Wednesday, October 28, 2026
For the first time in four decades, winter will arrive on Bobcat Pass without the groomed trails of Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area. Owners Geoff Goins and Ellen Miller-Goins have announced that the ski area, tucked into the Carson National Forest above Red River, will not open for the 2026-27 season. In a message posted on the area's own website, they wrote plainly that this season Enchanted Forest will not open, that the decision took a long time to accept, and that they will not be operating the ski area this winter.
Enchanted Forest began in the winter of 1985-86, when Ellen's parents, John and Judy Miller, turned a love of groomed cross-country skiing into a small operation on the rolling terrain of Bobcat Pass. It started with roughly 10 kilometers of trails and grew over the years to about 33 kilometers of ski trails, with dedicated snowshoe terrain, dog-friendly routes, a day lodge and trailside yurts. Geoff and Ellen bought the business from the Millers in 2010 and carried it forward, while John and Judy remained part of its story until both passed away during Thanksgiving week in 2022.
The owners point to snow, or the lack of it. The last several winters have grown increasingly difficult, and by their account 2025-26 was the worst winter in the area's history: Enchanted Forest never opened its groomed trails for cross-country skiing at all, managing only some guided snowshoe trips and overnight yurt stays, which was not enough to sustain the business. A hoped-for sale that might have given the area a new beginning recently fell through, and continuing even limited operations would mean taking on the considerable cost of liability insurance and other expenses before knowing whether enough snow would arrive. After last winter, they said, they simply cannot take that financial risk again.
For many Red River visitors, Enchanted Forest was where winter slowed down: first ski lessons, children and grandchildren learning on quiet trails through the pines, snowshoe walks, overnight stays in the yurts, the candlelit Luminaria Tour and the Just Desserts Eat and Ski. The owners acknowledged that history directly, thanking the regulars, families and skiers who made the place a tradition and saying it was never just a business, but part of their family for four decades.
This is a pause, the owners stress, not necessarily an ending. The ski area remains for sale, and they say there is real hope a new owner will step in and reopen it, perhaps even this year. Until that happens, visitors planning a Red River winter should not count on Enchanted Forest for skiing, guided snowshoe trips or yurt stays this season, and should build their Nordic plans accordingly. In town, meanwhile, a mostly sunny Wednesday, with a high near 55 and a low near 29, is a reminder that winter is still coming to the valley, even if one beloved corner of it sits quiet this year.