49 Degrees North

Tucked in the northeastern corner of Washington State, 49 Degrees North defies some of the expectations guests may have of Washington skiing. The resort offers light, dry powder and minimal crowding even on weekends, and offers a local, non-commercialized experience in lieu of the luxury its neighbors have.

Size

49 Degrees North is a midsized ski area with primarily tree-defined terrain. The resort claims a skiable footprint of 2,325 acres, which would theoretically make 49 Degrees North the second largest ski area orbiting the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area and one of the largest ski areas in Washington State. However, by our measurements, the actual skiable footprint is only 1,308 acres, which is in line with several other resorts in the state of Washington, although not class-leading.

Terrain Layout

There are two base areas at 49 Degrees North. The main base area is where most visitors and all overnight RV campers will start their day, and the much smaller Sunrise Basin base area is primarily geared towards season pass holders, as it does not have any ticketing or rental services.

49 Degrees North consists of two main peaks, Chewelah Peak and Angel Peak. Chewelah Peak is the main summit where three significant lifts converge, two of which are base-to-summit chairlifts out from each of the bases. On the far west end of the resort, Angel Peak contains its own isolated pod of terrain, although the chairlift accessing it is usually only open on certain weekends and holidays.

Beginner Terrain

While there may appear to be a fair number of green trails at 49 Degrees North, the only true beginner terrain exists off the lower-mountain Payday chairlift. This lift is the next step up for beginners who have graduated from the first-timers’ Gold Fever Conveyor and it features green runs of varying pitches and steepness.

However, any green run not originating from the Payday chairlift or Gold Fever Conveyor is basically just a green run in name only. Rather than a true beginner run, the green trails at other parts of 49 Degrees North are just the easiest ways down from the summit or a traverse—and, as a result, these runs are essentially intermediate in difficulty. The first halves of Silver Ridge and Huckleberry Ridge are wide open and groomed, which initially would seem great for beginners and light intermediates to cruise. However, both of these runs unavoidably funnel into much steeper and narrower segments towards the bottom that are not beginner-friendly whatsoever. Beaver Slide is a particularly odd trail to mark as a green, as it leads down to a flat area where the mid-station of the old Bonanza chairlift used to be. With that now gone, the only real way out is a trail that leads to a black diamond. Overall, beginners at 49 Degrees North will face a rather steep difficulty curve when progressing from the lower-mountain learning areas to the rest of the mountain.

Intermediate Terrain

Intermediate guests will find plenty of terrain to enjoy at 49 Degrees North. Green runs not on the Payday chairlift are challenging and long enough to entertain most intermediate skiers, plus the resort offers a solid selection of blue runs of varying difficulty across most mountain areas. In recent years, 49 Degrees North has made continual improvements to their grooming fleet, and more runs of varying difficulties are regularly groomed. Intermediates looking to push themselves can choose from a plethora of black diamonds that are wide and immaculately groomed. Still, many runs remain ungroomed, and intermediates can test their mettle with bumped and moguled runs.

Somewhat mellower intermediate terrain exists off of the Grubstake chairlift, but ever since the Northern Spirit Express was installed, Grubstake seldomly runs. This means that accessing this milder terrain usually requires skiing from the summit down a very steep blue run just to get to this terrain pod, which negates its effectiveness as progression terrain from the lower-mountain greens.

A cool and unique run at 49 Degrees North is Hobbit Forest, a gladed area with a very mild, almost beginner-level pitch that serves as a wonderful introduction to gladed skiing for lower level skiers and snowboarders.

TRAIL MAP

Advanced Terrain

Black diamonds are arguably the strongest part of the 49 Degrees North experience. The variety in advanced terrain is excellent, with the resort featuring lengthy groomed bombers perfect for high speeds and carving, long mogul runs for a sustained technical challenge, and a rich selection of gladed skiing that ranks among the best in the Pacific Northwest.

Glades can be found on almost every chairlift at 49 Degrees North, ranging from the thicker woods between defined runs to thinner, decently-large official glade trails. The glades at 49 Degrees North also feature different tree densities and gradients, meaning there is something for everybody and good snow preservation during and after snowfall.

When open, Angel Peak is worth checking out for advanced visitors thanks to its steeper pitches and limited grooming. While there are some intermediate runs on the trail map, this area will appeal most to the advanced skier.

Expert Terrain

For those seeking truly harrowing expert terrain, 49 Degrees North doesn’t offer much in the way of chutes, cliffs, rock outcroppings or perilous pitches. The double black diamonds marked on the map are primarily glades next to a single black diamond run. The only true exception to this rule is Lower Cy’s Glades, which is simultaneously very steep and densely forested. The single black diamonds have a lot to offer for those who enjoy that level of challenge, but those seeking adrenaline-pumping runs may have to look elsewhere.

