First hand Trail Reports

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Minnesota Metro Area

• Feb 3 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Firm deck with a bit of ice and very fast. The classic track was icy which made for easy double poling even for an old fart like me.
  Watch out for the deep gouges on the downhill section of the toilet bowl. I hooked an edge on one and did a 180 before falling.
  (Jack Stech)
• Feb 3 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Relatively excellent.
  Just spent an hour ski-skating at Green Acres. Snow is holding up. One of those fast, yet stable days. Cloud cover helps - none of that ice and slush mix today. Enough sugar on top for good edge, balance and some sub-threshold V2 skating. Rock skis not needed, just need to keep watch for a few thin spots and stay agile. Thanks again to Green Acres (and Ben Popp) for salvaging the season.
  (Mike Reid)
• Feb 3 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Scheduling update: City Conference Championships from 12 to 4:30 today.
  (Michael Gotzsche)
• Feb 2 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Scheduling update: Besides the usual high school practices, Elm Creek will be reserved Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon/evening, Feb 7-8, for high school section races (2:30-7:30 pm).
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Feb 2 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Soft but good.
  2-3" of soft slush. My skis work great on it. I was there at 6:00 when the buses were just leaving. Put in 3 nice laps.
  (Jon Schaumann)
• Feb 2 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Loose slush.
  Had about an hour to ski, ran out to Elm Creek to get a quick workout. Mistake. Arrived around 4 p.m. Paved lot was full. Side lot was closed due to mud. Had to ride the shuttle. High School conference meet was beginning. I skied one lap, found 4-6" of slush. Slow. Felt bad for the kids. Realized it just wasn't meant to be for me today...
  (Stan Hokanson)
• Feb 2 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Fast dirty snow.
  I skated the courses for both IPC races at 9am today and then some. The trails were in great shape as the groomers had done a lot of work on them and I was one of the first ones on them. Very dirty snow, would suggest B skiis. Course was very fast too as it had frozen up again overnight.
  (Eve Stein)
• Feb 2 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Brown.
  The snow on most of the course is very dirty, and the ground is starting to show through in a couple of spots. I wouldn't recommend using good skis until snowmaking can begin again -- I felt like I was skiing on sandpaper on the upper flat loop and on the downhill into the stadium. The groomers have been doing a great job given the abysmal conditions, but there's not a lot to work with right now.
  (Emma Lee)
• Feb 2 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Like a Caramel Macchiato Frappucino.
  Semi-frozen tan slush, with a few pieces of ice and a some liquid mixed in. Slow, sticky, slushy, foggy, wet, blah. But....at least it was skiable; which is a plus considering the weather we've had.
  It was my first time to Green Acres, and I was impressed with the layout and effort they have clearly put in. Some nice hills, and decent variety.
  (Michael Schwartz)
• Feb 2 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Good. Wet. Fast. Foggy.
  A few hee-bee-gee-bees on the backside of both donuts.
  Double-tracked from the high school races. Faster than expected.
  The Zetas worked according to Tom B....wish mine hadn't blown out a sidewall a few years ago.
  (Mark Lahtinen)
• Feb 1 - Hiawatha Golf Course (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Island-Hopping awesome!
  What a difference a day makes. Tuesday: ok crust skiing, Wednesday: only one small patch of snow left, barely connected. We could use a few inches... guess it's back to running.
  (Scott Hatch)
• Feb 1 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Skate skiing at Wirth on Wednesday evening was surprisingly good. The skate bed was not icing, it was easy to edge, and the uphills were not getting too cut up. There are a few darker spots on the trail around the course, but those seem like they may be more from water seeping through the snowpack than from dirt starting to show. Granted, I've only skied here in the evening lately, so bright light could prove me wrong. Still, I'm impressed at how well the course is holding up. Saw one high school group (Orono?) earlier, and what looked to be a master's group later, but generally not a lot of skier traffic (in the evening) all things considered.
  (Ted Lystig)
• Feb 1 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Weather really taking its toll...
  I skied Tuesday night and it was wonderful. Tonight (Wednesday) less so. There was a significant loss of quality today. I kicked both nights with Toko Red Klister. Tuesday was good, and it was great tonight in the few spots where the track was icy but very slow most everywhere else. I actually skied a loop tonight with my good skis and was nervous the whole time because of dirt and possible ground (too dark to tell), so I switched to rock skis to ease my mind. Track is deteriorating in many places but was still pretty decent considering this crazy winter. Overall: Better than not skiing and impressive considering, but it sure would be nice to just have a real winter.
  (Casey Rutherford)
• Feb 1 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Excellent! Hard packed, fairly fast. Good skis for sure.
  Skied 2 1/2 hours alternating between tough hill training and nice, easy, technique training on an incredibly wide and even top loop. Many of the trails have nice 4-8" base of man-made snow on them, almost all are open leading to some really great skiing. Only downside - incredibly crowded, always. Lots of high school teams training and racing, and seemingly the entire east metro on skis besides.
  (Rob Fanderson)
• Feb 1 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Better than expected!
  Unlike the previous reporter, I found the Como glacier to be holding up very well. There are some icy spots, but overall it was better than expected if you don't mind being confined to a small area with good coverage. I classic skied with tape skis and they were fine if you don't mind the lack of set tracks. A double pole workout would be very doable.
  (Doug Schumacher)
• Feb 1 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Conditions are not good! There is no snow to ski!
  I'm a golfer in the summer at Como so please stay off the course for now.
  (Joshua Bentley)
• Feb 1 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Closed--again.
  Our non-winter continues.
  (Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)
• Jan 31 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  I went classic skiing at Wirth on Tuesday evening at about 7:30. The air temperature was still above freezing, and the snow was corn-like. Tracks were set throughout most of the loop, with the exception of some of the steeper hills (up and down), a few merging sections, and near the lower start/finish area. The start/finish area was a bit confusing, as there is very little light there, and what seem to be a few course options for the sit-ski racing. Coverage was generally quite good, but there were two spots where I wasn't sure if the snow was thin or just dirty. It actually seemed to ski faster out of the tracks than in, since a number of leaves were embedded in the classic tracks (and it almost felt like there might have been residual klister on the leaves as well). No-wax skis gripped well out of the tracks, but were noisy as heck. Not too crowded though - just one largish group finishing up around 8, and maybe a dozen of us beyond that.
  (Ted Lystig)
• Jan 31 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  At 4:30 the high school teams were en masse double poling over watery ice on Isles.
  (Bart Cannon)
• Jan 31 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Good.
  A wide swath of The Glacier has been rolled. The snow was fast for skate skis in the morning with temps above freezing. The sliding hill at the end of The Glacier was still snow-covered as well as the by the rope-tow for climbing practice.
  (David Byrne, Minnesota Rovers Outdoors Club)
• Jan 31 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Good for skate on lakes.
  Skied on Isles and Cedar. Still a good base where it had been groomed. I used rock skis but better skis would have been fine except under the bridges. Classic tracks looked thin in most places. Puddles may appear quickly now that the sun is beating down.
  (Sue Schroeder)
• Jan 31 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Fast but in fair conditions.
  Skied the inner 2K loop multiple times this morning and the trail continues to hold the snow well. A few branches sticking out from the snow and one right turn that's exposed to the sun that is losing most of the snow. The longer loops may still be skiable but expect that the hill about 1.1 miles in will be rocky!
  (Eric Spieler)
• Jan 30 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  I skied from 5 - 6:00. The course was in very decent shape but starting to show some wear. It is being used intensively.
  (John Breitinger)
• Jan 30 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Good rock-ski conditions!
  Put away my skis and brought out the running shoes a few weeks ago. On a whim I drove out to Elk River today. I had forgotten how much fun skiing was. A little dirt, a couple dicey spots, but continuous coverage on the outer loops. Went around twice just to be sure. Amazing conditions considering the lack of winter weather.
  (John Kendrick)
• Jan 29 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Terrific rock skiing. Thin but thorough coverage everywhere.
  The lit loop and woods at Battle Creek are covered well enough to offer really enjoyable skate skiing. Rock skis are a must to navigate the south-facing hills and usual thin spots, but this remains an awesome place to ski.
  (Alec Steward)
• Jan 29 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Scheduling update: Wirth will be hosting IPC World Cup races this week, so there will be trail closures on the snowmaking loop. Current schedule has: Tuesday and Wednesday closed until 3 pm, Thursday closed until 5 pm.
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Jan 29 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Immaculate.
  The snow making loop is perfect right now for skate or classic. The section added on in the par 3 course is a nice plus. Use your best skis without hesitation.
  (Zach Handler)
• Jan 29 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Plenty good. My afternoon lap was fast and fun. Everyone I met on the trail was happy to be skiing on a real snow close to home.
  Shear-pin just finished making two passes over the outer loop with the light screens. He is predicting a fine ski if you can make it before the sun eats it up. Enjoy!
  (Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)
• Jan 29 - Medicine Lake (Plymouth):
  Conditions: Classic tracks: very good to excellent; skating: fresh snow on top of groomed skating lane.
  The conditions were great this afternoon on Medicine Lake. Ryan Atwell and the Medicine Lake Ski Club have set a super double track classic trail around 2/3 of the lake close to the shore. We had an added bonus of skiing right underneath a bald eagle perched on a tree right above the trail. Many thanks to the Club for grooming the trail!
  Photos:  
  (Bill Lundberg)
• Jan 29 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Scheduling update:
  Monday Jan. 30th - 2:45 - 5:00 = High School Practice
  Tuesday Jan. 31st - 3:00 - 5:00 = High School Practice
  Wednesday Feb. 1st - 7:00am - 4:00pm - Conference Championships
  Thursday Feb. 2nd - 3:00 - 5:00pm - High School Ski Race
  Friday Feb. 3rd - OPEN to public, small amount of High School practices
  (Beth Springborn, Green Acres Recreation)
• Jan 29 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Amazingly good considering the lack of snow and warm temps!
  Kudos to Everett Meyers and the grooming crew for the Marine race today! The 10.5 k course was completely covered. We all used our "B" skis as recommended but I think there was only one stroke where I may have hit something. So nice to ski on a real trail. Too bad it probably won't last.
  (Cheryl DuBois)
• Jan 29 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Good for classic--maybe fair for skate skiing if you have rock skis.
  I skied all the trails this afternoon and was surprised at what good shape they were in, relative to the small amount of snow. I was on my waxable (wood) skis. You have to be flexible and not be concerned about the lack of grooves (set track), but the coverage was good, with only a couple of small bare patches, and a few sticks, rocks, and leaves. It was great to be out kicking and gliding again. Better get out tonight (lights around the lake trail are on till 10 pm) or tomorrow early in the day.
  (Craig Wiklund)
• Jan 29 - Lake Elmo Park Reserve (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Still decent at Lake Elmo.
  The trails at Lake Elmo have held up surprisingly well. Don't use good skis but with a little caution, you can get around the east and west sides pretty well. The west side does have lots of footprints from walkers though. In fact, it's as if Sherman's Army came through on their march to the sea...
  (Jay Tegedar)
• Jan 29 - Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Eagan):
  Conditions: Enough snow but no track.
  Better than I expected in regards to the snow coverage but not packed or tracked. I was disappointed to see hikers walking with their dogs on the ski trails.
  Photos:  
  (Conrad Sanders)
• Jan 29 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Skateable.
  90% Coverage for my rock skate skis. Plenty of good skiing on the ski course. Had the whole place to myself. Wow!
  (Steve Serantoni)
• Jan 29 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Better after last night's snow... good to fair for skating, looks too thin to set classical tracks.
  8am Sunday: Skated this morning as the groomer was finishing up. All three loops were groomed including Ironwood! I still recommend rock skis due to very thin coverage in a few places. The short loop was in the best shape for skating. The medium loop had a couple places with the ground showing. I was able to step around most of it. Just be careful in the usual places where the coverage gets thin.
  (Mike Maiers)
• Jan 29 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Very nice conditions this morning for skating, considering the weather this winter, the crew has done a great job getting it in shape.
  Agree with a previous post from a few days ago, will shift from Elm Creek to save a 30 mi trip, the trails and hills at Wirth are now in really very good condition.
  (Brian Crotteau)
• Jan 28 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Good.
  Set course tonight. Beautiful ski lit by stars and half moon. Thanks to the Stillwater Ski Team Coaches the area under the pines is now fully covered. Randy groomed today and the course has set up beautifully. There are some thin spots but nothing that you can't ski around. I'm really impressed with how good the skiing is. It will be a great day on Sunday. Looking forward to seeing friends and having a fun day on skis.
  (Everett Myers, Marine/O'Brien Ski Race)
• Jan 28 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Thin snow, but just so much fun!
  Pics show it all, be cautious, especially on trails with asphalt below.
  Photos:  
  (Dean Kleinhans)
• Jan 28 - Lake Elmo Park Reserve (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Skating very good east side. No formal classic tracks.
  The course is very skiable on the east side. Perfect conditions for the skate clinic this morning. A fresh inch of ice crystal snow over a firm base made it nice and fast but compliant. The east trails are quite smooth and there's plenty of snow cover. Some dirty and icy spots but avoidable. The west side (A loop) has a lot of ruts from years of tire traffic. You can ski it but it's not much fun. There's excellent snow in the far east green loop with even some decent classic tracks.
  (Steve Thatcher, Ride and Glide Bike & Ski Club)
• Jan 28 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Poor.
  I actually skied the entire Loppet course today. The golf course was manageable, but getting off the course and over to the JD Gardens was challenging. Rocks, dirt, branches and lack of snow made it slow. The hills in the Butler Garden and Bryn Mawr area were treacherous. The bog was a "bog." Walking at times was the safest mode of transit. Walking over 394 and skiing on the lakes was the best part of the course. The COLNSF made the correct decision. The course was not safe to ski.
  (Jim Williams)
• Jan 28 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Scheduling update: Green Acres X-Country Ski Trails are closed and will reopen on Sunday Jan. 29th @ 3:00pm due to the Super Tour Ski Race.
  (Beth Springborn, Green Acres Recreation)
• Jan 28 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  First time this year led us to conclude no more need to go to Elm Creek (save 30 miles on the car)! :-) We were happy to see the course groomed by 7AM. I see no need for B skis, coverage is good with a small bit of dirt in the snow near the machine shed. The little dogleg section over to the Par 3 building is a little cut up but I'm sure it will only get better as there's plenty of snow.
  (Steve Eberly)
• Jan 28 - Medicine Lake (Plymouth):
  Conditions: Good.
  Grooming report: Double classic tracks and a skate lane have been set around 2/3 of the shore of Medicine Lake starting in the lagoon just NW of the boat launch at French Park and running around the north bay, the entire west shore (minus the heavily trafficed area around the W boat launch), all bays and Peninsula on the SW side of the lake, and along the SE side of the lake as far as the art shanty's and the public beach. Medicine lake is multiple use -- vehicles will inevitably wipe out small (hopefully) portions of the trail. Classic tracks are deep and hard and should hold up well. The skate lane improves skating in places, but crust cruising on the whole lake should be decent. Be careful of a few thin spots where the classic tracks run on shore.
  (Ryan Atwell)
• Jan 28 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Bad.
  Tried Phalen because I thought one might be able to crust ski it. One might not. At least not me. Turned around at headed for Lake Como where the crust skiing was awesome.
  (Jenneke Oosterhoff)
• Jan 28 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Very good (98%); Thin (2%); Fun (100%).
  Some of the most relaxing skiing I've had this year. Generally great cover, albeit bumpy and grass showing through here and there. After a tentative first lap turned up only a few areas to be cautious about (described below), we were able to ski all of the downhills, twists, and turns with abandon. The places to watch out for are the parts of the trail system closer to the parking lot that have pavement/gravel underneath, especially the prairie loop and the last 1/4K of the 10K course when approaching the parking lot (walk or double pole in the grass). Also, the very steep first half the 'Top of the World' climb was thin with several rocks (we walked up). Other steeper hills were still OK, but will get thin with more use. The trail had only had about a dozen passes today, and there were only a couple cars in the lot when we left at 1:30PM. My wife and I each had a small knick on one edge of one ski (prob from the uphills). I'd use B skis with care; and C skis with bravado. Thanks to the grooming crew for once again making great skiing out of not much!
  (Ryan Atwell)
• Jan 28 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Remarkably not bad! Helps if you pretend it's mid-March.
  Skated all of Cleary's trails this morning. There is no classic track, of course. After our 2"-3" last weekend they must've packed the small and middle loop, but not the outer loop. So while not perfect, those packed trails set up pretty hard, and the 1" or so we got yesterday makes for a pretty nice surface. Be aware of the usual trouble spots, and by all means use rock skis, and you can have a good time. Personally, I'd skip the cutoff to the outer loop - it's pretty rutted and there are a couple south facing areas that are burned out and totally un-skiable.
