The Yosemite Nordic Holiday Race was first run as multi-day event in 1972, shortly after the founding of the Yosemite Mountaineering School. From Badger Pass, a ten kilometer loop was chosen for the race. The park service did not allow motorized grooming equipment so the race organisers built and pulled a sled to set the tracks.

The Yosemite Nordic Holiday Race is now mostly a skating race and goes from Badger Pass to Glacier Point and back, a total of 23.4 miles, 37.6 K. The winning time in 2023 was 1:57:22