Yorkshire Dales: Where Limestone Cracks, Sheep Outnumber People, and the Sticky Toffee Pudding Is Worth the Mud

I'll be honest: I came to the Yorkshire Dales expecting to be underwhelmed. After hiking Patagonia, the Rockies, and the Dolomites, how could northern England compete? Three hours into my first walk—mud up to my ankles, horizontal rain hitting my face, and a ewe giving me the side-eye from behind a dry stone wall—I realized something. This place isn't about epic scale. It's about subtlety, stubbornness, and the peculiar British determination to call a 30-degree slope a "gentle incline."

The Dales got under my skin. Not in the tick-and-midge way (though bring repellent), but in that rare way places do when they surprise you. Over five days, I walked until my feet ached, ate enough Wensleydale cheese to worry my cardiologist, and had pints with farmers who've worked this land for six generations. This guide isn't aspirational Instagram bait. It's what I actually did, what worked, what didn't, and where to find the best sticky toffee pudding.

About the Author: Marcus Chen

I'm a walk-first, photograph-second kind of traveller. I've hiked the Torres del Paine circuit in Patagonia, scrambled up via ferrata in the Dolomites, and once got lost for six hours in the Scottish Highlands because I thought a bothy was "just over the next ridge." I write about places where the landscape demands something from you—effort, patience, waterproof trousers. The Yorkshire Dales doesn't have the grandeur of the Alps, but it has something harder to find: a landscape that feels lived-in, worked, and genuinely loved by the people who call it home.

When to Go and What to Pack

Spring in the Dales (March to May) doesn't arrive politely—it stumbles in, changes its mind, and occasionally dumps snow on daffodils. I experienced four seasons in one afternoon.

March: 3-10°C. Still properly winter on the tops. Snow common above 400m.
April: 5-13°C. The "sweet spot" statistically, but April showers are real and relentless.
May: 8-16°C. Can feel summery in valleys, but still bitter on exposed ridges.

Gear I Actually Used:

Waterproof jacket (worn daily)
Waterproof trousers (worn more than I care to admit)
Walking boots with ankle support (non-negotiable—limestone is slippery)
Base layers (merino wool—synthetic stinks after day two)
Down jacket (for evenings and lunch stops)
Sunscreen (April sun at 54°N burns surprisingly fast)

What I Packed and Didn't Touch:

Binoculars (too busy watching my footing)
Portable charger (signal is so patchy, phone battery lasts ages)
"Nice" clothes for dinner (everywhere is casual)

Getting There (Without Losing Your Mind)

By Car: Most people drive. From Leeds, it's 45 minutes to Skipton on the A65, then you're into the park. But beware: "A road" in the Dales often means single-track with dry stone walls scraping both wing mirrors. I met a man in a BMW X5 who'd turned back at Malham, convinced his sat nav was trying to kill him.

Parking Reality:

Malham Cove car park: £6 all day, fills by 10:00 on weekends. I arrived at 8:45 on a Saturday and got the last space.
Aysgarth Falls: Free, but donations welcome. Toilets on site.
Hawes: Street parking free, but limited. The Wensleydale Creamery has a large car park.

By Train (The Scenic Option): The Settle-Carlisle line is genuinely spectacular. It crosses the Ribblehead Viaduct and stops at useful places. Leeds to Settle takes 1h 15m. Book in advance for £15-20 return. Sunday service is patchy—check before you commit.

By Bus: DalesBus runs Sunday services Easter to October. The DalesBus Explorer ticket is £12 for unlimited travel. I used it on day four to avoid parking headaches at Ribblehead. Routes are scenic but slow—a 20-minute drive takes 55 minutes by bus.

The Landscape: Limestone, Moorland, and 5,000 Miles of Dry Stone Walls

The Yorkshire Dales National Park covers 841 square miles of northern England. It's a landscape built from layered limestone—sheets of pale grey rock that crack into geometric patterns, dissolve into caves, and rise in sudden cliffs. Between the limestone outcrops, green valleys (the "dales") run north to south, carved by glaciers and rivers over two million years.