Terrain Parks

For most of the ski season, 49 Degrees North has two separate terrain parks. A small terrain park exists very close to the top of the mountain next to the Silver Ridge run, and has a steep narrow entrance and 2-4 jump features. It's a small terrain park, but a fun way to start your run before heading anywhere to the skier's right of the Northern Spirit Express chairlift.

The main terrain park at 49 Degrees North exists along the Claim Jumper run. For most of the ski season, this terrain park starts at the bottom half of Claim Jumper below the steep segment, giving it a very mild pitch loaded with many jumps, boxes, rails and other snow features as it runs alongside the green run Silver Dollar. On some occasions, this terrain park can extend all the way up Claim Jumper close to the top terminal of the Grubstake Chairlift. While neither park is particularly high-end, 49 Degrees North offers a pretty competitive setup when compared to neighboring ski areas.

Snow Quality and Resiliency

Although located in Washington State, 49 Degrees North does not see quite as much of the wet and heavy accumulation that most Pacific Northwest ski resorts are notorious for. Rather,this ski area sits in the Selkirk Mountains much closer to the Rockies than the coast. While not on the level of Utah or Colorado snow, fresh snow at 49 Degrees North is overall light, somewhat dry, and powdery, and those riding here on one of the resort's many powder days will enjoy some of the highest quality snow to be found in Washington State.

49 Degrees North experiences weather patterns that typically offer frequent snow refreshes but relatively low accumulation numbers per snowstorm, which averages out to a respectable average seasonal snowfall average of around 225 inches. The fairly consistent refreshes help counteract the fact that 49 Degrees North’s fairly low elevation can result in frequent freeze-thaw cycles.

Navigation

Overall, getting around 49 Degrees North is a pretty straightforward experience. The major weakness of navigating this ski area is that signage can be hard to read due to inconvenient placement, and the resort lacks signage outright at some significant junctions.

Still, it is difficult to truly get lost, despite the decently-sized footprint. All runs will eventually funnel down into one of three areas; the main base area, the bottom of Sunrise Basin, or the valley with the bottom terminals of the Silver Lode and Angel Peak chairlifts—which also has a traverse down to the main base area. From the main base area and the bottom of Sunrise Basin, the Northern Spirit Express and Sunrise Basin chairlifts lead straight from their respective base areas right to the summit, meaning almost all of the ski resort can be accessed in a singular lift ride, save for Angel Peak.

Lifts

For a very long time, 49 Degrees North had a reputation of being the largest US ski area without a detachable chairlift. However, their Northern Spirit Express ended that reputation, becoming the longest detachable chairlift in all of Washington State. The Northern Spirit Express is still the only detachable chairlift at 49 Degrees North, but considering it is a base-to-summit chairlift that serves a large amount of terrain, most guests will find that a lot of their lift rides throughout the day will be on this high speed lift.

The rest of the chairlifts at 49 Degrees North are older fixed-grip chairlifts, some of which were purchased secondhand from other ski resorts. No lifts except for the Northern Spirit Express have safety bars. Some of the fixed-grip chairlift rides are more arduous than others, ranging from the reasonably-fast-feeling Silver Lodge double chair, which provides helper service to the front side of the mountain, to the painfully-slow Sunrise quad chair, which provides the only access out of the Sunrise Basin base.

Crowds

But even though many of its lifts are slow, 49 Degrees North is almost never crowded. Even on powder days, weekends, and holidays, the resort is one of the least crowded ski areas in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene region. On busy days, the most crowded areas will be at the top of Chewelah Peak, where multiple chairlifts converge, and the top segment of the Silver Ridge, but it's never overwhelming.

The layout of the mountain results in long top-to-bottom or near-bottom runs, and long chairlift rides help spread out crowds out on the slopes. The worst lift queues are almost never more than a couple minutes.

On the busiest days, the relatively small Little Calispell Lodge at the main base area and Cy’s Cafe in Sunrise Basin can be a bit pressed for seating. However, with the recent addition of a second base lodge next to the Little Calispell Lodge, finding seating has been less of an issue.

The parking lots at both base areas are very close to the slopes, so those who bring their own lunches and keep it in their car can bypass any waits entirely, without too much walking.

On-Mountain Facilities

49 Degrees North offers pretty run-of-the-mill facilities that aren't fancy, but handle the visitation levels well. At the main base area, the Little Calispell Lodge is a comfy, mid-sized facility offering a bar, cafeteria style foodservice, two different restroom facilities, and ticket sales. There is plenty of seating both indoors and on the deck outdoors, with the outdoor seating given covers and patio heaters during the coldest months. A downside of the Little Calispell Lodge is how cramped the restrooms are.

