One of my favorite parts of living in Old Faithful in winter is the cross country skiing. As someone who always downhill skied my whole life I was a little nervous to try a different kind of skiing. I took my first lesson in 2022 and instantly loved it. Once you get a hang of the technique (which is very different from downhill) it is an absolute blast, you get the challenge of going uphill, with the reward of the downhill. The Old Faithful area has several different ski trails that you can take ranging from easy to very difficult. 

Daisy Trail/Biscuit Basin Loop:

This is normally a biking/walking trail in the summer. It is relatively flat the whole way with very slight uphill and downhill. You have several different areas where you can branch off the easier choices are Black Sand and Daisy. If you want more of a challenging route you can continue on past Morning Glory to Artemesia, although this has more uphill and downhill spots. If you choose to go to Artemesia it will pop you right across from Biscuit Basin (which I would walk not ski). Since this is an in/out trail you can make it as long or short as you want. The maximum distance you can go out and back is 3 miles. Since this follows the thermal areas of the Upper Geyser Basin, there will be several spots where all the snow has melted out and you will have to unbind and walk. 

Lonestar Geyser Trail: 7 miles with ski drop

The Lonestar trail is a flat and typically groomed trail that follows the Firehole river for 2 and a half miles before reaching Lonestar geyser. The geyser has a 12 foot cone and erupts roughly every 3 hours. There is a log book located near the geyser where people can record if/when Lonestar erupted. 

Kepler Cascades: 4 miles out and back

Kepler Cascades trailhead is located on the firehole river behind the Old Faithful Lodge cabins. This trail takes you two miles up to the Kepler Cascades, right next to the Lonestar trailhead. Kepler can be split into two sections that are divided by a service road: the lower and upper half. The lower half has a steady incline, but is nothing too crazy. The upper half is a little bit more difficult with some steeper inclines and sharp turns. If you are not comfortable with downhill, I would avoid the upper half of this trail

Fairy Falls: 11 miles with the ski drop

If you take the shuttle, it will drop you off at the Fairy Falls trailhead. From there it is a 3 and half mile ski to the falls. You have the option to head up to the Grand Prismatic Overlook, but it is a steep climb up and down from there. Only ski up there if you are extremely proficient in your snowplow. The falls itself in winter are beautiful and are often surrounded by a ring of ice. Since this is located near a thermal basin there will most likely be several melt out spots where you will have to unbind and walk. The ski itself is flat the whole way, but is considered intermediate because of the distance. To the falls and back is about 7 miles, and then you have a 4 mile ski back to Old Faithful. You have two options for returning to Old Faithful, you can either take the road or the Powerline trail. 

Powerline Trail: 2 miles (4 back to Old Faithful)

This is an optional trail you can take when heading back to Old Faithful from either Fairy Falls or Mallard Creek. This is not the most scenic of trails since it follows the Powerlines, but it does offer some fun uphill and downhill sections. The Powerline eventually connects with the Artemesia trailhead. 

Spring Creek Picnic Area: 3 miles (8 miles back to Old Faithful)

Spring Creek is a really beautiful trail that travels through some old growth forests and follows Spring Creek itself. This trail is mostly downhill the whole way, so do not expect any intense uphill climbs. This trail is a little more technical than the previous trails, which is why it is considered intermediate. The trail itself is pretty narrow and there are downhills that make a sharp turn at the end. You will cross over 14 small bridges on your skies. There is one section of the trail called turtle rock where it is strongly recommended that you side step down the steep hill as there is a bridge at the bottom followed by a sharp right turn. This trail connects to the Lonestar trail, where you can either make a left and head half a mile to see the geyser or take a right and head back to Old Faithful. 

Mallard Lake: 7 miles in and out

This trailhead is the same as the Kepler Cascades, except you you will branch off left instead of right at the fork. You gain around 800 feet as you climb up to Mallard Lake. There are a few steep sections will sharp turns at the bottom as you are heading back down. There is a portion of this trail that has avalanche danger. If you decide to go on this trail keep in mind, whatever you are going up you have to take back down.

Divide: 5 miles from the Drop-off (10.1 miles back to Old Faithful)

From the trailhead you have a slight uphill for a tenth of a mile before getting to the Divide Overlook and Spring Creek intersection. To get to the overlook you have a pretty steady uphill for 1.5 miles. At the overlook you see Shoshone lake, the second largest lake in Yellowstone. From the overlook, you head back down the way you came. This is a steep and narrow section that will end in a sharp left onto the Spring Creek trail. You will then follow the Spring Creek trail for about a 2 miles before reaching the picnic area (the dropoff point if you are only skiing Spring Creek).

Fern Cascades: 2.75 miles

This is a one way loop trail. You gain about 250 feet, but a majority of that gain is at the very beginning. It is a steep climb up to the top, followed by a few sections where you gain speed and make sharp turns in a heavily forested area. The last section is a steep downhill where you can either make a sharp left turn to complete the loop or continue straight onto the road.

Howard Eaton: 3.5 miles one way

If you have excellent downhill skills and great control then this a a very fun trail (If not, this is not recommended what so ever). This trail connects to the Lonestar Geyser trail so you can either enter from Lonestar or from the Old Faithful area. If you chose to start from the Old Faithful area you will climb 650 feet in a mile and a half. It has portions that are pretty steep, but also some flatter sections. The backside of Howard Eaton is more gradual, but there are sections where it splits for downhill vs uphill traffic. There are signs on trees that let you know which direction to head. Once you are at the bottom of the backside of the Howard Eaton it will connect to the Lonestar Geyser Trail. There may be a few melt out spots due to the thermal activity in the area. Both sides of the Howard Eaton require great skill in climbing up steep sections and skiing down them.

Mallard Creek: 4.4 miles one way

This is by far the most challenging trail in Old Faithful. If you start the trail from the ski drop, it is 8 miles back to Old Faithful (you will start on the Mallard Creek trail and then connect onto Mallard Lake to take you back to the village). If you access the trail starting from Mallard Lake it will be 12 miles round trip. If you choose to go this way you will either need to take the Powerline trail back to Old Faithful or the road. The trail both ways requires you to climb 1000 feet before a steep descent down. There are many portions of the trail where it is easy to get lost (my first time on Mallard Creek we had to pull out a map multiple times; if guests get lost it is typically on this trail). On the downhill portions there are several compression hills that you might hit at the bottom. There is also a section of this trail called China Wall, where you must side step either up or down about 20 feet depending on which direction you are heading. This trail is not recommended unless you consider yourself a very advanced cross-country skier.