What makes this landscape different:

Dry stone walls: An estimated 5,000 miles of them in the National Park. No mortar—just shaped stones stacked by hand, often by the same families for centuries. A good waller can build 3-4 metres per day.
Limestone pavements: Cracked geometric formations (called "clints" and "grikes") on high ground where glaciers stripped away the soil. They look like they belong on another planet.
Hay meadows: In June, the valley bottoms explode with wildflowers—crane's-bill, buttercup, bluebell, and the rare Lady's Slipper orchid.
Blanket bog: The high moorlands are peat-covered, spongy, and treacherous. They support golden plover and curlew.

The Walking: Where to Go, What to Expect, and How Not to Break Your Ankles

The Dales is walking country. You don't come here to sightsee from a coach window. You come to move through the landscape, feel the gradient in your calves, and earn your pint. Here are the routes I actually walked, with honest assessments.

Malham Cove and the Limestone Pavement (54.0714°N, -2.1577°W)

Malham Cove is the Dales' most visited natural feature. It's an 80-metre curved limestone cliff that looks like a frozen wave. On top is a limestone pavement—those cracked, geometric formations from every BBC drama about northern England.

The Walk Up: From the village, follow the signs. The path is paved initially, then becomes rocky. The final ascent is 400 irregular steps cut into the cliff. I counted them because I'm that person. My Fitbit thought I was having a medical event.

The Pavement: Once on top, the limestone pavement stretches for about 300 metres. The gaps between the stone (called "grikes") can be ankle-deep or hidden by vegetation. I nearly went down twice. The stone itself ("clints") is sharp when wet. Which it always is.

What They Don't Tell You:

The wind at the top is constant and often strong enough to unbalance you.
The RSPB runs a peregrine falcon watchpoint in the village during spring. I saw one stooped—dropped from the sky like a stone and pulled up with a pigeon.
Morning mist fills the valley until about 9:30. Arrive early for atmospheric photos, or after 10:00 if you want to see where you're walking.

My Route: Malham village → Cove base → Steps to top → Pavement exploration → Back down → Janet's Foss → Gordale Scar. Total: 7.5 miles, 4 hours including stops.

Janet's Foss (54.0756°N, -2.1486°W)

A one-mile walk from the village through woodland. The waterfall drops over a limestone lip into a deep pool. In spring, the surrounding woods fill with wild garlic—the smell is intense, like walking through an Italian restaurant. The pool was traditionally used for sheep washing before shearing. I dipped my hands in. It was March. I lost feeling in my fingers for ten minutes.

Gordale Scar (54.0736°N, -2.1456°W)

Continue 500 metres past Janet's Foss. Gordale Scar is a limestone ravine with cliffs over 100 metres high on both sides. Walking into it feels like entering a cathedral built by giants. The path involves scrambling over rocks and wading through shallow pools.

Critical Safety Note: The scramble section gets slippery. I saw a woman in trainers slide three metres on her backside. Wear proper boots. If the water is high after heavy rain, turn back. People have died here.

Aysgarth Falls: The Sound of Thunder (54.2847°N, -1.9925°W)

Aysgarth Falls is actually three separate waterfalls on the River Ure: Upper, Middle, and Lower. In spring, after winter rain and snowmelt, they're thunderous. I could hear the Upper Falls from the car park, 200 metres away.

The Walk: A well-maintained path runs alongside the river, connecting all three falls. It's 1.5 miles end-to-end, flat, and accessible. I saw a man in a wheelchair at the Middle Falls viewpoint. This is rare in the Dales—most paths are not disability-friendly.

Spring Specifics: The falls peak in April. By June, they're a trickle. Dippers—small, bobbing birds—hunt in the pools. I watched one for ten minutes, diving and resurfacing. Wild garlic fills the woodland floor.

Photography Reality: The falls face east. Morning light is best. I arrived at 9:00 am and had the place to myself for 45 minutes. By 11:00, three coach tours had arrived. The National Park Centre car park holds maybe 40 cars. It fills.

Ribblehead Viaduct: Victorian Ambition on the Moor (54.2103°N, -2.3708°W)

The Ribblehead Viaduct is the Dales' most photographed structure. It carries the Settle-Carlisle Railway across Batty Moss on 24 arches. It took 4,000 navvies four years to build (1870-1874). Over 100 died during construction.

Getting There: I took the DalesBus from Hawes to avoid parking stress. The bus drops you at the Station Inn, 200 metres from the viaduct. The journey took 55 minutes of winding roads and sheep-related traffic delays.

The Experience: The viaduct is genuinely impressive up close. Each arch is massive. The stonework is weathered black in places, pale grey in others. Steam trains still run occasionally—check the Settle-Carlisle Railway website. I missed one by a day.

Walking Options:

Easy: Walk beneath and around the viaduct (1 mile, 30 minutes)
Moderate: Climb Park Fell for views (3 miles, 2 hours)
Stupid: The Yorkshire Three Peaks (24 miles, 12 hours)

I attempted the Park Fell route. My knees, already complaining after days of limestone, staged a protest. I turned back at the halfway point. The views from where I stopped were good enough.

Ingleton Waterfalls Trail: Steps, So Many Steps (54.1536°N, -2.4722°W)

Practical Details:

Entry: £10 adults (cash only, pay at entrance)
Distance: 4.5 miles circular
Time: 2.5-3 hours
Terrain: Woodland paths, steps, some steep sections
Open: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (spring/summer), 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (autumn/winter)

The trail follows two rivers—Twiss and Doe—through ancient oak woodland, passing six waterfalls. It's privately owned and maintained, hence the entry fee. The paths are excellent—boardwalks, steps, handrails where needed.

The Waterfalls:

Pecca Falls: Five small cascades. Pretty.
Hollybush Spout: Narrow drop into a deep pool. Someone carved steps to the pool edge. I don't recommend following them.
Thornton Force: The highlight. A 14-metre drop over limestone bedrock. You can walk behind it. I did. I got soaked.
Beezley Falls: Multiple streams. The "Triple Spout" section is dramatic.
Rival Falls: Named because two landowners disputed the boundary.
Snow Falls: White and foaming. Accurate name.

By the end, my legs were done. 4.5 miles doesn't sound like much, but the steps add up. I calculated approximately 1,200 individual steps up and down. My knees clicked audibly when I sat down.

The Villages: Stone, History, and the Quiet Intensity of Yorkshire People

Malham: Where the Limestone Meets the Village

Malham is a small stone village at the foot of Malham Cove. It exists because of the cove—tourists have been coming here since the Victorian era, and the village has adapted with pubs, B&Bs, and a small shop that sells more waterproofs than bread.

Lunch: The Buck Inn, Malham

Address: Malham, Skipton BD23 4DA
Phone: 01729 830317
Price: £12-18 for mains
Open: Food served 12:00–9:00 pm daily
What I had: Yorkshire Dales lamb hotpot (£14.95), pint of Black Sheep bitter (£4.20)

The Buck Inn sits in the village centre and knows exactly what it is: a walker refuge. Stone floors, open fire, dog bowls by the door. The hotpot was proper food—lamb shoulder, potatoes, carrots, no pretension. The portion size suggested they expected me to walk another 10 miles. I barely managed the 200 metres to my B&B.

Where I Stayed: Malham Smithy B&B

Address: 1 Town Head, Malham BD23 4DA
Phone: 01729 830463
Price: £95/night including breakfast
Check-in: 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Anne runs this place with the efficiency of someone who's seen every type of walker. She asked about my route, nodded when I mentioned Gordale Scar, and said, "Boots off in the porch." The room was small but warm. The shower had pressure—rare in old stone buildings. Breakfast was a full Yorkshire: eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomato, mushroom, beans, toast. I didn't need lunch until 3:00 pm.

Hawes: Cheese, History, and the Highest Market Town in England

Hawes is the highest market town in England (850 feet). It feels like the edge of the world, in a good way.

Wensleydale Creamery (54.3042°N, -2.1969°W): I'm not a food writer, but I respect craft. The Wensleydale Creamery makes 3,000 tonnes of cheese annually using methods that date back to the 12th century. Cistercian monks brought the recipe from France. Now it's made by people in hairnets using stainless steel vats. Progress.

The Experience:

Free viewing gallery overlooking the production floor
Guided tours: £8.50, including tasting (daily, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm)
Shop: Every variety of Wensleydale imaginable
Open: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm daily

I watched a man stir a vat the size of a swimming pool. The smell was farmyard-strong. In the shop, I learned that Wallace & Gromit saved this creamery from closure in the 1990s. Their love for Wensleydale caused sales to spike. There's a display case dedicated to them. British industry is weird.

The Tuesday Market: Hawes market has run since 1699. Every Tuesday, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, the square fills with stalls selling local produce, crafts, and livestock supplies. I was there on a Wednesday, so I missed it. The Rope Makers is interesting—19th-century machinery still producing rope using traditional methods. The owner explained the process for twenty minutes. I understood about 40% but nodded politely.

Dinner: The White Hart Inn, Hawes

Address: Main Street, Hawes DL8 3NL
Phone: 01969 667321
Price: £13-18 for mains
Open: Food served 12:00–8:30 pm daily

The White Hart Inn has been a coaching inn since the 18th century. The floors slope. The ceilings are low. The beer is well-kept. I had the beer-battered fish and chips (£15.95). The fish was haddock, not cod—proper Yorkshire style. The batter was crisp. The chips were homemade. The mushy peas were... present. I'm not a mushy peas person.

Where I Stayed: The Wensleydale Hotel

Address: 8-10 Market Place, Hawes DL8 3NL
Phone: 01969 622093
Price: £140/night including breakfast
Check-in: 2:00 pm – 10:00 pm

More expensive than Malham, but I wanted a proper bed. Large room, modern bathroom, and a drying room for wet walking gear—essential in spring. The included breakfast was excellent: local bacon, free-range eggs, sourdough toast.

Grassington: The Prettiest Village and a Final Walk

Grassington is the Dales' prettiest village. Cobbled square, stone cottages, hanging baskets, the works. It was used as filming location for the recent All Creatures Great and Small series, standing in for "Darrowby."

Lunch: The Devonshire Inn, Grassington

Address: The Square, Grassington BD23 5AQ
Phone: 01756 752511
Price: £10-14 for mains
Open: Food served 12:00–8:30 pm daily

I had the Yorkshire pudding wrap with roast beef (£11.95). It's a Yorkshire pudding (large, hollow, made from batter) filled with beef, gravy, and vegetables. Essentially a Sunday roast in sandwich form. Messy to eat. Delicious. I ate it with my hands like an animal.

Linton Falls: A 2-mile circular walk from the village. Follow the River Wharfe downstream to the falls, where it tumbles over limestone shelves. In spring, the riverside is lined with wild garlic and early bluebells. The falls themselves are modest—maybe 3 metres total drop—but the setting is peaceful. I sat on a rock for twenty minutes and watched a dipper hunt. It was my last moment of Dales calm before driving back to Leeds.

Dinner: The Foresters Arms

Address: 8 Main Street, Grassington BD23 5AA
Phone: 01756 752622
Price: £13-17 for mains
Open: Food served 12:00–9:00 pm daily

My final meal in the Dales. I had the Dales lamb burger (£15.95) and a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord bitter. The burger was substantial, properly pink in the middle, with good cheese and proper chips. The beer was perfectly kept—Yorkshire breweries know their business.

I chatted with the barman about walking routes. He'd done the Three Peaks twelve times. Said the trick is to start at midnight and finish by breakfast. I said that sounded horrific. He agreed, but said the sunrise from the top of Whernside was worth it. Yorkshire people are quietly intense about their landscape.

The Food and Drink: What to Eat, Where to Find It, and Why It Matters

The Dales doesn't do fancy food. It does honest food made from ingredients grown or raised within 20 miles. The lamb comes from the sheep you walked past. The cheese comes from the creamery you visited. The beer comes from breweries that have been operating for centuries. This is not farm-to-table as a marketing concept. This is just how it works here.

What to Eat

Wensleydale Cheese: The king of Dales cheese. Creamy, slightly crumbly, with a clean finish. Available in varieties: mature, extra mature, with cranberry, with ginger, smoked. The creamery in Hawes is the source. Prices: £4.50–£5.50 for 200g.

Yorkshire Dales Lamb: The sheep graze on limestone-rich grass, which gives the meat a distinct flavour. You'll find it in hotpots, roasts, and burgers.

Yorkshire Pudding: Not a dessert. A batter-based side dish, traditionally served with Sunday roast. In Grassington, they turned it into a wrap. Yorkshire innovation at its finest.