  (Dan Steger)
• Jan 28 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Not bad for skate, but pretty poor for classic.
  Needless to say, cover is thin but pretty fast and fun. A little icy in places, a little rutted in others, but overall a nice ski. Ya gotta ski around some bare spots, but that's no big deal- you can ski anywhere! Snow a little deep and crusty in places for really good "crust skiing".
  (Pete Thurmes)
• Jan 28 - Medicine Lake (Plymouth):
  Conditions: Excellent lake skiing! About 2/3 of the lake is groomed with double classic tracks, and wide skate deck. Tracks were set Friday night, and skate lane was groomed this morning for perfect lake skiing.
  Many thanks to Ryan Atwell and the rest of the Medicine Lake Nordic Ski Club for making this possible!
  (Carl Shaffer)
• Jan 28 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: The fact that there will be a ski race this year at O'Brien is incredible given the lack of snow this year. I skied this morning and conditions were good but thin. Rock skis are a must. Randy has been out grooming this morning and plans to groom again later today. It is hard to predict how the course will be tomorrow but Randy is an expert with low snow. Be careful and avoid snowplowing on the hills. Might not be the best race for a beginner. An additional inch tonight would be great. Just keep in mind there is very little cushion in the event of a fall so extra caution is warranted. Having said the above the O'Brien event is always a great race and race director Everett puts on a great event.
  On another note the head groomer Randy is retiring after 22 years in the park. A big reason why skiing has been so good is the hard work and dedication he has given to skiing. This will be his last race and nobody is more disappointed at the lack of snow than he is. If you see him thank him for all his hard work over the years - he will be missed.
  Photos:  
  (Jim Smith)
• Jan 28 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Excellent conditions at 6am.
  Staff is doing an excellent job of keeping the trails ski able. For anyone who complains get out earlier in the day.
  (Scott Greymont)
• Jan 27 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Dirty before, OK now.
  On Thursday the snow was really dirty there, but with the couple of inches we got today, it was a bit better. B-skis for sure, I saw some rockage going on with the trails.
  (Davis Johnson)
• Jan 27 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Rolled and ready to ski? If you are tired of skiing hot laps and lakes and don't mind the low snow condition bumps, you might want to give it a whirl.
  Ancient One and Taxi ran the rollers this eveing on most of the system. We rolled a couple of inches on Monday, got another inch mid week, could have done without 40 yesterday and got just shy of an inch today. Ski with caution on your first lap due to thin coverage, especially on the paved (flat) trails. Enjoy with caution.
  (Dave Anderson, Elk River Nordic Ski Club)
• Jan 27 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Skating on Northern Lights Trail good in early afternoon, but lots of wet snow in the air.
  New light cover of snow on Friday helped skate ski conditions on Northern Lights Trail. Ventured out on outer loop a little, but snow cover in unprotected areas was light, so turned back. Ended up walking more than I wanted. But additional snow in afternoon might make it worth a try tomorrow.
  (Jon Clark)
• Jan 27 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Scheduling update: Green Acres is open for skiing until 5pm today, stadium inspection until noon only. Also the wax building is open for use--first come first serve for space.
  (Mike Brown)
• Jan 27 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Good.
  Trail held up after the warm up yesterday. Thanks to everyone for avoiding the trails while it was warm.
  Grooming plans: Randy will groom at least once more before Sunday. I've posted a trail map in Visitor Center that is highlighted in yellow where we need volunteers to put more snow. Under pines by campground, tunnel (someone did a good bit here), rr tracks and s-curve still highest priority, but any south facing spots would benefit from more snow. No walker only skiers with sleds and shovels for trail work. Thanks to all volunteers in advance.
  (Everett Myers, Marine/O'Brien Ski Race)
• Jan 26 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  We skied Elm Creek Thursday night from 7:30-8:30, after temps had dropped back below freezing. The best skating conditions were on the small donut loop near the lodge; the snow was cut up enough that you could get a decent edge. On most of the rest of the snowmaking loop getting a consistent edge was difficult - I chose to double pole most of the course in the tracks, and just skate for the steeper uphills. The classic tracks were bomber, but pretty well glazed. The northern lights loop by evening was a mixed bag. A few sections (namely those more to the north) were pretty decent, but several sections there were rock ski conditions at best. In particular, the section right next to the road and joining the snow making loop was mostly bare ground. For other sections, it certainly does raise your heart rate to note on a downhill that you're not seeing shadows in front of you, but dirt.
  (Ted Lystig)
• Jan 26 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Excellent for classic.
  Had a great classic ski Thursday afternoon even while the relays were going on since they only used the skate lane. Freshly groomed tracks where a little slow at the start from the 40 deg temps but sped up nicely as the temp went down with the sun.
  (Dan Zenk)
• Jan 26 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Great to good, finally able to ski Northern Lights trail.
  Northern Lights trail just opened, but after morning ski trail is getting very soft and may not last through warmer afternoon temps. So fun to get to climb and cruise down Cowabunga again. Valley Trail (snowmaking) is normal rock solid top notch. Thanks groomers!
  Photos:  
  (Dean Kleinhans)
• Jan 26 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Very hard-packed and fast.
  Fast skiing Thursday evening at Wirth on the man-made snow after the temps dropped and the course firmed up. Near-icy conditions required good downhill skills, but it was quite enjoyable. Much more fun than Elm Creek. Hopefully they'll be able to mix in some new snow on Friday to soften things up a little bit.
  (Mark Schulte)
• Jan 26 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Mostly gone.
  An icy run along the lights to the south is all that's really left. Good enough for some back and forth to work up a sweat
  -desperate.
  (Scotty Nil)
• Jan 26 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Fair.
  I went out in the morning (8am) to Phalen and would rate it as 'good' with the exception of 2 places where you are under a lot of trees. The trees are pooping pine cones and twigs but you can miss them pretty easy.
  This afternoon (at 3pm) I went to check things out - walking over whilst holding my recovery drink of a tall boy Pabst (ok 2 of them) and things were getting a bit gutted. There were a ton of high school kids and the trails were opening up anywhere near trees. Fairways still looked good, but as in other posts please stay off till she freezes up again!
  (Jeremy Sartain)
• Jan 26 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Good but please try to stay off the trail today with temps above freezing for 6 hours.
  I sure would appreciate it if skiers can stay off the trails today while temps are above freezing from 11-6pm. Tonight temps back below freezing and for the rest of the week, so should be good to ski after today.
  (Everett Myers, Marine/O'Brien Ski Race)
• Jan 25 - Highland 9-hole Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Fair minus. No classic track. The snow is churned up. On uphill stretches, under trees and in turns swaths of grass are showing. Watch out for the edge of an asphalt trail in the little grove at the very end of the loop.
  Snow's not so good, but hey, Mellie and I got out there for two laps of skijoring, only the second time this winter!
  (Christian Franken)
• Jan 25 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Fantastic.
  First time here and I was very impressed, especially compared to Troll Hollow which is fair at best for classic skiing! Nice hills and a few good straight sections. Trails were in perfect condition!
  (Eric Andre)
• Jan 25 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Not too bad.
  Surprisingly good on the race course but very poor on the west side of the road. (the lowest section of trails) I would not use my good skis in either area though.
  (Aaron Voreis)
• Jan 25 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Recommend rock skis; no classical track.
  I skated two outer loops and one middle loop late this afternoon. The two lighted loops are groomed - the groomers did their best with the thin snowfall we received. The shortest loop is in the best shape. Unfortunately, some dirt is starting to poke through on climbs in the middle and outer loops. Use caution on the "cutoff" downhill located after the Norway Pine section of Lakeside loop, where the trail runs along asphalt. Very thin coverage with asphalt and tree debris just below the surface. The shortest loop was probably in the best shape. That said, it was nice to ski in the woods locally!
  (Mike Maiers)
• Jan 25 - Lake Elmo Park Reserve (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Good to very good for skate. No classic tracks.
  Skated the entire east side doing a Recon for the Lake Elmo Ski Clinic on Saturday. Coverage is pretty good and not much for rocks. West side is much rockier. Some shallow human set classic tracks. Appears to have been a lot of traffic as the snow was pretty tracked up. So the clinic is a go for Saturday. Good conditions for teaching. Free skate lessons all levels. I'd limit classic to beginners due to lack of tracks and quality snow, but all are welcome.
  Photos:  
  (Steve Thatcher, Ride and Glide Bike & Ski Club)
• Jan 25 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Good with need for volunteers to put snow at 4 strategic points.
  Marine/O'Brien Ski Race will take place on Sunday 29th at the park. Thanks to Randy for excellent course prep. The new groomer is wider and overlaps in the middle resulting in no hump in the middle of the trail this year and a wider trail. The 4 inches of snow on Monday morning packed down nice and gave good cover. It firmed up Tuesday night and received one more inch of snow that made for smooth skiing this morning.
  The following areas need volunteers to put more snow on the course. Under the pines by the campground, the tunnel, the RR tracks on either side of them on on them, the S-curve. Volunteers who show photos of themselves and friend putting snow on these areas will receive a free stainless steel water bottle on race day at the registration table. Recommend "B skis" and skipping the Hardwood Hills Trail (gravel on the 1st steep climb). We'll skip this loop for the race unless more snow fall.
  Photos:  
  (Everett Myers, Marine/O'Brien Ski Race)
• Jan 25 - Pine Point Park (Stillwater):
  Pine Point packed today. Pretty good coverage but a little thin in the pines.
  (Theresa Young, Washington County Parks)
• Jan 25 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Fair - But skiable; You can see signs of where the groomer came through in past couple days.
  Skied the lighted loop (2.6 miles) a couple times this morning. Only one hill was still rocky (about 1.1 miles into trail). Recommend using rock skis on the longer loop. You probably could get away with using better skis on the short loop (1.2 miles).
  (Eric Spieler)
• Jan 25 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Scheduling plans: The SuperTour sprints are at Wirth tonight, so the course will be closed from 4 to 7 pm. Also, the Par 3 lot is closed now through the Loppet weekend as they prepare for the IPC World Cup.
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Jan 25 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Good.
  The course was rolled. There is grass showing in spots especially on the hilltops and a few twigs here and there, but not a problem. I only had to deviate from the trail once on the entire loop this morning. Did not find any cart paths under my skis.
  (Julie Olson)
• Jan 25 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Good to very good.
  Finally! Soft in spots depending on the temp. Excellent coverage, I only had to avoid a few sticks in the woods. I skied the lighted loop only but there were a fair number of tracks going off to the rest of the system.
  (Kent Sall)
• Jan 25 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Scheduling update: Elm Creek will be hosting high school races most afternoons, and on Friday this week, races 10am-12pm and 1:30-3:30pm.
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Jan 24 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  The course a fast track, tracks well set, about 3km of man made well-groomed trails for traditional and skating, fun hills!
  (Debra Henninger)
• Jan 24 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Good.
  Tuesday night I skied half a dozen laps of the lighted loop and ended up with one small scratch in the base of a ski, so not too bad! Somewhere between rock skis and good racing skis, I'd say.
  (Neil Belscamper)
• Jan 24 - Highland 9-hole Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Much better than nothing!
  I skate skied at 5:15PM. The route had been rolled and thoroughly skied over, but the conditions still proved to be enjoyable and surprisingly fast. There was quite a bit of grass sticking through, and a few harder obstacles (I nearly fell after catching a cart path). Use your rock skis.
  (Chris Lofgren)
• Jan 24 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Very good for skate, classic not so good.
  70 club members took to Como, our normal venue, for the first time in two months. The entire course is skateable. The cartpaths are covered with ice and snow so we just skied over them. The underlying ice really helped. The downhill area and approach is fully snowed in so that is usable as well. Classic means set your own tracks, pretty much limited to the Glacier. The north side has been rolled, the south side not. We need more skiers to pack the snow. Como won't be grooming until they get more snow and the lights will not be on until they groom. Get out there and do some grooming.
  (Steve Thatcher, Ride and Glide Bike & Ski Club)
• Jan 24 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Excellent. Best snow yet this winter! Skate deck firm, with fresh snow still in evidence on all loops. Classic tracks looked good, too!
  Out 6:30-8:00 PM with Sisu Skiers for skate workout.
  (Christian Franken)
• Jan 24 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  I was skate skiing on the man-made snow trails at 6 pm tonight and it was excellent. Looked like the classic tracks were excellent, too. The person at the info desk said the other trails weren't open yet, but I saw some people on the Northern Lights Trail.
  (Craig Wiklund)
• Jan 24 - Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Eagan):
  Conditions: Light snow cover, some dirt showing through.
  Got to use the Dakota County ski pass for the first time this year! Sidewalks are plowed, so made for a few interesting crossings! Just skied off of Holland Lake, only a few people had been out, so it was great. Some dirt showing through, and not enough snow to plant a pole, but hey, it's classic skiing!
  Photos:  
  (Lynne Nelson)
• Jan 24 - University of Minnesota Golf Course (Falcon Heights):
  Conditions: Good rock skiing.
  I'm not normally a fan of freezing mist but it sure does produce some nice rock skiing conditions. No grooming was happening, but the go-your-own-way backcountry skiing was perfect. Still a lot of potential for base damage so stick to your C skis.
  (Brett Arenz)
• Jan 24 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Groomed today.
  I was out early afternoon and they were in the process of grooming. I felt kind of bad because my 175 pounds were digging trenches in the newly groomed snow. The coverage was pretty good with thin coverage in the usual spots by the campground and the tunnel. I skipped the duckhead and the prairie loop afraid of catching a rock and falling. I did do South America and it was OK. The steep climb out put a few new scratches in my skis. I’m thinking once the snow sets up a bit it will be decent rock skiing. There are no classic tracks.
  (Paul Schaaf)
• Jan 24 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Snowmaking loop: excellent; Back 9: fair at best.
  Firm base and good, deep tracks on the snowmaking loop. I skate skied for a while on the back 9. It has been packed, but much of the trail is hard to follow because the wind has blown snow over it. Lots of sticks and leaves. I fell once when I hit a patch of grass. (Glad I wasn't going downhill.) In the end I went back, and stayed on, the snowmaking loop.
  (Curt Hillstrom)
• Jan 24 - Medicine Lake (Plymouth):
  Conditions: Groomed! Skate: fair to very good (grooming was fantastic!).
  What a treat. I walked down to Medicine Lake by Missions Inc, and quickly discovered that the lake had been groomed! Huge thanks to the folks on the south bay. I skied 12.5 km and got a great workout, and avoided the crowds at Elm Creek (saw one other skier). I did classic with ease (good kick and glide), and the skate deck was superb. See the image from my Garmin which shows where the best snow is (NW corner of lake). One could part at the ice fishing access for Medicine Lake, and walk over to the Lagoon. Let me stress the grooming was fantastic. The only spots w/o snow coverage was due to spots open the significant wind. Look out for the bald eagle who is supervising. He checked me out in both directions (out and back). If I heard properly, thanks are due to Ryan Atwell. I skied as far as the Shaffer's and Nelson's homes.
  Photos:  
  (Rich Hoeg)
• Jan 24 - Terrace Oaks Park (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Poor.
  The grooming crew at Terrace Oaks usually knows what to do with snow and by not grooming their warning is 'not yet.' The 3 or so inches that fell on the south side on Monday covered everything, but it was a very dry snow without anything below it to bind to. Hence, the plentiful walkers exposed a lot of earth. Further, as much of the trail is gravel (not grass), it was pretty easy to push into the stones on anything more than a trivial grade. Use your rock or junk skis ... or maybe waxless classic outbacks? ... and work the poles more than the legs if you're desperate to get out.
  Photos:  
  (Randy Zarecki)
• Jan 24 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Poor was what the staff were telling callers on the phone. I would say fair.
  Hyland was rolled at lunch time on Monday. No tracks were set. At that time the snow was still very soft. Decent rock ski conditions. Expect windblown areas, sticks, and dirt in the usual places.
  Photos:  
  (Janelle Jurek)
• Jan 24 - Hiawatha Golf Course (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Fair, ungroomed.
  Hiawatha is still best for rock skis. Last year's trail is still marked, but there has been no grooming yet. There are plenty of fallen sticks and bare spots. The fairways are great; watch out for the range balls on the driving range!
  (Charlie Casserly)
• Jan 24 - St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park (Hastings):
  Conditions: Skiable.
  Trails packed today. Thin in spots and some debris on trail.
  (Theresa Young, Washington County Parks)
• Jan 24 - Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park (Cottage Grove):
  Conditions: Skiable.
  Trails packed today. Thin in spots. Some rocks and debris on trails. Rock skis recommended.
  (Theresa Young, Washington County Parks)
• Jan 24 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Excellent on snowmaking loop. OK on front 9.
  Snowmaking loop was in great shape, skate lane and classic tracks were in the best condition I've seen them this year. The front 9 had been rolled and was skiable with rock skis. The only place I encountered rocks was under the bridge near Bassett's Creek.
  (Sue Schroeder)

