Last April a crane lifted a 20,000-pound refrigeration unit out of the Winthrop Rink. It was a repurposed hotel air-conditioning system, and according to the Methow Valley News, it "was prone to breaking down just before big money-making hockey tournaments were scheduled to start." Removing it took the crane, a full teardown, and a Seattle waste management company to dispose of the old refrigerant.
Its replacement went in this summer, and the new plant now makes the ice for a season that opens on Sunday, Nov. 1. Winter in Winthrop doesn't wait for snow to start. A short run of dates set by the town's nonprofits starts it, and for the first time in years the first of those dates doesn't depend on aging equipment holding up.
November 1 Does Two Jobs
Opening day at the rink runs from noon to 2:30 p.m. The Methow Valley News lists complimentary food, warm drinks, music, and "a peek inside the new ice plant." Winter season passes are on sale now. The rink's schedule page also lists an anticipated opening weekend of Nov. 12 to 15. Its public skate sessions are Nov. 13 from 2 to 4 p.m., Nov. 14 from 12:15 to 2:15 p.m., and Nov. 15 from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m. The rink says its schedule is subject to change, so that page is the one to check before you drive over.
The plant was the centerpiece of the rink's "On Thin Ice" capital campaign. The campaign budget lists $2.5 million in total expenses, $1.78 million of it for the ice refrigeration plant. In August, executive director Ryan Bell told the Methow Valley News that the goal had been reached. Part of that total is donor commitments running through 2027, plus grant requests the rink is "optimistic" will be awarded. He summed up where things stood:
"The really exciting piece is we have everything in hand … to complete the refrigeration system."
Nov. 1 is also the day the price of a Methow Trails annual pass goes up. The Methow Trails pass page lists the early-bird annual pass at $349 before Nov. 1 and $425 after. Since this post goes up on Oct. 29, that leaves three days.
| Methow Trails option, 2026–27 | Price | Compared with the $32 day pass |
|---|---|---|
| Early-bird annual pass, before Nov. 1 | $349 | Pays for itself in about 11 ski days |
| Annual pass, from Nov. 1 | $425 | About 13 ski days |
| Annual weekday pass | $225 | About 7 ski days |
| 10-day punch card | $280 | $28 per day |
| 3-day consecutive ski pass | $84 | $28 per day, same rate for extra days |
| Fat bike and snowshoe annual pass | $50 | Day pass for either is $10 |
| Dog annual pass | $50 | Dog day pass is $10 |
The early-bird gap is $76, which is a little more than two day passes. Kids 17 and under and adults 75 and older ski free every day. Kids need no pass at all, and adults 75 and up can pick up a free lifetime pass at the Methow Trails office in Winthrop for a one-time $10 admin fee. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Full annual, lifetime and landowner passes also come with reciprocal perks at Loup Loup Ski Bowl, Sovereign Lake Nordic Club in Vernon, B.C., and the Blaine County Recreation District in Sun Valley, Idaho. Weekday, fat bike and snowshoe passes don't include them.
A Methow Trails update dated Oct. 16 said grooming on high-elevation trails would begin if snow stayed on the ground for more than a few days around 5,000 feet. Last season's Washington Pass grooming started Oct. 19. The pass price changes on a fixed date, and the trails open whenever the weather allows.
The Ski Swap Runs on Seller Tables
The gear comes next. The Methow Valley Ski Swap fills the Winthrop Barn Auditorium at 51 State Route 20 on Saturday, Nov. 7, with Nordic and alpine gear, clothing and winter equipment. Methow Valley Nordic runs it as a fundraiser for the Methow Valley Nordic Ski Team, with help from North Cascade Mountain Guides.
This is not a consignment sale where you drop off skis and come back for a check. The organizer's rules for sellers:
- Arrive at 8:30 a.m. Doors close to sellers at 9:45 a.m.
- Stay at your table the whole time. You sell your own gear and need your own way to take payment.
- Pay 15% of your total sales to Methow Valley Nordic at the end of the event, by cash, credit card or Venmo.
- Free items are welcome on your table, as long as you're there with them.
- Leave nothing behind. Whatever doesn't sell goes home with you.
Shoppers pay $5 admission at ages 16 and up. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to noon, although the event listing shows 9 a.m. to noon for the full morning, setup included. Because every sale comes from someone's own garage, each table reflects one household's last few seasons. The 15% cut also goes to a team that skis the same trails the passes above pay to groom.
One Friday, Two Ways Into the Season
Nov. 13 is the day the season's pieces overlap. The rink calendar shows a public skate from 2 to 4 p.m. that afternoon. That evening, Methow Valley Nordic holds Avant Ski, its all-ages season kickoff, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Red Barn. It offers small bites, drinks, presentations and a silent auction. The town's event listing puts it at the Winthrop Barn Auditorium, which is the same building.
So six days apart, Methow Valley Nordic opens the barn twice, first for the swap that funds its ski team and then for its own season kickoff and silent auction. The rink's year-long capital campaign paid for the ice. Methow Trails says outright that every pass sold supports grooming and year-round trail maintenance. Each of these first winter dates is also a moment when a local nonprofit collects what it needs to run the season.
The rest of early November fills in around these. The town's events calendar lists Jazz Train, a benefit for The Cove, at the Twisp Valley Grange on Nov. 6, and Yoga for Classroom in Bloom at Motive Yoga Co. the same day. It also lists a community transportation-options event at the Winthrop Public Library on Nov. 17.
Thanksgiving Weekend Lights Up Riverside Avenue
The calendar ends the month with Christmas at the End of the Road. A Turkey Trot 5K starts at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26. The main celebration runs Saturday, Nov. 28, from 1 to 8 p.m. around 202 Riverside Ave. Advertised activities include shopping, dining, outdoor skating, horse-drawn sleigh rides, chainsaw carving, caroling and fireworks. Okanogan Country's listing gives the Saturday schedule:
- 1 to 4 p.m.: Kiwanis Winter Fest with Santa at the Barn
- 1 to 4 p.m.: horse-drawn carriage rides
- 3 p.m.: campfires on Riverside Avenue
- 5 p.m.: town lighting with caroling
- 6 p.m.: fireworks
Outdoor skating is part of the celebration's draw, which puts the rink's new plant at work on the town's busiest winter Saturday so far. The lights switched on at 5 p.m. are also before the town council. At the Oct. 7 meeting, the Methow Valley News reported, council members discussed letting seasonal downtown lights turn off at 10 or 11 p.m. They also talked about the town taking over sidewalk maintenance and setting more uniform boardwalk standards. They took no formal action on any of it.
The Date Nobody Can Put on the Calendar
One seasonal date stays unknown until it happens, and that is the winter closure of the North Cascades Highway. WSDOT's historical closure table shows SR 20 closing on Dec. 4 in 2025 and on Nov. 18 in 2024. That's a spread of more than two weeks in back-to-back years. The agency's pass report says its routine weather and road reporting traditionally runs Nov. 1 to April 1. That's the same Nov. 1 when the rink opens and the trail pass price goes up.
Here are the dates you can plan around this month. Nov. 1 brings the rink opening and the end of the early-bird price. The swap is Nov. 7 and Avant Ski is Nov. 13. The Turkey Trot is Nov. 26 and the Riverside Avenue lighting is Nov. 28.
If you have questions about owning a home or cabin near the Methow's winter trails, or about keeping a second home ready for the season, the team at Coldwell Banker Cascade works across the valley year-round. Connect with a local expert today.
