Washington · Cross-country skiing

Backside Trail

0.2 mi
round trip
115 ft
climb
3,071 ft
high point
Out and back
route
Apr–Oct
best months

Backside Trail is a short out-and-back cross-country ski route in Washington, about 3 miles from the town of Fallon. The trail is only about 0.38 miles long, with a high point of 3,071 feet and a low of 2,977 feet, and it gains about 115 feet of elevation before returning to the start. The route is moderate in difficulty, and the steepest part comes at about 0.12 miles into the climb, where the grade reaches 14 percent. The trail works well as a short loop. Sunset Trail, another cross-country ski route, lies just 0.1 miles away, and the West End Primitive Trail and Pine Ridge Trail are both within a third of a mile for those who want to mix in a hike. The weather station at Pullman, about 7.6 miles away, sits roughly 550 feet lower than the trail, so temperatures on the high ground run cooler. Winter is the natural season for skiing here, with typical highs around 38°F and lows near 26°F in January and snow on about five days that month.

  • Best time to go · Apr–Oct

    Best time to visit Backside Trail

    Best months: April–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      38° / 26°

      14 wet · 5 snow

    2. Feb

      42° / 27°

      11 wet · 3 snow

    3. Mar

      49° / 31°

      12 wet · 2 snow

    4. Apr

      57° / 35°

      11 wet · 1 snow

    5. May

      66° / 42°

      10 wet

    6. Jun

      73° / 46°

      8 wet

    7. Jul

      84° / 50°

      4 wet

    8. Aug

      85° / 50°

      4 wet

    9. Sep

      76° / 44°

      5 wet

    10. Oct

      61° / 36°

      9 wet

    11. Nov

      46° / 31°

      13 wet · 2 snow

    12. Dec

      37° / 25°

      14 wet · 5 snow

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Pullman 2 Nw, WA, 7.6 mi away at 2,515 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

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0.38-mile out-and-back trail in Washington with 239 ft of elevation gain.

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Headwaters Loop

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Foothill Road

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0.56-mile out-and-back route on Foothill Road in Washington with 98 feet of elevation gain.

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Foothill Road

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Foothill Road is a 1.36-mile out-and-back route in Washington with 489 feet of elevation gain.

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Foothill Road

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1.28-mile out-and-back route in Washington with 929 ft of elevation gain.

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Velo

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0.27-mile out-and-back ski route in Washington with 198 ft elevation gain.

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National Forest Development Road 377

~44 min drive

0.87-mile out-and-back road route with 246 ft gain in Idaho.

Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors