced
Loop Difficulty: Beginner
Direction: Bidirectional
Trail Lights: No

The Loppet is our most popular distance trail.  This 4.6 km loop is actually the easiest and flattest trail on the system, but because it includes the full Yellow, it has an Advanced rating overall.  This is one of our two 'outer' trails that extend off of the Yellow.  It makes for a pleasant, easy way to add extra distance to your ski without wearing you out with uphills or stressing you with steep downhills.  Many skiers take advantage of the "Loppet Shortcut" (see 'unofficial trails' below) to gain access to the Loppet loop while avoiding most of the hills on the Yellow.

The Loppet trail used to be 7km in total length (loop) and reach all the way to South Porcupine.  A few years ago, the club was denied access to the final section of trail by the property owner, so the trail is now shorter and does not reach South Porcupine.  Because of this history, some skiers still call it the "South Porcupine" or "South End" trail.  The actual name is the Loppet, which is a Norwegian word for "long ski".

Loppet Trail Notice (Jan 2023): A recent change in land ownership along the Loppet trail has allowed us to resume grooming the trail all the way to South Porcupine. You will see a groomed section that continues eastward at the turnaround.  Skiing the extra section adds about 1.25km and brings you to the end of the rotary trail in South Porcupine.

After being closed the past 5 seasons, that section of trail is not shown on our current maps or trail signs.  The full Loppet trail from the chalet to South Porcupine and back is 17kms.  The 'turn around' loop is still groomed for those who want a shorter ski along that route.

Olympic

Distance: 13.5km
Loop Distance: 6.0km
Difficulty: Expert
Loop Difficulty: Expert
Direction: Unidirectional
Trail Lights: No

The Olympic is the other 'outer' trail that extends off of the Yellow.  It is the most challenging trail on our system, and likely the most scenic.  This 6km loop leaves the Yellow loop after the first kilometre.   It starts with a short flat section and you have to remove your skis to cross a road after about 300m.  After that, you will be either going up or down hills for most of the trail.  This has the longest and steepest climbs on the trail system and several downhills involve some sharp turns at speed.  Make sure you can snowplow effectively before attempting this trail. If you have the skills for the hills, this is definitely a trail you will want to try - a favourite of those who ski it regularly.

The official Olympic trail is the Jr. Olympic + the Olympic loop.  That means that the 13.5km does not include the full Yellow trail.  If you do the full yellow, then this becomes a 16km ski.  Adding on the Loppet trail gives you the longest single 'loop' you can do on our trail system at 20.5km in total.

"Unoficial" Trails and Shortcuts

Because the trails intersect at so many different points, there are dozens of different ways of combining these bits of trail together.  Listed below are some of the more popular options.

"Purple Trail"

Red mixed with Blue is Purple - hence this 'unofficial' name.  Starting on the Red for the first 2km, then switching to the Blue at Junction 'D' is very common.  This gives you a 5km trail that is the best of both the Red and Blue.

"Loppet Shortcut" and "Loppet Loop"

These connecting trails are all about hill avoidance.  Many skiers like to ski the Loppet trail, but they don't like having to do the hills on the first half of the Yellow (Jr. Olympic) to get there.  The Loppet Shortcut allows skiers to bypass those hills and join up with the Yellow just before the Loppet trail begins.

The "Loppet Loop" allows skiers to double back after doing most of the 2nd half of the Yellow and reconnect to the Loppet trail again.  This section was more widely used when the Loppet trail used to connect to South Porcupine as it created a 10km loop from South Porcupine and back.

"Blue Extension"

This is an odd little diversion towards the end of the Blue trail where you can briefly cross over and follow the Red trail for a few hundred metres and then rejoin the Blue by crossing the open power line at Hydro Hill. 

"Olympic Hill Bypass"

The final big downhill on the Olympic trail has a sharp right turn that can be difficult even for good skiers.  There is an alternate trail that avoids this hill, and it is indicated with a gray line on the 'outer trails' map.  When you take this option, you will end up back on an earlier part of the Olympic and will have to ski backwards for 200m or so and then cross over where trail sections come together and rejoin the final section of the Olympic.