Sticky Toffee Pudding: The Dales' signature dessert. Dense sponge cake made with dates, soaked in toffee sauce. The Masons Arms in Ingleton made the best version I tried—properly dense, properly sweet, proper custard.

Black Sheep Bitter: Brewed in Masham, 20 miles from Hawes. A traditional Yorkshire bitter—dark, malty, with a clean finish. Available in every pub. Price: £3.80–£4.50 per pint.

Timothy Taylor's Landlord: Brewed in Keighley. A pale ale with a floral hop character. Won more awards than any other beer in Britain. If you drink one beer in the Dales, make it this. Price: £3.80–£4.50 per pint.

Where to Eat and Drink

The Bay Tree (Fine Dining)

Address: 4 Main Street, Hawes DL8 3LZ
Phone: 01969 667200
Price: £32-65 (tasting menu with wine)
Booking: Essential
Open: Wed-Sat, 6:30–9:00 pm

I splurged here. The tasting menu with wine pairing (£65) is expensive for the Dales, but the food is excellent: Yorkshire beef carpaccio, seared scallops, venison loin, local cheese selection. The wine pairings are smart and well-matched. By the end, I was full, slightly drunk, and convinced the Dales punches above its weight gastronomically.

The Falls Café (Casual)

Address: Aysgarth Falls National Park Centre
Phone: 01969 663424
Price: £6-10 for lunch
Open: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily (shorter hours in winter)
What I had: Wensleydale cheese and chutney sandwich (£7.50), coffee (£2.80)

Café in a visitor centre. You know what you're getting. The sandwich was decent—thick-cut bread, proper cheese. The coffee was hot. The view from the window was excellent. Sometimes that's enough.

The Station Inn (Ribblehead)

Address: Ribblehead, Ingleton LA6 3AS
Phone: 015242 41244
Price: £12-18 for mains
Open: Food served 12:00–8:00 pm daily

This pub has been serving navvies and tourists for over 150 years. The interior is basic—wooden benches, stone floor, open fire. The food is hearty: steak and ale pie (£15.95), Sunday roast (£16.50), substantial portions. I sat by the window and watched rain sweep across the viaduct. A group of Three Peakers came in, muddy to the waist, ordered five pints and five pies, and didn't speak for ten minutes. Walking builds appetite.

The Masons Arms, Ingleton

Address: Main Street, Ingleton LA6 3EB
Phone: 015242 41244
Price: £12-16 for mains
Open: Food served 12:00–8:30 pm daily

A village pub doing reliable food. I had the Lancashire hotpot (£14.50)—lamb, potatoes, onions, gravy. Simple, effective, comforting. The sticky toffee pudding (£6.95) was the best I'd had on the trip. The couple at the next table were doing the Three Peaks the next day. I gave them my remaining blister plasters. Walking karma.

Underground and Overlooked: Caves, Waterfalls, and the Spaces Between

White Scar Cave (54.1492°N, -2.4858°W)

Practical Details:

Entry: £12.50 adults
Tour duration: 80 minutes
Temperature: Constant 8°C
Open: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (spring), longer hours in summer
Tours run every 20–30 minutes

Britain's longest show cave extends 6 kilometres into the hillside. The guided tour covers 1.6 kilometres. Bring a warm layer—even on a mild day, 8°C feels cold after 80 minutes.

Guides lead you through chambers with names like "The Battlefield" (thousands of stalactites looking like an army) and "The Witch." The "Frozen Waterfall" is a 10-metre flowstone formation. The final chamber has an underground waterfall.

Stalactites grow 1 centimetre per century. The formations I saw were 50,000-100,000 years old. Human history is a blink in cave time. Cave photography is impossible without proper equipment. My phone produced blurry grey images.

Spring Warning: Heavy rain can flood sections of the cave. Check the website before visiting. My tour was shortened by 10 minutes due to water levels.

Hardraw Force: England's Highest Single-Drop Waterfall (54.3231°N, -2.2053°W)

Hardraw Force is England's highest single-drop waterfall at approximately 30 metres. It's accessed through the Green Dragon Inn. You pay £4 at the bar, walk through the pub garden, and follow the path.

The waterfall is impressive, but the setting is the star—a natural amphitheatre of rock where the sound echoes. J.M.W. Turner painted here in 1816. Standing there, I understood why. The light catches the mist and creates rainbows. I took 47 photos. Three were usable.