Minnesota Northeast

• Feb 3 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Unskiable.
  Non-skiing report: I hiked the trails that parallel and intersect the Lester Ski Trails this morning, and I saw large patches of bare ground on the ski trails.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Feb 2 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: Still nearly 100% coverage on Bear Paw.
  Candlelight Ski/Snowshoe/Hike still on for this Friday Feb 3, 6-9 p.m. Bear Paw will be utilized.
  Photos:  
  (John Geissler)
• Feb 2 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Surprisingly good ski conditions.
  All trails are groomed for classic and skating and are in very good shape. The only skiing in Duluth, unless you are crazy enough to ski on Lake Superior.
  (Jane Hovland)
• Jan 31 - Piedmont Trail (Duluth):
  Conditions: Great for skate!
  We went out at about 10:30 to classic ski and were treated to freshly rolled snow for skating! Almost 100% coverage except for a couple of easy to get around spots!
  (Eve Stein)
• Jan 31 - Hawk Ridge Snowmobile Trail (Duluth):
  Got out ahead of the thaw and skijored up the closed section of Seven Bridges Road to the other barrier at Skyline Parkway. Coverage is very good but rock skis are a good idea because where it's thin, what's underneath is gravel. I don't know how long it'll last with this warm-up, but it was nice this morning.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Jan 30 - Rice Lake Reservoir (Duluth):
  Tried skating Rice Lake this afternoon. It's all drifts and bare patches of ice, which made for some challenging skiing.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Jan 30 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Lester was rolled this morning. It's OK for skate skiing on rock skis. No track so you are on your own there. Avoid the loop that goes down to the kids park.
  (Kara Salmela)
• Jan 30 - Fond du Lac State Forest (Cromwell):
  Conditions: No track set, 3-5" of snow, some skiers have been out breaking trail and said the skiing was surprisingly nice.
  This is the last year this trail will be groomed by contract grooming, if it gets groomed at all this year. As of this time there is no money in the trail account according to Parks and Trails staff at Moose Lake. If this trail is groomed at all, starting next year it will have to be done through a ski club with help from the DNR in the form of Grant-in-aid dollars.
  (Lonny Gervais)
• Jan 29 - Chester Bowl (Duluth):
  Conditions: Skiable, barely.
  The trail at Chester was groomed after Friday's snow. I skied it Sunday afternoon. The loop on the north side nearest to the soccer field is pretty rough, there are a couple of mandatory dismounts. The loop on the southern side nearest the down hill is actually skiable without too much damage to your skis. There is one very thin snow section with ice under neath, and a few ares of debris turned up by the groomers tracks, but otherwise you can make a loop. The ratio of ski tracks to walker tracks is about 1:20, so get out there!
  (Matt Ryan)
• Jan 29 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skated all trails today. Best conditions of the season (I do realize that is not saying much). Near "good skis" conditions and on most of the trail you could but the south-facing steep hills still have some dingers if not careful. All and all, really nice conditions out there- especially the '10k', which gets skied less. It amazing what nearly 2" of new snow will do. Thanks to the Snowflake crew for giving us the best skiing in Duluth.
  (Tom Heinitz)
• Jan 29 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Groomed for skating with track on right. Outside pole track a bit soft in places. Some leaves showing in a few places perhaps only .01%. Best trail skiing this year after 1.4" new on Friday. Better than yesterday.
  Skied classic on the 7.5 km yesterday and today. Better today. Mostly able to stay in track.
  Photos:  
  (Gary Larson)
• Jan 29 - Two Harbors Ski Trail (Two Harbors):
  The trail was rolled on Saturday after the few more inches of snow we received. We have about an inch of compacted base, with an undulating surface, with some grass and brush poking thru. I skated the 5K loop and it was actually better than I thought it would be. B team skis for certain, but it was skiing, at this rate we will have great conditions by August.
  (John Cron)
• Jan 28 - Pine Valley (Cloquet):
  Conditions: Excellent compared to anything else I've seen in the Duluth area.
  There were a couple patches where you could see some grass poking through, but for the most part there was excellent coverage and it was well groomed for skate, but no classic tracks.
  Photos:  
  (Katie Cheesebro)
• Jan 28 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: Nice.
  Boulder has not been groomed since the most recent snowfall, so there are a couple of inches of fluffy snow on top of a thin, firm base. I had a great time skating it today. Blue Ox and Bear Paw had better coverage than Nine Pine, but Nine Pine was quite skiable, with just a few thin spots under the pines. A pal who was kicking said Lonesome Grouse was good, with a skied-in track. There's a rough skied-in track throughout the system. I talked to some striders who were happy with it and some who weren't. Overall, coverage is surprisingly good -- the kind of thing you'd be delighted with if it were November.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Jan 28 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Poor-fair.
  No grooming has taken place recently. That said, it was packed down in places from recent skiers and it was worth the trip albeit on my rock skis. The thinnest spots were under the pines toward the bottom of the river, nearest the lower parking lot. Don't get discouraged if you start there, as it gets better the higher you climb.
  (Jeff Speer)
• Jan 28 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good! Snowflake did a good job considering the lack of snow we've seen this year.
  After a couple of inches of snow yesterday, I was chomping at the bit to get out my first time this year. I was pleasantly surprised with the conditions at Snowflake. Freshly groomed last night. Always worth the $7 as they continue to lead the way in keeping their trails at top shape compared to anywhere in the Duluth area. I skied about 14k total on the classic trails. There are definitely some bare spots (under trees, etc) but very nice overall. I finally got my hands on a pair of "B" skis, and I don't recall scraping any rocks as I avoided some of the thin sections of trail. I wouldn't consider using my "A" skis quite yet until we get more snow. Also, plenty of people skating, trails seemed well covered for that too.
  (Joe Bekkala)
• Jan 28 - Mother Bear Ski Trail (Brimson):
  Conditions: Snow is still pretty thin here, could use more.
  We skied the full trail network west of highway 44. Much of it had been packed only with no track set. Snow is very thin under the heavier tree canopy with a few rocks and roots showing in places. Still had a very nice ski though, thanks to the trail grooming that had been done.
  (Randy Roff)
• Jan 28 - Mother Bear Ski Trail (Brimson):
  Conditions: Fair-Good.
  Trail was groomed and tracks set in areas that had better snow depth. Rougher in the wetland areas and under the large pines. South loop is the best bet now until we get more snow.
  (Al Ringer)
• Jan 27 - Pine Valley (Cloquet):
  Excellent. Groomed for skate which is maybe how they always groom there. The fresh snow made it nice and buttery.
  (Meryl Freyberg)
• Jan 27 - Bagley Nature Area (Duluth):
  Thin classic tracks laid down Friday evening. No pass required, will groom again soon. Let me know how the line of the classic tracks are and if they work.
  (Zack Gill)
• Jan 27 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Couple inches of snow.
  We skied in a track this afternoon as the snow was ending. It was ju-u-u-st skiable, and by the time we got back to the lower loops, hikers had already done quite a bit of damage. There's so little snow that each footprint exposes dirt. The upper loops were in much better shape. If you go, watch out for a new culvert at the bottom of the first hill after G. If you stay way to the right you can get across.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Jan 27 - Chester Bowl (Duluth):
  Conditions: Barely Poor.
  ... unless you're three, then it's pretty fun. Trail reports in Duluth lately have been like talking to Lutherans about stewardship-you know everyone's doing it but no one's letting on. Times is tough, we've got to stick together.
  (Jonathan Rova)
• Jan 26 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Goodly Fair.
  Pretty much the same as the last report. The pink rocks are reappearing but the groomers are keeping them well marked. Great job by the groom crew to make something out of notmuchthing.
  (Jonathan Rova)
• Jan 25 - Bagley Nature Area (Duluth):
  Very thin skate trail laid down Monday evening. Good in the shaded areas of the trail, but be sure to have some skis you can beat up a little.
  (Zack Gill)
• Jan 24 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Goodly fair.
  A nice improvement from last week and beautiful blue skies. I rate it a 4.03 and handicap it up to 7.36 for this winter. My handicap dropped after venturing back north to the "normal" winter conditions of the abnormal winter up there. The abnormal normal is becoming normally abnormal, it seems. Regardless, it's all a bit confusing and I mean everything. But we are skiing on mostly real snow, which is good. Good cover on most of the trails, although you could skip the first loop of the 10k for the betterment of your skis but nonetheless bring your rocky skis, the rocks . . . they're still out there.
  (Jonathan Rova)

