Golf season wraps up once the snow comes in, but that doesn’t mean everyone packs up and heads south. Plenty of our members stick around the Tobacco Valley all winter, and honestly, it’s hard to blame them. Here’s what they get up to.
Kootenai National Forest | Lake Koocanusa | Purcell and Salish Mountains
Pull up a map and you’ll notice Eureka sits roughly between Whitefish, MT, Sandpoint, ID, and Fernie, BC. People travel a long way to ski all three. In between, you’ve got the Kootenai National Forest and Lake Koocanusa. So when members want a good winter day, they usually don’t have to go far to find one.
Some of these are close enough to do on a whim. Others are worth planning a whole day around. Here are five of our favorites, starting with the one members talk about the most, plus a bonus pick at the end.
1. Powder skiing at Turner Mountain
About 2 hours from Wilderness Club | 2,110 ft vertical drop | 250″ average annual snowfall
Turner sits about 22 miles north of Libby, and it’s about as old-school as ski hills get. It’s a nonprofit run by volunteers, with one double chairlift and 22 named runs. SKI Magazine once put it in the running for best lift-served powder in the country, which surprises people right up until they ski it. It’s only open Friday through Sunday. A little over half the terrain is groomed, and most of what’s left is advanced glades. There’s no base village and there aren’t any lift lines. What you get instead, if you time it right after a storm, is a whole lot of fresh snow.
2. A full resort day at Whitefish Mountain
About 1 hour from Wilderness Club | 3,000+ skiable acres | Night skiing available
Some days you want the whole package: a gondola, long groomers, terrain parks, and a lodge where you can get a decent lunch. Whitefish Mountain Resort has all of that, and it’s about an hour from the club. It’s also one of the most highly rated mountains in the West. Readers ranked it No. 19 on SKI Magazine’s list of the top ski resorts in the West in the 2025 Reader Survey, and it regularly earns a spot on best-of lists from other respected industry publications. It feels a lot different from Turner, a lot more polished, and it’s the easier pick if you’ve got kids who need lessons. Drop them off, go ski, and meet up at the lodge before the drive home.
3. Ice fishing on Lake Koocanusa
Minutes from Wilderness Club | Kokanee and rainbow trout
Lake Koocanusa is a 90-mile reservoir (the name is a mashup of Kootenai, Canada, and USA), and in winter it turns into a pretty solid ice fishing spot. Most people are after kokanee salmon or rainbow trout, though a bull trout or cutthroat shows up now and then. Bring an auger, a shelter, and a thermos of something hot. Water levels on the reservoir shift through the winter, so check ice conditions before you head out. After a couple of hard ski days, a slow afternoon on the ice is kind of the point.
4. Snowmobiling the Ten Lakes Scenic Area
About 15,700 acres | 89+ miles of backcountry trail
North of Eureka, the Kootenai National Forest has some of the least crowded snowmobiling in the Northern Rockies. The Ten Lakes Scenic Area alone covers close to 16,000 acres. Stick to the groomed routes if you want an easy afternoon, or head into the backcountry and spend the whole day up high. This is real mountain riding, not a loop around a rental lot.
5. Skiing across the border in Fernie, BC
About 1.5 hours from Wilderness Club | Passport required
Eureka is only about 14 minutes from the Canadian border, which puts Fernie well within day trip range. Fernie Alpine Resort has a big reputation for deep snow, and the town itself is worth hanging around in after the lifts close. Grab dinner before you head back. Just don’t forget your passport, and give yourself a little extra time at the crossing on the way home.
Bonus: Cross-country skiing at Dog Creek Lodge
About 45 minutes from Wilderness Club | 30+ km of groomed Nordic trails | Kids 11 and under ski free
Not everyone in the group downhill skis, and that’s fine. Dog Creek Lodge & Nordic Center in Olney, about 45 minutes down Highway 93, has more than 30 kilometers of groomed cross-country trails winding through private land and the Stillwater State Forest. It’s one of the most affordable, family-friendly winter days around: an adult day pass is $22, kids 11 and under ski free with an adult, and a full rental package (skis, boots, and poles) runs $17 (2026-27 rates). Snowshoes and fat bikes are available to rent, and dogs are welcome on the trails. Cross-country skiing is easy to pick up, so it’s a great way to get the whole crew outside without the lift-ticket price tag.
Planning a winter week
Powder on a budget: Turner Mountain | Friday through Sunday only
Full-service resort: Whitefish Mountain Resort | about 1 hr
Cross-country skiing: Dog Creek Lodge | about 45 min | kids 11 and under free
Nearest airport: Glacier Park International (FCA) | about 1 hr
Canadian border: about 14 min | Fernie, BC makes an easy day trip
Closest to home: Ice fishing on Lake Koocanusa | just minutes away
Built for both seasons
Most people fall for Wilderness Club in July, out on the course or down at the lake. What brings a lot of them back in January is everything within a short drive: a volunteer-run powder hill in one direction, a big resort in the other, Canada just up the road, and a frozen lake right in the middle of it all.
Learn More: https://thewildernessclub.com/montana-lifestyle/
Sources: Turner Mountain Ski Resort (Wikipedia, skiturner.com); Whitefish Mountain Resort; SKI Magazine 2025 Reader Survey (via SAM Magazine); Dog Creek Lodge & Nordic Center; Fernie Alpine Resort; Kootenai National Forest and Ten Lakes Scenic Area (U.S. Forest Service); Glacier Country regional tourism data. Drive times are approximate and measured from Wilderness Club in Eureka, MT.