April is peak flow. The water crashes down with enough force to make conversation impossible from close range. I got wet from spray standing 20 metres back. Waterproofs essential.

What to Skip

Buttertubs Pass in a hire car: Single-track, 20% gradients, often closed until May. Beautiful, but terrifying in a vehicle you don't own. The locals overtake you while eating sandwiches.
Grassington on a bank holiday weekend: The village is tiny. The square fills with day-trippers. You can't move, park, or hear yourself think. Visit midweek or early morning.
The "gift shop" at any attraction: Identical tat sold at inflated prices. The Wensleydale Creamery shop is the exception—buy cheese there.
Bolton Castle (if you're short on time): A partially ruined castle near Redmire. It's fine, but not exceptional. The Dales is about the landscape, not the castles. Entry: £12.50 adults. Open: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm (Apr-Oct).
The Three Peaks Challenge unless you're prepared: Pen-y-ghent, Whernside, and Ingleborough in 12 hours. I met a man who'd attempted it in trainers and finished in 14 hours, unable to walk for three days. Respect the route, or skip it.
Any pub that advertises a "gastropub" menu: The Dales does traditional food well. It does fancy food badly. If you see quinoa or foam on a menu, leave.
Trying to visit everything in one day: The Dales is not compact. Malham to Hawes is 40 minutes by car. Pick two things per day, or you'll spend your trip in the car.

What Not to Miss

Malham Cove at dawn, when the mist fills the valley and the limestone pavement is empty
Aysgarth Falls after rain, when the River Ure is thunderous and the woodland smells of wild garlic
Wensleydale cheese from the source—the creamery shop in Hawes, not a supermarket
A pint by a pub fire after a wet walk, with your boots steaming in the corner
The Settle-Carlisle railway, especially crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct
A conversation with a local farmer—they know secrets no guidebook includes
The sound of curlews calling on the moor at dusk
The moment you realize the rain has stopped and the sun has turned the limestone gold

The Honest Verdict

The Yorkshire Dales won't blow your mind with scale. The highest point is 736 metres. The "mountains" are hills by Alpine standards. The waterfalls are pretty, not thunderous (except in full spring spate). The villages are charming but small.

What the Dales offers is something rarer: authenticity. This is a working landscape, farmed for thousands of years, with a culture that's survived enclosure acts, industrialization, and the tourist economy. The dry stone walls—5,000 miles in the National Park alone—represent millions of hours of human labour. The sheep farming is hard, marginal work done by families who've been here for generations. The pubs serve food made from ingredients grown or raised within 20 miles.

I walked 35 miles over five days. I saw peregrine falcons hunt, dippers dive, lambs take their first steps. I ate exceptional cheese and adequate pub grub. I talked to farmers, B&B owners, bar staff, and fellow walkers. Everyone had time for conversation. No one was in a hurry.

Would I return? Yes, but in autumn for the heather, or winter for the snow on the tops. Spring was beautiful but wet. My waterproofs got more use than my camera.

Who is this for? Walkers. People who find satisfaction in physical effort. Those who prefer pubs to clubs, scenery to shopping, conversation to entertainment. If you want nightlife, shopping, or reliable sunshine, go elsewhere.

Final advice: Pack waterproofs. Trust the weather to change. Talk to locals. And eat the cheese. All of it.

Quick Reference

Emergency Numbers:

Emergency services: 999 or 112
Mountain Rescue: 999 (ask for police, then mountain rescue)
YDNP Emergency: 0300 456 0030

Useful Apps:

OS Maps (essential for navigation)
Weather.com (check hourly, not daily)
DalesBus (timetables)

Budget Summary:

Budget traveller: ~£400 for 5 days (hostels, self-catering, buses)
Mid-range: ~£700 for 5 days (B&Bs, pub meals, car hire)
Splurge: ~£900+ for 5 days (hotels, fine dining, car hire)

Language: English. Yorkshire dialect is thick. "Ey up" means hello. "Champion" means good. "Proper" means authentic. "Ginnel" means alley. You don't need to speak it, but it helps to understand it.

Best Time to Visit: April–May for waterfalls and wildflowers; September–October for heather and autumn colours; December–February for snow on the tops and empty trails.