"We've always wanted to protect the Nordic trails because we love them and we love the meadow." Steve Wickes, president of the Meadowood Metropolitan District, said that to Aspen Journalism in September 2024, just after more than three years of negotiation over the roughly 1.8-kilometer ski segment through the neighborhood's meadow.
Two years later, the groomed track that will appear across that meadow next month rests on two different kinds of paper. The piece of land at Meadowood's front door, the Aspen Chapel property, gained a public Nordic easement this August, accepted by county ordinance. The meadow itself still runs on a revocable license, and the county's newest trail plan lists it among the system's critical links.
What the Meadow Carries
The 35-acre meadow belongs jointly to Meadowood's 64 homeowners. It lies between the Aspen Valley Hospital and Aspen School District campuses. In winter it carries part of Trail 30, the Aspen High School Trails, a 6.2-kilometer route that connects to Moore and Marolt.
By distance, the meadow is a small share of the network. The Aspen Snowmass Nordic Trail System Management Plan, adopted July 2, 2026, counts 106 kilometers of machine-groomed trail. The meadow's 1.8 kilometers matter more than the number suggests because of what they complete. According to Aspen Journalism, the meadow is part of an established course beside the public school campus that has long held an International Skiing Federation designation for high-level races. The same report says it includes gentle terrain where kids learn to ski. August Teague, Nordic program director for Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, told the outlet that "these trails are essential for our daily training, community races and top-tier competitions."
From the meadow, the free network connects outward in a few steps:
- Trail 30, Aspen High School Trails, 6.2 km, connects to Trail 20 and Trail 40. On weekdays, parking is at the Aspen Recreation Center. On weekends, it's the Middle School lot.
- Trail 20, Moore Trail, 2.54 km, links Marolt, Aspen High School, the Aspen Golf Course and Owl Creek.
- Trail 40, Marolt Open Space Trail, 1.15 km, allows dogs and fat bikes, with parking at the Marolt Housing entrance off Castle Creek Road.
- Owl Creek Trail, 10.18 km of skate and classic track, runs between Aspen and Snowmass.
The whole system is free to ski. Pitkin County Open Space and Trails funds it, the City of Aspen operates it, and the volunteer Aspen/Snowmass Nordic Council oversees it.
Two Kinds of Paper, One Route In
The trail network crosses private land at many points. Aspen Journalism described three kinds of arrangement: recreational easements in some places, license agreements renewed every several years in others, and handshake agreements in a few. Meadowood's entrance and its meadow now fall into different categories.
The Chapel stretch took decades to settle. According to The Aspen Times, Pitkin County moved the Meadowood entrance road onto Aspen Chapel property in the early 1980s. A land swap meant to compensate the Chapel stalled and was not completed until 2019. That year's ordinances included a Recreational Trail Easement, mainly for Nordic skiing and pedestrian use, but it was never attached to the ordinance or recorded separately. County staff told commissioners they could not determine why the easement was never granted. The new ordinance fixes that by requiring the Nordic Easement at the same time as an amendment to the Chapel's restrictive covenant, "to grant the public the right to use a portion of the Chapel Property for wintertime skiing use." Commissioners approved it on first reading in July. After a public hearing on August 12, 2026, the county's notice of final adoptions lists Ordinance No. 026-2026, accepting the covenant amendment and a Nordic Easement from the Aspen Chapel.
The meadow followed a different path. The Meadowood HOA states that it grants a revocable license to the Aspen Snowmass Nordic Trail System to use the meadow for ski trails. As Aspen Journalism reported, a prior three-year license expired in 2023, and skiing went on that winter without a new one. The metro district had hired wildlife biologist Steve Dahmer of Rifle-based Environmental Solutions in 2022. He found that soil under the groomed tracks was more compacted than the rest of the meadow and had more noxious weeds. His prescribed treatment was to interseed new plants rather than spray to kill the weeds. In September 2024, Pitkin County agreed to pay $12,000 toward that year's weed and soil treatments under a new three-year license. The outlet reported that the county and Meadowood would negotiate the maintenance cost each year.
