Ski Report

Great Bear Recreation Park snow report

Iowa, United States Sioux Falls
Today high
--
Tonight low
--
Snowpack
0in
Past 24 hours
0.0in
Loading current conditions…
Right now · nearest snotel
0 in snowpack
As of 2024-06-22
SWE
0.0in
Air temp
85°F
Past 24h
0in
Past 72h
0in
Next 24h
--in
Next 5d
--in
Loading snowpack history…
Loading next 24 hours…
Loading 7-day outlook…

Community Reviews

Loading reviews…

Been here? Share the conditions.

Reviews, ratings & photos are added in the free Snoflo iOS app — rate a spot, tag the conditions, and your visit is verified by location. Add or manage your reviews from the app.

Get the app
Great Bear Recreation Park -- Iowa ski resort
Great Bear Recreation Park Iowa · Sioux Falls
About this resort

Great Bear Recreation Park

Great Bear Recreation Park ski resort in South Dakota offers 14 trails, ranging from beginner to advanced, and is best known for its night skiing. The beginner-friendly Bunny Hill trail is recommended for first-time skiers. The resort also offers snowboarding and tubing. An interesting fact is that the Great Bear Recreation Park was originally a dumpsite, which was transformed into a winter recreation area in the 1960s. The resort's lodge features a full-service bar and restaurant, with the Caribou Lounge being a popular spot for apres ski drinks and entertainment.

Terrain mix: Great Bear Recreation Park in South Dakota is located in the Big Sioux River valley, which is part of the Coteau des Prairies. The area is characterized by rolling hills and valleys, with the park itself situated within the Big Sioux River Recreation Corridor.

The park's ski resort features several ski runs and trails varying in difficulty, with the highest point in the park reaching an elevation of around 1,100 feet. The terrain is relatively gentle compared to other mountain ranges, making it ideal for beginner and intermediate skiers.

While not located in a specific mountain range, Great Bear Recreation Park offers beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts in South Dakota.

StateIowa
LocationSioux Falls
Detailed forecast

Plan your day down to the hour

Same weather feed Snoflo's iOS app uses -- updated continuously from NOAA / yr.no. Watch the snow column the morning of a storm to know when to call in sick.

Hourly detail

Next 5 days, hour by hour

Temperature line with weather symbols on top, snow + rain accumulation as columns, humidity as a dotted line.

Loading hourly forecast…
Deep dive

5-day forecast table

Every 3 hours, broken out across temperature, snow, rain, humidity, and wind. Each cell is colour-coded relative to the column min/max.

TimeConditionTemp (°F)Snow (in)Rain (in)Humidity (%)Wind (mps)Wind dir
Loading detailed forecast…
Long-term outlook

15-day temperature & snow

Daily temperatures, snow, and rain projected over the next two weeks -- start of next storm cycle, end of last one.

Loading 15-day outlook…
Forecast discussion

What forecasters are seeing

Plain-English forecast narrative from the local NWS office. Issued by NWS FSD.