• Jan 31 - Pincushion Mountain Trail (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Ego boosting speed!
  Conditions were fantastic for skating today. Rocket fast, yet still very easy to get an edge. Conditions like today invariably lead to false illusions of grandeur, as I was able to V2 up hills which no mortal human has V2'ed up before (at least this mortal human!).
  (Timothy Lederle)
• Jan 30 - Pincushion Mountain Trail (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Fresh snow over a base of packed powder snow conditions. Very good for classic and excellent for skate skiing.
  Two inches of fresh snow over a base of packed powder. Trails should be re-groomed by this evening. Compacted Base: 4-6" Snow Depth in Woods: 10-14" New Snow Last 24 Hours: 2" New Snow Last 7 Days: 5" Groomed for Skating: Groomed Monday: 25 of 25 km groomed with snowmobile and ginzu groomer. Groomed with Classic Tracks: Classical tracks set on 25 of 25 km. Last Grooming Day: Monday, January 30th, 2012. Total Snow for Season since November 10th, 2011: 28".
  (Dave Bartol, Devils Track Nordic Ski Shop)
• Jan 29 - Banadad Trail (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Newly fallen snow over recently groomed trails.
  A cold, sunny day combined with new snow made for a perfect day of skiing on this trail in the BWCA.
  Photos:  
  (Colleen Corcoran)
• Jan 29 - Central Gunflint Trail System (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  It looked and felt like winter on the Central Gunflint Trails this weekend. Photos taken at sunset on "Poplar Creek Trail". It was a perfect "Polar White" kick wax day.
  Photos:  
  (Colleen Corcoran)
• Jan 29 - Pincushion Mountain Trail (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Firm skate deck, nice dusting of new snow. Relative fast for the cold temps, great coverage, no rock, just a little occasional stubble sticking up. No ice, firm fast tracks for classic and double poling.
  This is real winter skiing. Hard to believe when driving up the shore and up the Gunflint trail the coverage would be so good.
  (Timothy Nelson)
• Jan 29 - Central Gunflint Trail System (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Windblown in spots until groomer came through -- then great.
  Everything seemed to be getting groomed Sunday morning. Trails looked fine, but in the woods exposed areas on trails were so windblown as to be almost gone. Groomer came through and left great tracks. Passed people pulling sleds of gear and bringing in dogs right down the middle of the newly groomed trails, so Summerhome may have needed grooming again.
  (Emily Olson)
• Jan 28 - Sugarbush Trail System (Tofte):
  Conditions: 2 to 3 inches of fresh snow yesterday, but not yet groomed. Onion River Road was smooth and fast, even the lower part. Fresh snow covered the icy parts and was great for gliding. Tracks looked fine.
  Late afternoon skate up the ORR and back was well worth it. New snow has mitigated all concern about deteriorating icy conditions on first two K's of the lower road. Wonderful, fast, firm deck.
  (Timothy Nelson)
• Jan 27 - Banadad Trail (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: All trails tracked (41K), skiing is excellent. 14 inches of snow on the ground.
  Banadad Trail tracked today, Tall Pines and Knapp Trails tracked the day before.
  (Ted Young)
• Jan 27 - Cascade River/Deer Yard Lake (Lutsen):
  Conditions: Excellent classic skiing. Plenty of snow, great coverage, solid tracks, soft snow with a fresh dusting that came down as we skied. Skied the long and short loop (about 13K) and felt like I was back in a real winter. Good grooming.
  What a difference a few miles makes. Classic skied Deer Yard in the afternoon after skating Sugarbush (12 miles away) and found a night and day difference. Much more snow, no twigs or rocks, firm deck, good tracks, soft newly fallen and falling snow. Just wish there were more K's here to ski!
  (Timothy Nelson)
• Jan 27 - Sugarbush Trail System (Tofte):
  Conditions: Recently groomed for what might be the first time this season. Snow is still quite thin on the lower portions of the trail closest to the lake, with lots of bush and twigs sticking up. But it was skatable, B skis recommended. No rocks, just twigs. Upper portions of the trail had much more snow and fewer twigs. Still quite of few dipsy doodles but quite enjoyable.
  Skate skied from Britain Peak over the Hogback loop to the Picnic loop and back along the ski thru. Best was Hogback and Picnic loop, worst was bottom part of the Oberg loop, and the ski back to Britain Peak on the lower ski through. I should have done the Homestead loop (higher to get the better snow) Be careful of the ski grapping twigs and dipsy doodles on the downhills. One really bad one between the high points on the picnic loop, a real brain rattler.
  (Timothy Nelson)
• Jan 27 - Central Gunflint Trail System (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Plenty of snow! Wonderful :).
  All trails are being groomed regularly. Plenty of options for everyone. Fun downhills. If only all of MN looked like this...
  (Craig Cardinal)
• Jan 27 - Upper Gunflint Trail (Grand Marais):
  Excellent trail conditions and freshly snowing now. Half of the system was groomed this morning the other half on Wednesday. South Rim is packed for back country skiing or snowshoeing. Magneitc and Amperage remain closed as they need a deeper snowbase to cover rocks or swamp areas.
  (Sharon Baker)
• Jan 24 - Central Gunflint Trail System (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Let's just say - it was the most beautiful day of skiing this season for me. It was around 20 degrees at the start of our 2 1/2 hour outing. My friend (still skiing on her wood skis) agreed on twice around the Ox Cart Trail since it was such a gorgeous ski the first time round. Where can you get such perfect skiing on side-by-side classic tracks. Then came the Poplar Creek Trail, which is about a 10 K loop. It had been three years since we had skied there - and those nice new growth white pines had really grown. No wind at all this afternoon - just wispy clouds. Only one worry on our mind - - would the 3rd person in our party be frustrated that we were 40 minutes late in getting back. Nope - he was napping in the car! Thanks for the great tracks Quinn!
  Photos:  
  (Kim Carlsted-Gillis)
• Jan 24 - Pincushion Mountain Trail (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Best of the year!
  Great conditions today, with nearly all of the trails newly groomed. Classic skied today, and the track was fantastic. Skate deck looked firm, and I was able to use my good skis today.
  (Timothy Lederle)
• Jan 24 - Central Gunflint Trail System (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  We received 3-1/2 inches of snow yesterday and both groomers are out today! The two snowfalls since Saturday have added a couple of inches to the base and trails are in excellent shape. Total snowfall received this season is 35.10 inches.
  (Teresa Baumann)

