Pebble Creek, ID: Presidents’ Day Powder, Trees, and Cliffs

Brought to you by Visit Idaho and Ski Idaho

Report from Monday, February 20, 2023

Snowboarding at Pebble Creek, Idaho, on Presidents’ Day was the most fun that I have had in a while. Despite the ski area only reporting a few inches of fresh snow overnight, it felt like much more than that. I cannot begin to explain how much this place blew away my expectations, starting with the pre-ride breakfast burrito I devoured at 9 am.

They say that Pebble Creek is a breeding ground for fearless skiers and snowboarders, and now I understand why. With only a couple of inches of fresh snow, riding through the trees felt bottomless, and jumping off of cliffs felt obligatory. The entire day, I was lapping the Skyline Lift that services all of their 1,100 skiable acres, including the hike-to and out-of-bounds terrain. My favorite run of the day was taking The Rock through Stacy’s Trees to finally exiting through the Green Canyon. The top of this run featured a rhythmic mini-cliff to start things off with an exit into a beautiful, nicely spaced, gladed tree run. From here, I alternated between open bowl terrain and glades until I made it to the Green Canyon. Here, there were seemingly infinite chutes, couloirs, cliffs, and powder fields. In Lower Green Canyon I probably snowboarded off of more cliffs and through more chutes than I have all season. This run was straight money and I’ll be dreaming about it for the foreseeable future. Additionally, with all the fun I had here, it is worth noting that I did not wait in a single lift line on Presidents’ Day.

Although I mainly stuck to a lot of the ski area’s steeper, off-piste terrain, there was a great learning area off of the Aspen Lift, and getting lessons here would be a great idea for the casual or beginner rider. Additionally, the placement of the Sunshine Lift helps to alleviate lift lines and accesses a lot of the same terrain off-piste as the Skyline chair. Overall, the layout of this mountain was great and, as a snowboarder, I did not have any problems with traverses or flat spots.

Pebble Creek is located in the Caribou National Forest just outside of Pocatello, Idaho. My time spent in this area was awesome; Pocatello is a mid-sized city with endless options for food, drinks, and lodging. I would highly recommend the Fairfield Inn & Suites which has a very clean and well-maintained pool and hot tub facility that is open 24/7. The night before riding Pebble, I ate dinner at Jakers Bar and Grill and was served a perfectly cooked sirloin that fueled me for the next day. Regardless of if you are spending extended time at Pebble Creek, or just passing through, Pocatello was an excellent city to stay in and is just a 30-minute drive to the ski area.

Overall, Pebble Creek thoroughly impressed me. It is a mountain that outwardly flexes its steepness and off-piste terrain, but one that can still be able to take pride in hosting beginners. As a bonus, they even offer night skiing. The parking and lodging situation was simple and straightforward, and the mountain has great options for food and drink, whether it is breakfast, lunch, or apres at The RockBottom Saloon. I will definitely be coming back to snowboard Pebble Creek again, and hopefully, that happens sooner than later!

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Forecast

Trail Map

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