Trail Etiquette

High school skiers share the trails | Photo by Meissner Nordic

Trail Etiquette & Safety Recommendations

Please follow the etiquette guidelines below when skiing on the Meissner trails.  The precedence of the guidelines is by their order.  For example, an advanced/intermediate skier should always yield the right-of-way to children even if the child is moving up the hill and you are moving down the hill.

  1. If somebody appears to be injured or in need of help, it is your responsibility to stop and assist. In case of emergency call 911.
  2. Children and beginning skiers have the right-of-way. Intermediate / advanced skier always yield the classic track to children / beginners.
  3. Downhill skiers have the right-of-way. When an uphill skier meets a downhill skier, the downhill skier has right-of-way.  On steeper sections of trail, the uphill skier should consider stopping and moving to the side of the trail.
  4. Skiers practicing race techniques or race training (i.e. tempo workouts, interval workouts, etc.), must always yield the right-of-way.
  5. Ski on the right-hand side of the trail.
  6. Pass on the left side when overtaking another skier on a downhill or narrow trail, and announce your presence by stating “On your left”.
  7. Adjust your speed to the conditions.
  8. Respect the classic tracks and skate lane.  Please do not skate ski, snowshoe or walk on the classic set tracks. Please do not snowshoe, walk, or run on the skate lane.
  9. When stopped, move to the side of the trail. Don’t stop at the bottom of a hill where other skiers might have trouble avoiding you.
  10. When skiing side-by-side, please be aware of others on the trail and consider skiing single file on busy or narrow trails.
  11. Snowshoers – please follow marked snowshoe trails or stay to the far right of the classic tracks (avoid stepping on the set tracks, this includes the skate lane).
  12. Skiers with Dogs – Per Deschutes National Forest Rules, dogs are not permitted on the trails at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park or anywhere on the north side of Century Drive. There is an area maintained by DogPAC based out of Wanoga Sno-Park for off-leash skate and classic skiing.
  13. Snowbikes are discouraged from using the groomed trails at Meissner (though we think they’re fun!). Instead, check out COTA’s groomed fat bike trails at Wanoga Sno-Park or consider the groomed snowmobile trails that are accessible at Wanoga and beyond for some epic riding.

Specific User Group And Sno-Park Stewardship Guidelines

USFS-Deschutes National Forest Regulations

Groups interested in hosting organized events, programs, or commercial activities at the Meissner Nordic Community Ski Area must obtain special use permits from the U.S. Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest.  The Forest Service limits the number of special activity days at the Meissner area.  Parking is also limited; as a result, a parking management plan is usually required as part of the permit process.  Official permit requests must be submitted to the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District.  Monitoring and enforcement of this requirement is done by the Deschutes National Forest. Here’s a link to the Deschutes National Forest clarification of who is required to obtain special use permits.

Meissner Nordic Board Involvement

To assist us in managing the multiple requests for use of the trails, we request that anyone planning a special event (regardless of if you already have a special use permit or not), please submit a written summary of the event or program with preferred dates for Meissner Nordic Board review at least 30 days prior to the event. This is simply to ensure there are no conflicts between users for the proposed dates.

Special grooming requests for events may be granted by the Meissner Nordic Board.  Cost for special grooming is $175.00 per hour.

General Etiquette For User Groups

For groups with existing special use permits for ongoing classes or programming, please be conscious of the peak user times at Meissner (Holidays and weekends between 9 am and 1 pm) and do your best to be respectful of the general skiing community who will be using the trails with you.  Please consider having your group participate in a trail work day over the course of the season and encourage individuals in your group to donate toward trail grooming or become a supporter of Meissner Nordic.