• Feb 2 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Most excellent.
  Skied (skated) Silver, Gold, Summit, and Bronze and the last 3 had just been groomed (I was the first on them), so it was wonderful, though a bit warm (~34), especially considering what's available in the Twin Cities options. The tracks, in some places looked a bit thin. To quote other reporters to this column - It's well worth the drive.
  (Tony Pellegrini)
• Feb 2 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  Overcast with High temps hanging around the freezing and maybe 1/2" of new snow a couple days ago. Additional grooming has widened the Oslo and Biwabik Spur trails, making them better for skating this week- but be cautious of a few rocks mainly along the power line portion of the Oslo loop. All the main, inner trails are fantastic-bring your good skis and enjoy the mild weather!
  (Shawn Callahan, Green Gate Guest House)
• Feb 1 - McCarthy Beach State Park (Side Lake):
  Conditions: Packed and tracked with a little fresh snow that had a couple of ski tracks.
  Excellent, good job Dave & Jenny.
  (Arden LaBonte)
• Jan 31 - Big Aspen Recreation Area (Virginia):
  All trail loops were freshly groomed and tracked today.
  (Mark Toot)
• Jan 31 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Mostly excellent!
  Everything has been groomed in the past 24 hours! The Bronze, Silver, Gold, Summitt "superhighways" are perfect right now. Also skied the Oslo, Laurentian/Wynne Creek loops which are better for classic than skating until we get a little more snow (a few rocks on the Oslo and sticks poking through trail along the swamp sections of the Laurentian. Today was the best day of skiing I've had all season, ready for more!
  Photos:  
  (Shawn Callahan, Green Gate Guest House)
• Jan 31 - Carey Lake (Hibbing):
  Conditions: Cloudy 34 degrees. "B" Skis.
  Last week's snow covered the trails pretty good and the groomer was able to get out and pack and track. There are some thin spots, and I'm not ready to take the good skis out just yet. However you should do no new damage to your "B" skis. Classic track is deeper than I would expect with such thin snow. One more good snow, and....
  Photos:  
  (Craig Holgate)
• Jan 30 - Sturgeon River Trails (Chisholm):
  Conditions: So-so, need more snow, especially under the pines. Lots of needles, thin. Freshly groomed and/or packed mostly.
  Great to see the Feds are hard at it, trying with what little we have!
  (Neil Gardner)
• Jan 30 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Freshly groomed trails. A little soft today but might be great tomorrow. Classic track every where except the silver. Definitely worth the trip.
  (Joe Schneeweis)
• Jan 29 - Big Aspen Recreation Area (Virginia):
  Conditions: Top notch! It looked like the trail was groomed a few days ago and user groomed after that little bit of snow we got on Saturday night.
  A few small rocks to maneuver around at the start, but the rest of the trail is in great shape. Good base. Bring your good skis!
  (Deb Salzer)
• Jan 29 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent. 3-4" snow over the weekend!
  A big snow week at Giants Ridge and all the trails are now skiable. Wynne Creek, Laurentian, Oslo and Biwabik Spur were just opened this week and need a little work, so beware of some twigs and occasional rock. The Cedar, Gold, Silver and Bronze trail are all great- bring your good skis! No grooming today unfortunately, so conditions were soft with the recent fresh snow. All trails scheduled for grooming tomorrow. All the snow clinging to the evergreens makes for beautiful skiing right now!
  Photos:  
  (Shawn Callahan, Green Gate Guest House)
• Jan 28 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Finally a winter wonderland.
  It is finally a fun filled winter in the Iron Range! Conditions are fabulous. Today I skied most of the trails but not all and I couldn't ask for any thing better. I want to do all 60 k tomorrow.
  (Jenn Krueger)
• Jan 28 - Suomi Hills (Grand Rapids):
  Conditions: Good.
  My brother and I met a large group of North-Stars skiing these classic trails through a wilderness with steep hills winding around small lakes that reminded me of the Rock Lake trails east of Cable, WI. Randy Zupan packed the the trails Friday morning before several inches of snow fell in the afternoon. Our skis rubbed some tree roots and watch out for rocks. We put no new scratches on our B skis.
  (David Byrne, Minnesota Rovers Outdoors Club)
• Jan 28 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Very good where groomed. Most was groomed.
  Fantastic 3.5 hour ski. Giants is my favorite for hill marathon training. Swix blue seemed to run well. It looked like winter at Giants Ridge!
  (Mark Wilhelmson)
• Jan 28 - Legion Trails (Grand Rapids):
  Conditions: Rock skis.
  Soft snow. The groomer went through as we skied. (Yeah for hardworking groomers!) The classic track is very shallow. Watch for rocks.
  (Tara Makinen)
• Jan 28 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Perfect!
  Bruce Bauer, Matt Ryan and I skied through a Midwestern powder wonderland today. It's the end of January and we all expect to be skiing on mid-winter conditions right? "The Ridge" has it. Unbelievable.
  (Shawn Miller)
• Jan 27 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: 4 inches of `Blower` yesterday made for the prettiest ski day of the year.
  Grooming plans: 100% of trails (60+K)will be open by Sunday with a 3"-4" base . Use caution for twigs and rocks on Oslo, Wynne Creek, and Biwabik Spur which have rougher trailbeds than the other 50K.
  (John Filander)
• Jan 25 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Fantastic!
  Skied Northern Lights, Silver, Bronze, Summit at night without a headlamp and had no concerns of rocks, roots, or dark/dirty patches of snow. Looked like Oslo and Laurentian had been groomed and fresh tracks had been set on most every trail. The Ridge has a great base of snow on their trails, ski your racers with confidence.
  (Craig Finn)
• Jan 25 - McCarthy Beach State Park (Side Lake):
  Conditions: Groomed and tracked. Some sticks poking through. Good skiing.
  Best traditional skiing this year!
  (David Ellis Hollenhorst)
• Jan 24 - Carey Lake (Hibbing):
  Conditions: Improving, but a long way to go! Sunny 18 degrees.
  The best part of the ski was the bright sunny day. After we picked up a solid 3 inches this week, the city announced they would be grooming Black Forest loop for skating and leaving the rest of the system to be user tracked for classic in this low snow year. However, what I found was Highland, part of the skate trail, and part of Southern Lights packed and the rest left alone. Classic was a bit of challenge where it was packed, and slow going in all areas because it is soft. At least we have snow, and the skating look like it might be better bet at this point, albeit a bit on the bumpy side.
  Photos:  
  (Craig Holgate)
• Jan 24 - Mount Itasca (Coleraine):
  Conditions: Excellent conditions for classic or skate with 6 inches of new snow Sunday-Monday.
  Scheduling update: Thursday, Jan 26th Duluth East Pursuit, 11 am start. Friday and Saturday morning will be National Guard biathlon races. Course will be open for citizen skiers in the afternoon Saturday-Sunday.
  (Gene Eklin)
• Jan 24 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: 4-5 inches fell in last 24 hours, on top of 2" base should bring the Ridge trails to near-perfect conditions.
  Grooming plans: Grooming with snowmobile/Ginzu 30+K finshed yesterday evening, going out this morning to get the rest. Conditions will be soft for a couple of days, but should firm up for the weekend. Bring your A team classical and skate skis for the best conditions of the year!
  (John Filander)

• Feb 1 - Howard Wagoner Trail (Tower):
  Conditions: Good, plenty of snow for tracks.
  I was driving back to Duluth from the Iron Range, had planned to ski at Giant's Ridge but was feeling rather lethargic. Saw the sign for "ski trail" and stopped off here instead. Reminded me of George Washington Pines near Grand Marais.
  Photos:  
  (Anne Flueckiger, Duluth XC Ski Club)
• Jan 31 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Conditions: Good to excellent classic skiing.
  One inch of new snow since the last grooming made for a somewhat shallow track but otherwise very good striding. There was plenty of snow and great scenery with intimate single track trails winding thru big snow ladened pines. Temperature topped out at 30F so there was no meltdown here.
  (Tom Peterson)
• Jan 29 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Conditions: Awesome, fresh snow, groomed last night!
  Enjoy!!
  (Louise Kennedy)
• Jan 28 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Conditions: Fresh powder freshly groomed and near flawless.
  Fresh powder, mild temperatures, and intermittent sunshine created a perfect winter wonderland of incomparable beauty in the Big Pines. Diligent grooming by Andy and Mike left the trails clear with plenty of glide. Couldn't ask for a better xc ski experience.
  (Kate Fitzgerald)
• Jan 28 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Conditions: Skiing this weekend was fantastic!
  I haven't had better trail conditions in years. Andy at National Forest Lodge was awesome and took very good care of us as well as the trails. The trails are excellently maintained.
  (Amy Floden)
• Jan 28 - Aurora Recreation Trails (Aurora):
  Conditions: Very Good. Snowing still at dusk.
  Classical city trails- with an abundance of twists and turns. Skied everything! You never do the same loop twice on this trail system! Thanks for the perfect grooming Kim!
  Photos:  
  (Cheri Johnson)
• Jan 28 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Fantastic, ideal skiing conditions, in a winter wonderland atmosphere. We won the lottery this weekend - snow, groomed trees, lightly falling snow.
  (Mary Ann Van Cura)
• Jan 27 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Trail was great. Well groomed and plenty of snow.
  (Aviva Breen)
• Jan 25 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Conditions: 4" of new snow groomed today. All trails now have pretty decent track coverage. The section between 5 and 15 still needs a bit more snow to be enjoyable.
  Was grooming but wished I was skiing.
  Photos:  
  (Andy Fisher, National Forest Lodge)
• Jan 24 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Conditions: 3-4" of new snow, great conditions!
  Unfortunately, we beat the groomer out on the trails today so were setting new tracks in several inches of fresh snow. Skied about 15km starting from the National Forest Lodge and enjoyed every minute of it- this is a fantastic network of trails and conditions were great. Did not encounter any rocks, although there was a bit of shrubbery poking through where the trail passed through the boggy areas. We met the trail groomer at the parking lot, who said he'd be grooming everything the next morning...we'll definitely be back for more!
  (Shawn Callahan, Green Gate Guest House)

• Feb 2 - Tilson Creek Ski Trail (International Falls):
  Conditions: Warm, but beautiful. Good base and firm tracks.
  We groomed all of Tilson on Wednesday and Thursday - the VNP access (Blue) and continuing over to the Park HQ on Wed, and the Orange, Yellow, and Red on Thursday morning early. The VNP trail is good for skating and classic but note it starts at the VNP road, not the parking lot, and is still a bit soft.
  I skied all the main Tilson trails Thursday afternoon - all are nice. There are a few round rock tops to avoid on uphills but they are visible. I have switched to good skis! There were 8 cars in the lot when I arrived.
  Photos:  
  (Burgess Eberhardt)
• Jan 26 - Black Bay Trail (International Falls):
  Conditions: 30 above and "misty" - newly groomed.
  First time this year on the Black Bay classic trail, which was groomed and opened yesterday. Park groomers have done a nice job with the late start. The pole plant is still soft, tracks are mostly just fine. Some hills are not tracked where the groomer felt the snow cover was too thin, but pose no problems.
  One could use good skis with care on the first, lower, loop of the Pine Trail but I used rock skis and suggest that for the upper loop especially. All sections are fully snow-covered.
  Photos:  
  (Burgess Eberhardt)
• Jan 24 - Tilson Creek Ski Trail (International Falls):
  Conditions: Perfect at last!
  Lotsa snow on Sunday, rolled Monday night, groomed for the first time in tandem today - new snow mobile, new Ginzu groomer = life is just dandy. Trail pretty dandy, too. We set tracks and skate lane everywhere but the VNP connector (Blue) which is rolled and combed for skating.
  Photos:  
  (Burgess Eberhardt)

Minnesota Northwest

• Jan 29 - Buena Vista Ski Trail (Bemidji):
  The best skiing in Minnesota can be found in Bemidji. The west side of BV was rolled and groomed by the ski club and is in excellent shape. A little soft due to recent snow, but firming up nicely. The Finlandia is only 3 weeks away.
  (Michael Meehlhause)
• Jan 29 - Black Lake Trails (Bemidji):
  The private Black Lake trails were recently rolled and were in excellent shape. The base is solid and should groom up very nicely for the Black Lake Loppet in the next few weeks.
  (Michael Meehlhause)
• Jan 29 - Montebello Trail (Bemidji):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Stopped by the Montebello trails for a quick loop and found that they are in great condition with a firm base and a strong classic track. Perfect mid-season conditions and right in town.
  (Michael Meehlhause)
• Jan 29 - Three Island Park (Bemidji):
  Conditions: Fair to excellent.
  Sections of trail at Three Island are perfect, with a firm base and good coverage. Some sections are soft, but with approximately 30km of trail, there are plenty of really good km's for a long skate ski. The North Loop is best for classic only, and the tracks throughout the system looked fair to excellent as well. One could use their best skis with some care.
  (Dan McKeon)
• Jan 28 - Movil Maze Trail (Bemidji):
  Conditions: Awesome!
  I drove up to Bemidji from the Cities this weekend in search of snow, and it was so worth it! The trails appeared to be tracked fairly recently (definitely since Friday's snow)- rolled for skating, and one classic track on all trails. Nice, firm base. Skated 13K, bits and pieces of all trails - the blue trail was nice and fast! Not too crowded, saw maybe 10 other skiers in the 1.5 hours I was out.
  (Jennifer Bushek)
• Jan 27 - Buena Vista Ski Trail (Bemidji):
  Rolled and packed out all 25k during the 4" snowstorm -- do things have improved dramatically! No classic track in yet, the skating is surprisingly fast in the powdery trail, kind of surfy and cool. We are loving all the new snow. Since the field is still fenced it is easier to get to the west side trails by parking at township building. Enjoy!
  (Mark Morrissey)
• Jan 27 - Lake Bemidji State Park (Bemidji):
  Conditions: Very good, groomed today.
  All trails have been groomed and tracked and are in the best shape this year. There are some thin spots under the trees but overall very good.
  Photos:  
  (John Fylpaa)
• Jan 27 - Movil Maze Trail (Bemidji):
  Conditions: Very Good.
  Skate conditions are very good, I skied with my good skis for the first time this year, the groomers have done an awesome job. Classic tracks were set although they looked a little thin in a few spots. Its snowing fairly heavy right now too.
  (Brad Kuzel)
• Jan 25 - Buena Vista Ski Trail (Bemidji):
  Conditions: Rolled base, good in the woods but some trouble with fences near the ranch. Best to ski the west side, parking at the chapel. Expect great skating, we'll see about getting a track set for classic skiers.
  Last week I rolled East side and cut my way through some downed trees. The weekend snow dramatically improved our prospects. Just a bit more snow and the trail will ski great! Come check out skating the west side this weekend!
  (Mark Morrissey)