New for the 2023-24 ski season is an additional lodge built next to the Little Calispell Lodge; this “Sprung Structure” provides a major increase in available indoor seating, although the construction wasn't entirely finished during its inaugural season. Starting in the 2024-25 ski season, this new structure will be where all of 49 Degrees North’s skier services will be located.

At the bottom of Sunrise Basin is a very minimalistic, relaxing base area that consists of a deck with a small amount of seating attached to two Yurts and a restroom building. One yurt is for employees only, but the other houses Cy’s Cafe, which provides some seating with shelter from the elements and a small menu for food and alcoholic beverages. The restroom building can have long waits at times, as it has three individual private restrooms, but they’re heated, clean, private, and rather roomy.

Mountain Aesthetic

On clear days, 49 Degrees North has beautiful views of the surrounding forested mountain ranges and the nearby valleys. Besides the base areas and the Nordic Center yurt, there is no other visible development for miles around 49 Degrees North besides the Flowery Trail Road itself.

To the north is Calispell Peak, a mountain just tall enough to have an above-treeline mountaintop to contrast the densely forested surrounding landscape. When skiing on the Lost Dutchman run, there are great views of the valley below where the small town of Chewelah can be seen, and looking south from the summit offers beautiful views of a rural landscape extending all the way to another ski area, Mt. Spokane. To the east, more mountains and a valley containing the Pend Orielle River can be seen. There is absolutely no village development or on-site lodging, and most of the buildings in the main base area are surrounded by trees, so 49 Degrees North is a place visually defined by nature with little development unrelated to the ski area at this time. However, this will soon change in the Sunrise Basin, with numerous parcels being developed to eventually accommodate private houses and condos below the base area.

Getting There and Parking

49 Degrees North is about an hour and twenty minutes from downtown Spokane and an hour and forty minutes from Coeur d’Alene. The best route during winter is via US-395 approaching from the west, where roads are generally well-maintained. In contrast, the eastern approach from Idaho involves steeper, less-traveled roads that can be trickier in icy conditions. The nearest airport with commercial flights is Spokane International Airport, approximately an hour and a half away in good weather.

Parking at 49 Degrees North is free and requires no advanced reservations. The walk from the parking lots to the base areas and lifts is a very short one, which also makes bringing your own lunch and stowing it in your vehicle or tailgating a viable and convenient option. It's very easy to find any necessary skier services upon arriving thanks to the simple layout of the main base area. Numerous employees often wait around the main parking lot, offering to help carry the gear of guests up the small hill to the lodges. The main parking lots are unpaved, and can be unpleasantly muddy on days when snow isn't layered over it.

As for Sunrise Basin, there is a limited amount of parking available, but this base area is only usable for season pass holders as there are no skier services other than the available food and restrooms. Those who can park here will be treated to an extremely short walk from their vehicle to the slopes.

Lodging

There is no on-site lodging at 49 Degrees North, although there is some overnight RV parking available on a first come first serve basis at affordable prices. Some RV parking spots have electrical connections, but no water or sewage RV connections are available.

The nearest lodging available is in the town of Chewelah, a short twenty minute drive away, and almost all of the available lodging consists of budget motels; the only actual hotel in the area is the recently opened Mistequa Casino Hotel. Additional budget oriented lodging is also available a little farther away in the towns of Newport and Colville, although those wanting more options will have to drive farther to Spokane.

Après-ski

49 Degrees North has no après-ski scene, as the bars and food service close shortly after the lifts stop spinning for the day. The ski area is surrounded by forests and rural communities, so at first glance there isn't very much to do after a day of skiing on the slopes unless you drive to Spokane or Coeur d'Alene. However, within a thirty minute drive of 49 Degrees North are two casinos which can provide a fresh and unique après-ski experience with plenty of food and entertainment for an evening.

Verdict

49 Degrees North avoids a lot of the weaknesses of Washington skiing, namely the lack of crowds, lower prices and lighter, dryer snow, and can be great, affordable fun for intermediates and advanced skiers. However, the lack of truly beginner terrain, no onsite lodging, older lifts, and rural setting may make this place a tough sell for vacationing families. Still, 49 Degrees North is very much worth a weekend trip or as part of a broader ski vacation through the Pacific Northwest, especially when factoring the how many neighboring ski resorts are also on the Indy Pass.

Pricing

49 Degrees North offers a rather affordable skiing experience, with tickets cleverly priced at $49 for non-holiday weekdays, and a peak ticket price of $72 for weekends and holiday periods. Combined with cheap accommodations a short drive away, 49 Degrees North can offer a shockingly affordable several-day vacation. Season Passes are also competitively priced and undercut almost every other ski area in Washington State.

49 Degrees North is also a member of the Indy Pass, which offers two days of skiing at over 200 partner resorts. Nearby Silver Mountain is also on the Indy Pass, meaning it would be very easy to visit both of these resorts on an Indy Pass-fueled trip.