134 FXUS63 KFSD 220754 AFDFSD Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 254 AM CDT Mon Jun 22 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Patchy fog leads to briefly reduced visibility this morning; be prepared for changing conditions on the Monday morning commute. - Isolated sprinkles are possible this afternoon. Confidence in occurrence and coverage is low (< 20%). - Additional shower and thunderstorm chances (50%-80%) return by Tuesday. Stronger storms Tuesday afternoon and evening may be capable of producing large hail and strong winds. However, uncertainty remains regarding severe storm potential. - Below normal temperatures continue through mid week before more seasonable temperatures return from late week into the weekend. Periodic shower and storm chances continue as well. && .UPDATE... Issued at 251 AM CDT Mon Jun 22 2026 Isolated sprinkles and patchy drizzle continue to diminish across southeastern SD into the southern MO River Valley this morning. Beginning to see some patchy fog develop with light winds and clearing skies near US Highway 14, although scattered stratus and more widespread mid clouds may prevent widespread fog. Expect clouds to clear somewhat late morning before diurnally driven cumulus develop. Can`t entirely rule out an isolated sprinkle but have omitted mention with scant moisture both in the unstable layer and sub cloud layer. Highs in the upper 60s to upper 70s. Shower and storm chances return late tonight west of I-29 as the next wave ejects east. CAMs are quite varied on how quickly convection races out of the Black Hills, and lower res deterministic guidance remains quite varied on the timing of the mid/upper level forcing. Shower and storm chances continue through the day Tuesday and into Tuesday night as surface cold front and another mid/upper trough swing through the area. A few storms Tuesday and into Tuesday evening could be strong to severe; however, uncertainty remains due to timing issues and cascade effects of any morning convection (how strong the AM storms might be, how much do we recover later in the day, etc). Main threat with any stronger storm would be hail to half dollar size and wind gusts to 60 mph. Main forecast change was to edit pops through Tuesday evening to better fit some of the latest trends. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 208 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026 CURRENTS & TONIGHT: A dreary day continues! Taking a look across the area, we`re continuing to watch areas high-based showers and drizzle progress through portions of the area this afternoon. While we`re still on track for this intermittent activity to continue through early evening, we`re starting to see an influx of drier air via water vapor satellite imagery lift into the area which could gradually erode at this activity over the next few hours. If this continues to hold true, things could taper down rather quickly with most activity becoming focused across southcentral SD into the evening. From here, we`ll probably continue to have spotty showers across portions of southcentral SD and the Missouri River Valley through Monday morning as the surface low stalls out across northcentral NE and gradually weakens. Otherwise, another cool night will be on tap as lows decrease into the low to mid 50s. MONDAY & TUESDAY: Looking into the early week, could still have a few spotty showers to start the day on Monday mainly across southcentral SD. While accumulations will be light, could see coverage expand in the early afternoon as a weak wave moves through the area and a couple hundred Jules of instability develop above the mixed layer. Nonetheless, should see this spotty activity gradually diminish after sunset as we lose diurnal heating. By Tuesday, additional shower and thunderstorm chances (50%-80%) are expected as a cold front progresses through the area. However, the severe weather risk looks more uncertain than yesterday. Still a wide range of solutions as far as how things could evolute during the day. With this in mind, this is probably the reason why our friends at SPC just blanketed most of our area in a Day 3 Marginal (Level 1 of 5). Nonetheless, another high shear/low CAPE environment will make for at least a marginal risk for large hail and damaging winds along and ahead of the surface front. Won`t know many additional details up until guidance latches on a solution though. Lastly, temperatures will continue to hover near to just below normal with highs mainly in the low to mid 70s on both Monday and Tuesday. WEDNESDAY ONWARDS: Heading into the midweek, quieter conditions should return for Wednesday and Thursday as a surface high tracks through our area. From here, the wave train returns by Friday as quasi-zonal flow helps usher in multiple shortwaves increasing the chances from showers and potentially thunderstorms almost daily (every 24-36 hours) into the following week. While the chances for severe weather are still uncertain at this time, this is another period that will need to be monitored closely moving forward. Lastly, we`ll start to see temperatures build towards more seasonal conditions with highs increasing from the low to mid 70s on Wednesday to the low to mid 80s by Saturday. && .AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 1034 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026 Latest radar shows diminishing light showers across the area. Cloud bases remain mostly at VFR levels with one or two locations showing ceilings just falling down to MVFR levels. Ceilings will remain mainly at VFR levels through the night. The exception will be locations along and southwest of a line from K9V9 to KAGZ where lower ceilings down to all flight categories are expected. Patchy fog is possible in all other locations but confidence is not high enough to include in a TAF. Will monitor trends throughout the night. Light winds are expected for the day tomorrow. A CU field is expected to develop by tomorrow afternoon. A few light showers are possible within the CU field but the location of these showers is uncertain. Thus, have not mentioned any chance for showers in all TAF`s for now. Any chance for light showers will come to an end tomorrow evening, leaving dry conditions to end the TAF period. && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. IA...None. NE...None. && $$ UPDATE...SG DISCUSSION...05 AVIATION...Meyers
Around the area

Beyond the slopes

Other ski areas, basecamp options, alpine fishing, and scenic stops near Great Bear Recreation Park -- worth knowing whether you're in for a day, a long weekend, or a season pass.

Mountain & avalanche safety

Know before you go
Check today's avalanche bulletin from the regional avalanche center before any off-piste / side-country / backcountry travel. Conditions can shift dramatically between morning and afternoon on storm days.
Carry the gear, know how to use it
Beacon, shovel, probe. Practice companion rescue on a calm day, not during a real burial.
Mind the weather window
Heavy snow + wind builds wind slabs at ridgelines. The day after a storm is often the riskiest in the backcountry, even if the resort itself is open.
Respect closed terrain
Ropes are there for a reason. Even in-bounds, ducking a closure can trigger a slide that catches you and others below.

Track Great Bear Recreation Park in the Snoflo app

Save this resort as a favorite, set push alerts when snowfall crosses a threshold (e.g. "alert me when Great Bear Recreation Park reports 6″ new"), and Snoflo's iOS app will push the moment the SNOTEL station crosses.

FAQ

About Great Bear Recreation Park

Where does the snow data for Great Bear Recreation Park come from?

Snowpack, SWE, 24-hour snowfall, and air temperature come from the nearest USDA NRCS SNOTEL station. Forecast comes from the National Weather Service / yr.no feed that Snoflo's iOS app uses.

How often is the snow report updated?

Snowpack and SNOTEL data are updated continuously by NRCS (typically hourly). The 15-day weather forecast is refreshed throughout the day. Snoflo caches and renders the most recent observation -- look for the "as of" timestamp on the snowpack hero.

What's the elevation at Great Bear Recreation Park?

See the Resort Metrics panel above for base / summit / vertical drop. The summit elevation drives snowpack accumulation -- higher summits hold snow longer through spring.

How is "% of normal" calculated?

Today's snowpack is compared to the average snowpack on this calendar day across every recorded year at the nearest SNOTEL. 100% means right on average; 130% is a big year; 60% is thin.

What ski resorts are near Great Bear Recreation Park?

See the Other Ski Areas pill grid at the bottom of the page for resorts within driving distance. The sister Other Ski Areas card in the Plan-a-longer-trip grid above shows the closest few.

Can I get alerts when fresh snow hits?

Yes -- snow alerts are managed in the Snoflo iOS app. Favorite this resort, set a snowfall threshold (e.g. "alert me when 6+ inches"), and you'll get a push the moment the SNOTEL crosses.

More ski areas

Other resorts near here

Snoflo-tracked ski areas within driving distance of Great Bear Recreation Park.