• Feb 3 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Good to excellent. Frozen granular with powdery sections, frost falling from trees on to trail. 23 degrees at 7am.
  Winter wonderland conditions again this morning. All skate trails brushed last night and new track set on about 35km of trail last night and early this morning. A few thin spots but we have been shoveling daily and overall, skiing is great.
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Feb 2 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Fast and fun.
  Pulled in Thursday night just in time for two loops of Skaters Waltz. Trail had plenty of snow and was fun and fast. Followed up by Jay's Pan Fried Walleye in the lodge! All trails look to be in very good shape.
  (Kris Anderson)
• Feb 2 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Good to excellent. Springlike with powdery sections. Frosty, morning lows in upper teens mid 20's still near noon.
  We took the Pisten Bully out for the first time this year, setting track on about 5km of trail. The more compacted trails groomed up very nice. The less compacted trails saw a few short sections of leaves pulled up but nothing major and overall groomed up nice. Able to drop the front end renovator down a few inches, bringing up the silky and dry snow below. Few other sections of trail ginzu groomed and turned out nice. Trails not groomed today have some icy spots but overall great skiing being reported today.
  Grooming plans: We will be grooming early Friday morning.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Feb 1 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: 23*F above starting; 38*F above finishing; foggy early with clearing skies late morning; base depth varies from 2” to 5”; packed powder base; 20k renovated and combed for skate skiing; 23k groomed with track sets; ski conditions are very good to good; several very short distance areas with ground debris/grasses showing in marginal snow areas.
  I started early this morning grooming in the fog reconditioning the courses from yesterday’s North Star Classic Ski Invitational HS Race and also grooming the fresh powder on the trail system West of Rainbow Pond. Found the conditions very good to excellent west of the pond and I was able to clean up the skate lanes on the event courses. Some of our track sets in the heavier traffic ski areas do have crumbs in them due to fact we are just a little short on base in some areas to be able to renovate deep enough. We want to thank the participants, coaches and parents that came out for the North Star Classic Invitational. Schools that attended were TrekNorth, Bemidji High, Detroit Lakes and Deer River.
  Photos:  
  (Doug Schumann, Rainbow Resort)
• Feb 1 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Good to excellent. Springlike with powdery sections.
  A incredible morning on the trails with frosty conditions and fantastic skiing. It did warm up in the afternoon softening the trails but cleared off and froze down again by dusk. A few southern areas saw some snow melt but overall the trails held up great. A late afternoon ski was extremely fun.
  Grooming plans: Probably holding off until tomorrow evening to groom anything. Focusing on Twin lakes North Loup and inner trails.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Jan 31 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Excellent! Great skiing condition.
  The Northstar Classic Race was held today. Bemidji HS, Trek North from Bemidji, Detroit Lakes & Deer River had about 100 skiers raced the classic event. The temp was in low to mid 20s and cloudy. More flurries of snow is in the forecast for tomorrow, and mid 20s to low 30s for the rest of the week. Great skiing condition.
  Photos:  
  (Linda Schumann)
• Jan 31 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Good to Excellent. Fast and silky.
  Calls today asking if we had any snow left and how much snow melted. There was no melting today and we still have snow. Temp was 28F all day, cloudy and dropped a few degrees at dusk. A check of the trails via skis at dusk found fast and fun skiing. Personally, it does not get any better. Everything looks great. We spent four hours shoveling on the classic course for Sections not because it needed it but building up for good measure. We do not salt the trails so they do not get slushy like the streets in town.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Jan 30 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Currently 30*F above; cloudy & clear skies today; today’s high 35*F; packed powder base; average base depth 3 to 5 inches; base compaction moderate; combed, renovated and track set 3.5 course for tomorrow’s Northstar Classic Ski Invitational H.S. Race; 5K course to be groomed later tonight; balance of trail system groomed Friday night has light dusting of snow fluff from Sunday; ski conditions rated as very good for entire system.
  I got out this morning to begin grooming for tomorrow’s Classic Race and found the new snow from this past weekend rolling right along. Then about noon the sun peeked out and the temp went up just enough to get that sticky action going. I pulled off the trails after completing the 3.5K course and will continue grooming later tonight. I did make one loop around the 5K course and found the whole course in very good ski condition with the exception of that south exposed Pine Hill climb. You can ski up it but it is definitely our thinnest area. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.
  Photos:  
  (Doug Schumann, Rainbow Resort)
• Jan 30 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent.
  Skied most trails last few days. All trails in very good to excellent condition both skate and classic. Great grooming and great snow.
  (Tran Alfrey)
• Jan 29 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Excellent, considering the sparse snow cover.
  Skied the 10K loop at Rainbow Resort Sunday with two friends, one a skater, and myself and another classic skiers. Very nice 10 "outside" loop, lots of hills, some rolling, some quite steep for a nice little speed-rush. All in all, the skiing was fantastic! and the brother/sister team on duty that day were very friendly. If you ski at Rainbow, make sure to have a burger-basket in the restaurant afterward, they were superb!
  (Tim Ray )
• Jan 29 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Excellent, real snow!
  I made the trip from Minneapolis to Maplelag via Ottertail to find cold (-10 F) conditions, but the trails were in incredible shape. I did not miss the man-made snow I have been skiing on all year. Yes, Maplelag a long car ride, yes you are busy. But it is well worth the trip! The trails are wonderfully cared for and conditions are excellent. Make the trip, you won't be sorry.
  (Darren Ruschy)
• Jan 29 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions were very nice for classic and skate. Plenty of snow, excellent grooming, and great weather.
  (Gregg Palmer)
• Jan 29 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Great.
  Plenty of snow at Rainbow. As always the trails are well groomed, and the owners are welcoming and accommodating. This is a great place to check out for a weekend or even a day trip.
  Photos:  
  (Jp DuBord)
• Jan 29 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent. Packed powder. Morning low of -10 climbing to mid teens, sunshine and light winds during the day. All 64km of trail open, tracks set on 56km of trail, 15km groomed for skate. Light snow falling Sunday evening.
  Even though we don't have a huge base of snow, the skiing is mid winter with all trails open. Just a few minor thin/rough areas. We reset 150km of tracks Fri through Sun and the skate decks are mostly firm and fast. Good to see the classic trails skied hard this weekend and people enjoying the double track. The groomers are ready to go back out in the morning and groom the fresh snow falling tonight.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Jan 29 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Excellent! Great coverage and just plain wonderful.
  Great to have some good snow to ski on. We had a wonderful time this afternoon, on a scale of 1-10, I would give it a 10. Temp was around 18 or so and just perfect to be out for the afternoon. Hope to get in another day at Rainbow Resort later this week. Thanks for the great grooming and trail system at Rainbow.
  (Deborah Holzem)
• Jan 28 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  We had plenty of fresh snow to ski on-2.5" Friday and 1.5" on Saturday. All the trails were ginsu groomed on Friday evening and then more snow fell Saturday to make a nice soft top layer to play on. Best skiing this year.
  (Jeffrey Quam)
• Jan 28 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Soft, but otherwise excellent.
  It was our first time skiing on natural snow this winter, and our first time at Rainbow. What a relief to find that our ski season was not going to be a complete dive this year! After almost four inches of new snow on Friday (which was groomed) and an additional inch last night, coverage was excellent. We did both classic and skate. Wonderful trail system, especially the hills on the 10k loop. More skiers should check it out.
  (Lois Braun)
• Jan 27 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  We were surprised how much snow Rainbow Resort had on the trails. The trails were in great condition for classic and skate skiing.
  (Markus Bischof)
• Jan 27 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent.
  Awoke to fresh snow on the ground and snow showers. By the time we got out, the trails had been tracked. We had tremendous skiing. The snow had a silky feeling under our skis.
  (Robert Eliason)
• Jan 27 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Very good for normal snow year; excellent given the lack of snow across most of MN.
  As always Maplelag has made the most of the snow available and the trails are in really good condition.
  (Knut Ronnevik)
• Jan 27 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent. 3 to 4 inches of snow received this morning. Temp is 21 degrees and dropping.
  This snow has good moisture to help build base, set tracks and awesome for combing. The snow was not too wet and not too dry, just right. I have groomed not quite ˝ of the trail system so far. I will go back out to finish this evening. 23K will be groomed for classic skiing and 20K combed for skate skiing. Cooler night temps should help set things of nicely.
  Photos:  
  (Keith Schumann)
• Jan 27 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent. Marsh crossings improved with new snow.
  Snow falling this morning with a solid 2-3″ of dense moisture laden quick hitting snow as of 11am and light snow still falling. All the classic trails tracked for a total of 56km groomed with tracks. We groomed the skate lanes as well, putting the entire trail system groomed this morning. The new snow is making for fantastic conditions with the existing base/snow we had. We have around 54km of tracks set for classic and 15km open for skating. 4km of snowshoe trails open.
  Grooming plans: We will polish trails rest of day and back out in the early morning to refresh where needed.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Jan 26 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Good to excellent. Scattered thin spots and a few rough areas on marsh crossings but overall very nice skiing. All 64km open. Tracks set on 32km of trail. 15km combed for skating and remaining km packed with skier made track. Track set on side of North Loup now as well as skate deck on side. Best conditions of the year.
  After a incredible frosty day and some amazing skate skiing on the skate trails, we finally cleared off last night and the trails tightened up. Warmer temps today loosened the snow again but held out just fine with 34 degrees as the high mark. We set track late this afternoon at transition time on Lucky's and Mother North Star and both those trails groomed out nicely all the way through. We also built up the southern exposed hills on the classic race course for sections and cleared snow off the basketball court and moved to start/finish area.
  Grooming plans: We will touch up the edges on the skate trails in the morning and set tracks on all remaining classic trails not already tracked. We are hoping to have 54km of tracks by the weekend.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Jan 25 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Classic tracks setting up well, not perfect all over, but very skiable on the many trails we skied yesterday. I just had to go on Skaters to check it out for a little ways: base solid, deck very smooth with silky fast texture even with short poles, long skis and kick wax.
  My skiing partner for the afternoon had never skied at Maplelag before, has a limited skiing backround. He used his fish scales with 3 pin system. Had nothing but a super time skiing on the trails that matched his comfort zone. Many positive comments and remarks to go back soon and play in the snow!
  (Denny Barry)
• Jan 25 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Very good to good with some stretches excellent. 20K Groomed for skate skiing; 23K Groomed for classic skiing. The 3K Classic trail is now also groomed with track set. In a few short distance areas which are thinly covered the track sets are lifted. The base is a little soft.
  It was a great day of grooming on Rainbow Trails. The system is all covered with just a few thin areas; the snow sure helped the conditions. Everyone at Rainbow Resort welcomes you to come out for the best skiing so far of the season.
  Photos:  
  (Keith Schumann)
• Jan 25 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: 26*F above; hazy/foggy skis; south breeze; roll packed trails Monday on 5 ˝ new powder; average base 1” to 4”; 6K loop, Lost Bobcat, Wolf Run, North Run, & Bucks Run is now Tidd Tech combed and track set ; a few short distance areas within trails with lifted track due to marginal snow base; base soft at this time; conditions rated as very good to good; bring your good skis and enjoy the snow.
  We have been grooming the trails with the Tidd-Tech starting this morning and finding the conditions to be much improved from the new 5 ˝ inches of snow we received on Sunday-Monday. The trees are frosty & beautiful making it very scenic to be out grooming. Even though we have had to lift the track setters a few times for a short distance, it was nice to be able to lay in some tracks on a majority of our system. About half the trail system is finished and upon completing grooming today we will update conditions once again. Stay tuned and think snow.
  Photos:  
  (Doug Schumann, Rainbow Resort)
• Jan 24 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Good to excellent. Scattered thin spots and a few rough areas on marsh crossings but overall very nice skiing. All 64km open. Tracks set on 25km of trail. 15km combed for skating and remaining km packed with skier made track.
  A great full day for racing for the Bemidji Pursuits. The course for the classic race held up great and nice skiing post race. The start and finish of the classic was re-groomed with new tracks set at dusk and the skate course was groomed multiple times as well and is in fantastic shape. The other trails tracked for classic are providing nice skiing with a light dusting on top. Grooming plans: Holding off on setting new tracks until Thursday night.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