| Aspen Chapel stretch | Meadowood meadow | |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Aspen Chapel of the Prince of Peace | Meadowood's 64 homeowners, jointly |
| Current footing | Nordic Easement accepted in Ordinance No. 026-2026 | Revocable license |
| Latest public action | Final adoption after Aug. 12, 2026 hearing | County cost-share under a new three-year license, September 2024 |
| How it got there | 2019 easement never recorded, fixed in 2026 | Lapsed in 2023, renewed after county cost-sharing |
We found no public reporting from 2025 or 2026 on a renewal or on how the treatments have worked. The 2024 terms are the latest on record.
Where the 2026 Plan Puts the Meadow
The plan's appendix of trail opportunities, prepared for the Nordic Council, lists the Aspen High School Trails through Meadowood as item A4 and labels it "critical." It describes the link as "varied terrain, great racing venue close to town." Under risk, it notes that the "current Meadowood Subdivision agreement is short term." Its proposed enhancement is to obtain a long-term easement with the subdivision.
Two neighboring entries carry the same concern, which shows how much of the system's Aspen end runs through this area. Item A6, the Moore Open Space and Crowne Parcel connection that Trail 20 depends on, is also rated critical, with an easement described as "short term." Item A5 notes that skiers must take off their skis to cross the plowed high school parking entrance near the AVSC clubhouse and proposes an overpass. The appendix says every opportunity it lists must go through a design and screening process before anything is built. The Aspen Times reported that the plan's broader goal is long-term or permanent access through formal easements and agreements. After the Open Space and Trails Board approved it, the plan was set to go to the county commissioners and to Aspen, Snowmass Village and Basalt.
None of this changes the coming winter. The appendix flags the meadow as a long-term question, and that decision belongs to the neighborhood that owns the land.
The Meadow's House Rules
Because the meadow is private, it has rules the public trail pages don't cover. The Meadowood HOA lists them:
- A groomed path around the edge of the meadow is open to Meadowood residents only, for walking or cross-country skiing with dogs.
- Walkers should stay off the Nordic tracks because footprints badly damage groomed trails.
- Bicycles are never allowed in the meadow, winter or summer. That includes fat bikes, which are allowed on the Marolt trail.
- Dog waste should be bagged and carried out.
- Homeowners get email notice before youth Nordic races use the meadow.
The perimeter path is the one part of the winter setup that belongs only to the neighborhood. The rest of the meadow is shared with racers from the AVSC program and with the public.
The Calendar From Here
Aspen Nordic stopped grooming and closed all trails and the Nordic Center on March 24, 2026, and it plans to ski again "next November." No exact opening date has been announced. These are the dates on record between now and midwinter:
- October 14, 4:30 p.m. Regular Meadowood HOA and Metro board meeting via Zoom.
- October 17, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The AVSC 2026 Annual Sports Swap at TACAW on Lewis Lane, with Nordic gear among the sale categories.
- November 1. Aspen Nordic gets access to the Aspen Cross Country Center to set up for the season.
- November 11, 4:30 p.m. The next HOA and Metro board meeting via Zoom.
- November 15. Families outside the AVSC program can start emailing about junior seasonal rentals.
- The day after Thanksgiving. Rentals open to walk-in visitors at the center.
- January 10, 2027. The Owl Creek Chase, a timed 25.1-kilometer point-to-point race from Snowmass, finishes at the AVSC Clubhouse. A 15-kilometer untimed tour and a 1-kilometer Owlet event are part of the same day.
When grooming starts, the track across the meadow will look the same as it did last winter. Public skiing across the Chapel ground at Meadowood's entrance is now backed by an easement the county accepted in Ordinance No. 026-2026, and the meadow segment remains a revocable license granted by the homeowners who own it.
Arrangements like Meadowood's license, the Chapel easement and the 2019 land swap behind it are part of what a property in this part of Aspen actually comes with, and Lex Tarumianz reads them the way a careful owner would. If you'd like to understand how trail agreements, covenants and county ordinances apply to a property you own or are considering, Request a Confidential Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
