Gunsight Mountain rises above Anthony Lakes on Jan. 12, 2023.

NORTH POWDER — Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort is renowned for its powder snow and variety of downhill and Nordic skiing terrain, but the area’s managers are also hoping to better cater to visitors who show up after the snow is gone each summer.

The resort’s new master development plan proposes six additional mountain bike trails over the next decade, as well as improvements to the skiing options, constructing yurts available for rent year around and replacing several buildings, not including the day lodge.

“(The resort) has experienced an increasing number of summer visitors who are visiting the resort for its mountain biking system,” the master plan states.

Peter Johnson, president of the Anthony Lakes Outdoor Recreation Association, the nonprofit corporation that owns and manages the ski area in the Elkhorn Mountains about 19 miles west of North Powder, emphasized that the master plan is not a list of projects that will definitely happen over the next 10 years or so.

He said most of the proposals, including the mountain bike trails, will depend largely on whether the corporation can secure grants. Revenue from the corporation’s operations, which include managing Baker City’s Quail Ridge Golf Course, the Trailhead shop in downtown Baker City, and several Forest Service campgrounds, is not sufficient to do all the work outlined in the master plan.

“We’re a ways off on a lot of it,” Johnson said Thursday, June 1. “There are a lot of grant opportunities, and those will have to provide the bulk of the funding.”

But nothing can happen without the master plan, he said.

The resort operates on public land managed by the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and federal regulations required that leasees such as Anthony Lakes occasionally update their master plans. The last one for the resort dates to 1998.

The Wallowa-Whitman has accepted the new master plan, but Johnson noted that forest officials would also review, and have to approve individually, any of the proposed projects listed in the plan.

The overall concept is not to greatly expand the resort, Johnson said, but rather to “enhance the current offerings at Anthony Lakes” based on visitor interest, such as the increasing popularity of mountain biking.

“What we have works really well, and we want to continue to take care of our locals first and foremost, to retain the atmosphere that we have,” he said.

Anthony Lakes celebrated its 60th anniversary this past winter.

Johnson said the resort is pretty much at its capacity in terms of visitor numbers due to the size of its parking areas and day lodge — neither of which is proposed for expansion — and because the area isn’t permitted to expand onto adjacent public land.

The number of skier visits has risen substantially over the past three winters. The average for the previous three winters was about 32,000 skier visits, compared with a 10-year average of 24,509.

Some of the proposed changes listed in the master plan:

Downhill skiing

The plan calls for thinning the tree cover between Holiday and Bert’s Run, and between Claude’s Run and Holiday, to increase the skiable acreage.

Resort managers want to install a 30-foot yurt on the back side of the mountain in Crawfish Basin. Anthony Lakes hauls skiers by snow cat to that area to ski in less-developed areas that aren’t accessed by the chairlift.

The yurt would have a propane stove for cooking and heating, a dining area and a restroom, likely a composting toilet.

During the summer the resort would use the yurt as a rental for people who want to hike or bike to the site. The structure could be removed within one day if needed, according to the master plan.

The resort also plans to open more terrain for downhill skiing on the back side of the mountain. Although the current plan allows skiing in the area, “the overgrown forest has made the bulk of the permitted cat skiing area not skiable due to the dense forest,” according to the plan

Nordic skiing

The plan calls for constructing one new groomed trail loop, of 1.8 to 3.1 miles, around the Floodwater Flats area northeast of the ski area.

The trail would be open to skiers with dogs, and connect to multi-use trails around Mud Lake. Dogs are not allowed on the resort’s other groomed Nordic trails, which currently total about 18 miles.

Mountain bike trails

Of the six proposed new trails, four would be on the “frontside” of the mountain, where the developed ski runs and chairlift are, and two would be on the backside, both starting near the top of the chairlift.

“The new trails. … will greatly expand the existing network and support a more robust summer operation at the ski hill,” according to the master plan.

Buildings

Anthony Lakes is proposing to build a new rental and repair shop. The current structure, which is just south of the day lodge, was built in the 1950s and was initially used as the lodge, according to the master plan.

“The building will need to be replaced with a new build within the next three years for safety reasons and to better serve growing youth programs,” according to the plan.

The proposed new building would have two levels, with the rental and repair shop on the bottom floor and living space for employees, as well as storage, on the second story. The new building would be in the same spot as the current structure.

Day lodge

The resort wants to build a deck on the upper level of the lodge to create outdoor seating.

There was a deck on the upper level decades ago, but it was later enclosed.