• Feb 2 - Soaring Eagle Trail (Park Rapids):
  Conditions: Variable, from good (most of Troll, Eagle, and some of Lilies) to poor (most of Lake, the early, wide open part of Lilies, and several spots on the south end of Eagle).
  1 - 2" base, 3" snow depth. It's still very skiable here, with some thin spots as noted above. Skitter around these, and it's fast and fun. There is no classic track to speak of, although classic skiers have been out with the die-hard skaters.
  (Deane Johnson)
• Jan 29 - Soaring Eagle Trail (Park Rapids):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  A little deterioration due to traffic. Overall it was still very enjoyable, especially where the trail was in deciduous woodlands. Grass and coniferous cones were a challenge in certain ecosystems.
  (Lois Braun)
• Jan 28 - Soaring Eagle Trail (Park Rapids):
  Conditions: Good (most of Troll and Eagle) to fair (most of Lake and Lilies). Snow depth 4" with 1" new, base is 1 - 2", groomed for skating with a classic track developing on its own.
  Every little bit of snow helps, and most of the areas that melted down before are at least covered with some snow. Some of the sun-exposed areas, like the first part of Lilies, the south end of Eagle, and much of Lake, are still pretty fuzzy. But the whole area is skiable, at least. Caution on all hills!
  (Deane Johnson)
• Jan 24 - Soaring Eagle Trail (Park Rapids):
  Conditions: Fair to good, 23F, fast conditions.
  Used the rock skis as trails still have grass and some windblown sticks down. Nice base and all trails rolled. No tracks will be set unless more snow accumulates. Beautiful out there!
  Photos:  
  (Anne Ellefson)
• Jan 24 - Soaring Eagle Trail (Park Rapids):
  Conditions: Fair conditions, rolled for skating and there are some classic skiers out at well.
  Snow depth 3" overall, with 2" new, rolled to a 1 to 1 1/2" packed base. Troll and Eagle have so good spots, other areas in the open or under the pines are very fuzzy. Ski the hills with caution!
  (Deane Johnson)

• Jan 27 - Zippel Bay State Park (Williams):
  Conditions: Trails were groomed today. I groomed the cut-across trail between Ridge and the Group camp grounds. The snow was pretty thin under the pines, so be careful there. Skating lane groomed up great!
  Lots of wolf tracks between Ridge Campground and the little beach.
  (Tom Heinrich)

Minnesota Central

• Jan 30 - Northland Arboretum (Brainerd):
  Conditions: Good.
  Enjoyed skiing in Brainerd today. Some dirty spots but I thought it was worth the drive. No tracks set.
  (Jacki DeVine)
• Jan 29 - Northland Arboretum (Brainerd):
  Conditions: Surprisingly good.
  I skated the Arb today. I was pleasantly surprised. What bare areas there are can be easily skied around. They have done a great job with the minimal snow. Not worth a trip from elsewhere but definitely skiable.
  (David Taylor)
• Jan 28 - Lindbergh State Park (Little Falls):
  Conditions: Not enough snow to be groomed, but definitely skiable. Thin in a couple of spots, but we’ll take it!
  There is a WPA shelter with a woodstove!
  Photos:  
  (Jan Lasar)
• Jan 28 - Northland Arboretum (Brainerd):
  Trail was rolled earlier this morning with as good results as can be expected in this season where the snow has been a no-show. Kudos to the groomers for their work. There are spots with grass, sticks, and some dirt here and there. Use your rock skis. The snow is deepest where there is less tree cover: Rudy's, Big Ben, and Potlatch were better than North Star or Plantation. That said, we had a great time at the Arboretum. The snow was fast and sweet. A day of skiing with a little snow is better than a day with no skiing.
  (Steve Fisher)
• Jan 25 - Larson Lake (Deerwood):
  Skating lanes only groomed with fair to poor results. Leaves and trail debris exposed in areas.
  (Vickie Sullivan)
• Jan 25 - Wolf Lake Ski Trails (Brainerd):
  No grooming performed to date. Users are skiing on the 2-3 inches of non-groomed trails.
  (Vickie Sullivan)

• Jan 28 - Graystone Trails (Saint Cloud):
  Conditions: North Loop - Pretty darn good.
  Groomed last night or early this morning. Really pretty good shape. Skate only.
  (Bruce Busta)
• Jan 27 - Graystone Trails (Saint Cloud):
  Conditions: North Loop - Good.
  The warm weather on Thursday, thinned the snow and some ruts from warm weather skiing. But still good skiing, but may want to use rock skis.
  (Bruce Busta)
• Jan 25 - Quarry Park and Nature Preserve (Waite Park):
  Conditions: Fair.
  Single track set down the center. Skiable considering lack of base. Frozen ground without base makes for a hit or miss on the pole plant.
  (Pam Carlin)
• Jan 25 - Graystone Trails (Saint Cloud):
  Conditions: North Loop - Very Good.
  Freshly rolled - thanks to the groomers! 2" of new snow is beautiful. "Mama get out the good skis!".
  (Bruce Busta)

• Jan 29 - Knife Lake (Mora):
  Knife Lake, Vasaloppet back-up course. I skied the entire perimeter of the lake early this afternoon and skate skiing was very good. The Vasaloppet plans to will wait closer to race day to groom the course, but the 2-4 inches of fresh snow on the lake made for fun skate skiing and a good double workout. There was actually too much snow on the leeward shores (at least for me) so skiing further out on the ice much better.
  (Wade Weber, Vasaloppet USA)

• Jan 29 - Anvil Nordic (Lindstrom):
  Conditions: Lake trail good-groomed for skate and tracked. Woods and open-thin, packed and waiting for more snow.
  Come out and ski the lake for now and enjoy the peace and quiet! Sunrise lake has no public access and very little human development, during the week you will have the whole place to yourself. Saturday and Sunday there may be four or five fisherman at most. If we get anymore snow the woods will be good skiing and even more secluded. We are just north of Lindstrom and excited to introduce our new ski area!
  (Nathan Johnson)
• Jan 27 - Wild River State Park (Center City):
  Conditions: Fair to poor.
  Skied classical. Mitigwaki Loop, River Trail, And Logging Trail all tracked. Other trails were rolled. Occasional bare spots in tracks that the small amount of snowfall barely started to cover by early afternoon. Need more snow! Still tracks were fast and it was great to get out!
  (Steve Adolfson)

Minnesota Southern

• Jan 28 - Root River State Trail (Lanesboro):
  Skied the Camp Creek portion of the Harmony Preston Trail. Met up with 4 snowmobilers who weren't supposed to be on the ski trail. The trail was trashed.
  (Ed Hallisy)
• Jan 27 - Root River State Trail (Lanesboro):
  Conditions: Crusty.
  Skied again between Preston and Lansburo early this morning. Now groomed with good skate pack and one classic track cut.
  (Damon Ramaker)
• Jan 25 - Quarry Hill Park (Rochester):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent.
  With the latest round of snow on Sunday night, the trails are 99% covered. You can easily use good skis with a little care--just a few sticks and dirty spots. Shallow tracks were set last night on about 50% of trails. They were quite firm this morning. Skate lane is still a bit soft, but not bad at all. Overall, very good conditions.
  (Chris Flood)
• Jan 24 - Essex Park Ski Trails (Rochester):
  Skied after work with headlamps on. Several skiers enjoying the trail on this night. Good to excellent after latest snow. Grooming was top notch. Trail has set up nicely. I would be comfortable with good skis on the entire course except the outer loop in the community garden area.
  (Randy Shelerud)

• Feb 1 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Conditions: Poor.
  Thought I could time it right this morning and ski before it warmed up to much. Froze more than I expected, very icy. Some sections, especially on downhills have dirt across most of the trail. Ski with caution!
  (Garrett Ping)
• Jan 30 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Conditions: Pleasant.
  The classic tracks were great this morning. Grip tape worked for getting kick in the tracks, which bordered on icy. Considering the weather, the trails are in amazing condition.
  (Nathan Moore)
• Jan 29 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Conditions: Great!
  Great grooming for the races today! Thanks Brad! It's amazing how good the trails were with the little snow we have had. Now we just need the forecast to change.
  (Garrett Ping)
• Jan 29 - Great River Bluffs State Park (Winona):
  Conditions: Excellent! 10 a.m. 20 degrees 1 centimeter fresh powder in previously icy tracks. Blue skies. And this after 2 days of death klister/waxless ski conditions.
  "Never has so little snow done so much." - Winston Churchill January 1946.
  (Bob Cieslak)
• Jan 28 - Great River Bluffs State Park (Winona):
  Conditions: 4" base with varying conditions. Some thin spots and icy patches.
  All trails were packed and tracked last Tuesday, but rain and warmer temps have contributed to trail deterioration. Trails under tree canopy is holding snow fairly well.
  (Rick Samples)
• Jan 24 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Conditions: Awesome!
  Best conditions and coverage of the year. Skating was very good. Tracks looked great in 90% with a few thin spots. Get out and ski!
  (Garrett Ping)

• Jan 25 - Carleton College Arboretum (Northfield):
  Conditions: Upper Arb: 1-2" of rolled, packed base. Some bare spots and many thin spots.
  I skated the upper arb this afternoon and found the conditions good if slow. There are spots where grass, gravel or tarmac show through, but they are fairly avoidable. I would recommend rock skis for now.
  (Robert Hest)

• Feb 3 - Hormel Nature Center (Austin):
  The snow is melting fast due to the warm weather and we are not renting skis until we get more snow! Not enough snow to ski.
  (Julie Champlin)
• Jan 29 - Hormel Nature Center (Austin):
  Conditions: Decent trackset.
  Decent skiing over the weekend as many people hit the trails.
  (John Duren)
• Jan 24 - Hormel Nature Center (Austin):
  All trails groomed and tracked, skating excellent, classic good with some thin spots.
  (Steve Williams)

Wisconsin Northwest

• Feb 3 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Extremely solid.
  Skied the north half this morning. The corduroy was still present from the last grooming and it would occasionally send a ski on its own path, but it wasn't icy. The sun came out at 10:30 and started loosening it up. By noon it was getting pretty sticky in the sun. The grooming crew was working on covering thin spots early today. Only saw a few burnout spots, but the sun is out now and it is 45.
  (Tyler Gruetzmacher)
• Feb 2 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: klister and fast, no bare patches so far.
  I skied OO with the Hayward Middle School kids Thursday evening. Klister and transformed snow. Still enough edging to make good skating and striding. I think our tracks will survive the big thaw this week. If you are skiing Birkie country this weekend look for icy in the am and more controlled skiing mid morning through the day. Still on race skis.
  (Joel Harrison, New Moon Ski Shop)
• Feb 1 - Seeley Ski Trails (Seeley):
  Trails were groomed and tracked Wednesday night. Should be good skiing in the morning.
  (Terry Penman, Seeley Lions Club)
• Feb 1 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Excellent to good.
  Skied OO to just past gravel pit. Snow is holding up so far. Let's keep our fingers crossed for the next few days.
  Photos:  
  (Tim Swift, Riverbrook Bike and Ski)
• Feb 1 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Excellent with few exceptions.
  Great conditions with a few uncovered spots (avoidable). Not a ton of snow to spare, but it was holding up with the cloud cover. Mixed snow speeds with super fast corduroy and really slow warm spots. Beware of fast sharp downhill corners with strategically placed slow spots during interval workouts - or pay the price in the ditch.
  Photos:  
  (Tony Squillace)
• Feb 1 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Skied from OO to Mosquito Brook and back this morning. Excellent corduroy with full coverage and just a touch of icy cover from yesterday's thaw. Fastwax Salmon was perfect on the way south, then just a bit grabby as things warmed up on the way back north.
  (Tim Power)
• Feb 1 - Flambeau Hills Ski Trail (Winter):
  Conditions: very good.
  Skate lane and majority of classic track was set today. Skate lane is in very good to excellent condition and classic track varies from good to excellent. Thin areas have gotten a little thinner but still very avoidable.
  The Flambeau River State Forest will be hosting the 20th annual candle light ski event this Saturday, Feb 4th, beginning at dusk until 10:00pm. A 1.8K trail loop will be groomed, tracked, and illuminated by hundreds of candles. Trail passes are waived for this event, food and drink provided.
  (David Schultz)
• Jan 31 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Conditions in the morning were amazing. Perfect trails freshly groomed, temps in the high 20s, clear skies, no wind, very few skiers.
  We skied a bunch of different trails near Telemark the last three days. There was an inch of fresh snow Sunday night. Today we covered parts of the World Cup loop, the power lines, much of the Korte, parts of the Birkie trail. Almost all of it was fresh corduroy and set up very nicely. We were off the trails by noon when it was still below freezing, but the sky was clear and it was well above freezing by 1:00. Cross your fingers and hope these excursions above 32F are short.
  (Jerry Beutel)
• Jan 31 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Immaculate grooming, super slow snow.
  It was way too warm this afternoon - mid 40's and sunny. On the steep downhills I was lucky I didn't pitch head over heels in between the shady to sunny spots. The snow cover is very good, although I did see a few bare spots. The Birkie Classic section was the best for skating. It would have been a Klister day for striders.
  (Genevieve Johnson)
• Jan 31 - North End Ski Trail (Cable):
  Conditions: Decent grooming, glue-like snow.
  Beautiful, warm weather, but started way too late today for skiing. It was about 1:40 pm with 45 degree temp's. Hills were tough going up and sticky coming down.
  (Genevieve Johnson)
• Jan 31 - North End Ski Trail (Cable):
  Conditions: Skate excellent. Classic tracks on A,B,C loops not reset in a few days but are still very good, same for classic only trail.
  The Birkie groomers came to the NE and groomed the Birkie and Birkie Classic so everything is in great shape from the North End.
  (Irv Berlin)
• Jan 31 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Wow, pretty much perfect.
  I had the privilege of being the first to lay tracks on the skate deck from Double O to the 5K mark. Fabulous, fresh cord, lovely classic track set on both sides, nice and firm and fast. Sections in the sun were starting to get a bit spongy on my way back, but boy this was a fun day.
  (Kirby Schuller)
• Jan 31 - Totogatic Ski Trail (Minong):
  Conditions: Good shape, considering!
  Looks like trail was last tracked on Friday prior to my visit. Some trails skied in after Sunday's "smidgeon" of snow. Trail had some spots with brush in tracks, but not enough to irritate. Some thinning areas. Overall trail is in good shape and I'd say get on it while you can. (Classic only tho!).
  (Donna Ernster)
• Jan 30 - Telemark Resort Trails (Cable):
  Immaculate skating and striding conditions when we left Telemark's trails late this afternoon.
  (Tom Dunaway)
• Jan 29 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Great. Firm skate deck. Full depth classic track. Good coverage throughout. North of OO still ungroomed since the last snow.
  Skied south from OO to Hwy 77 and back. No new grooming since Friday night but the skate deck was flat, firm and fast. Some soft spots between Mosquito Brook and hwy 77 yet.
  (Andy Schwartz)
• Jan 29 - Mukwonago Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Very Good.
  Improved since the 25th report. With the few inches of snow, there are no bare spots in the classic tracks. The skate lanes seemed firm and fast. The classic tracks were firm but with some powder for control. Moderately fast. Good grip for climbs. This is an excellent excursion about 15 minutes from Hayward.
  (Hank Gray)
• Jan 29 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent.
  Classic skied this morning from OO south to Mosquito Brook. The right side (southbound) tracks are firm but groomed before the 3 inch Friday snow. Powdery, rough skied in edges, decent for grip, slower but with great control. The left side tracks (southbound) were obviously groomed after the Friday snow. Firm, slick and much faster. Overall the best skiing of the year for anyone living around the Twin Cities. Pic showing the unplugged boys posse headed south in the right (southbound) tracks.
  Photos:  
  (Hank Gray)
• Jan 29 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Very good.
  We skate skied today starting from Fish Hatchery. The trails there were in very good shape, with much less use than on the Birkie trail. The Birkie trail had seen a bit more use, but was a bit more firmly packed and still in great shape. We also tried the trail system just off the Birkie trail near the Mosquito Brook feed area. Those trails were also in good condition. A bit narrower, but still packed well (for both skate and classic), and with some nice flow. Apart from the classic tracks on the east side of the Birkie trail (which had been set before the most recent snowfall), the skate and classic tracks in all three sections had been set after the last snow. A great day for skiing on all of these trails.
  (Ted Lystig)
• Jan 29 - Seeley Ski Trails (Seeley):
  Conditions: Classic tracks were deep and solid. The skating lane was also freshly groomed and very firm.
  Enjoyed a wonderful classic ski this afternoon under a clear blue sky. Our dog enjoyed the romp too. The fabulous grooming is always appreciated.
  (Jan Wilton)
• Jan 28 - Telemark Resort Trails (Cable):
  Conditions: Telemark's main trail (The Birkie Loop) is double classic tracked and the skating is beautiful. Other trails like Kortie 17Km to finish, Tony Wise, World Cup, etc. were not groomed or rolled only (soft and deep!). Note: North End and Birkie trails appear to have caught up with the seemingly continuous snow and the skiing seemed perfect today.
  Lots of international skiers (notably Russians and Germans) out on the trails after the big World Cup events from earlier in the day. It was the definition of inspiration watching the special XC athletes at the biathlon range.
  Photos:  
  (Tom Dunaway)
• Jan 28 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Great coverage; best for skate.
  We skied classic today on the Classic Birkie trail from the powerlines all the way down to Fish Hatchery. A single track was set down to OO; tracks were set either side once on the main Birkie trail from OO south. North of OO, it seemed like the tracks were likely set before the recent 2-3 inch snowfall; same for the tracks on the right going south from OO. The conditions for striding were often better in the skate lane (freshly groomed, nice and firm) than in the tracks. Lots of people out enjoying the snow today, so skiing south in the left hand tracks wasn't a very viable proposition. Skating would generally be a better call, as the skate lane was in top notch shape.
  (Ted Lystig)
• Jan 27 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Great. Firm deck with a couple inches of fresh snow on top.
  Was snowing as I drove up. When I left at 7:30, the snow had stopped and the groomers were out. Intrepid groomer dude Chris told me the plan was to groom from OO south to Hwy 77 Friday night but leave the north trail alone. North half was PB groomed on Thursday so the deck should be firm with a skiff of light fluff on top.
  (Andy Schwartz)
• Jan 27 - Seeley Ski Trails (Seeley):
  Conditions: Ungroomed.
  We went to Seeley to ski today around 3 and it was snowing heavily with an inch or two of accumulation and 32F. It looked like it had not been groomed since the last 4 inch snowfall but the tracks were skied in.
  Photos:  
  (Eve Stein)
• Jan 27 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  I started skating around 8:45am from Telemark. Went out World Red trail to the powerlines. The powerlines had about an inch of cold slow snow on top of corduroy. When the powerlines ended, I was able to experience what the elite Birkie skiers do with Virgin firm corduroy until the three Norwegian coaches flew past me crested the hill and vanished from sight. When I got to the Kortie classic fork where it goes left and the Kortie goes right it was still ungroomed to the right with about 5 inches of snow on it for about a half of a K or so. The remainder was groomed very well!
  Photos:  
  (Eve Stein)
• Jan 27 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Great!
  Two significant snowstorms in the last 10 days and wintery temps have made our fair skiing quite nice. groomers scheduled to redo everything for the weekend. If you get a chance stop by and see the IPC Nordic WC events at Telemark this weekend. Absolutely incredible athletes. we met Magne Myrmo this week, one of the Norwegian coaches. WC in '74, the last time wooden skis won the day!
  (Joel Harrison, New Moon Ski Shop)
• Jan 25 - Mukwonago Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Skate lane - very good, classic track - good.
  Still some pesky bare spots in the classic track, mostly under the large pines. Groomed for classic and skate skiing.
  (Lora Tucek, US Forest Service)
• Jan 25 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Very good, if a bit on the soft side. Classic track was filled in with an inch of new snow from this morning.
  Skated north from Double O to the 9K mark and back on the Birkie trail. Skate lane was narrower than usual due to a ridge of snow a couple feet to the outside of the classic track. Things had not firmed up much from the snowfall of Sunday night and Monday, and the inch that fell this morning didn't help much either. But, other than being on the soft-slow side, conditions are very good.
  (Kirby Schuller)
• Jan 25 - Drummond Ski Trails (Drummond):
  Conditions: Poor to fair.
  Doug went out to groom and comb out the scant new snow we received yesterday. No tracks were set. Unfortunately, the 2-3" of new snow did not amount to enough to increase the base and allow setting tracks. That nice over story, in the pines, balsams, and spruces, has prevented any snow from building up on those trails and are in poor shape.
  (Jim Crandall)
• Jan 25 - Flambeau Hills Ski Trail (Winter):
  Conditions: Very good-excellent.
  The entire trail was groomed and tracked on Tuesday and is in very good to excellent condition, a dusting of snow fell overnight.
  (Dennis Schultz)
• Jan 25 - Rock Lake (Cable):
  Conditions: Good.
  Track was set for classic skiing on the entire trail system. The Rock Lake loop is still in fairly bad shape. The rest of the trail is in good condition, with only a few bare spots throughout.
  (Lora Tucek, US Forest Service)
• Jan 24 - North End Ski Trail (Cable):
  Conditions: Soft. Trails freshly groomed after about 4" of new snow Monday. Skate lanes will need to be gone over again to firm up. By report of other skiers the tracks were firm. The snow coverage is excellent now and the trails are becoming level.
  All trails accessed from the NE were groomed and were nice but soft for skating.
  (Irv Berlin)
• Jan 24 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Excellent to great.
  4 to 5 inches of heavy snow on the trail yesterday. Skied OO north on the skate trail. Groomed both skating and classic tracks. The snow should set up nice for the weekend. Best skiing and grooming of the year.
  Photos:  
  (Tim Swift, Riverbrook Bike and Ski)
• Jan 24 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Mostly freshly groomed or at least packed.
  I snuck away for a bit today and skied the Kortie trail. I started from Telemark which was rolled in the middle and groomed for skate on the sides then went on the World red trail to the Powerlines. Due to being directionally challenged, I got some extra credit because I turned right off of that trail and went down the powerlines first then up and onward on the Birkie trail then the Kortie trail. The powerlines were all groomed for skate and I had fresh cord. It was a wee bit soft but not bad at all, extremely impressive that they were able to groom as much as they did after so much snow yesterday! Those birkie groomers are awesome! At about 15k I think it was or maybe 14k of the Kortie, where the Kortie classic goes left and the skate goes right, the classic was groomed for skate and classic and there was about a k or so of 4 inches or more of fluff to get back to the trail again.
  (Eve Stein)

• Feb 3 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Skiers should expect some occasional bare spots on the trails as the warm weather persists. Otherwise, the trails should be beautiful to ski over the weekend. The skate lane was groomed this morning in preparation for the weekend skiers. Enjoy!
  (Catherine Khalar, Wisconsin DNR)
• Feb 1 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Great.
  Skating is 99% covered and in really nice shape. The classic track great in places and bottomed out in others. Easy to step out and avoid. The warm weather is having some effect, but pretty minimal. They are doing a really nice job with the snow that we have. Reminded how good the skiing can be just 45 minutes from low snow Duluth!
  (Matt Ryan)
• Jan 31 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Peeeerfect.
  Such a beautiful day to be skiing. Skate deck perfect. Track perfect. Soft and slow in the sun. How lucky we are to have this place.
  (John Prentice)
• Jan 30 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Good to excellent.
  The trails were in beautiful shape. Skier-tracked classic which was very nice and just getting groomed as I left (which made it even better). The skating was superb. Yes there were a few thin areas but I was overjoyed to be really skiing. We hope the warm weather this week doesn't do much harm.
  (John Ipsen)
• Jan 30 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Very good.
  The Afterhours trail was heavily used over the weekend and it was reported that the skiers were very happy with the conditions....and that there was snow. The system was groomed this morning and it is planned to set track this afternoon. We had 1/2 inch of fresh snow overnight.
  (Catherine Khalar, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 29 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Great conditions - sun drenched snow covered pines!
  Soft wipeout in powder (see photos) ... another foreign concept this Winter! Huge thanks to the DNR guys. The conditions on Saturday and Sunday were A+.
  Photos:  
  (Rich Hoeg)
• Jan 29 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Perfect.
  Josh, Kevin, Curt - that's their names, the crew members at Brule. Make a point to stop and thank them, they done did it again.
  (John Prentice)
• Jan 28 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Very nice!
  All of the trails were in great shape! Our thanks to the groomers!
  (Rick Agar)
• Jan 28 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Perfectly groomed! Skate deck looked excellent. Classic was great.
  Did 40 km of classic at Brule this morning. It was wonderful to have these kinds of thoughts ... soft pole plants, occasionally depth charging down into the snow. The concept of deep pole plants has been unheard of this Winter. Huge thanks to the Wisconsin DNR. I think most of Duluth was over at After Hours when I left. It is great to finally ski long distances on real snow.
  (Rich Hoeg)
• Jan 28 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Skate and classic were excellent.
  After nearly 2" of wet snow yesterday and last night, the trail was newly groomed. For the first time, the Brule River State Forest staff, can rate the trail in "excellent" condition. Groomers re-started at 5 AM this morning to finish last night's grooming. The surface is firm and flat.
  (Kevin Feind, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 27 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Almost perfect for classic.
  A few bare spots under trees, but the rest was gorgeous with fresh snow falling while we skied!
  (Fannie Snowberg)
• Jan 27 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  We have received just under an inch of snow today. The trails will be touched up again and ready for the weekend.
  (Catherine Khalar, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 27 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Perfect.
  Forgotten what winter is like? Go to Brule.
  Photos:  
  (Eric Chandler)
• Jan 26 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Let's give a standing ovation to the crew at Brule. Trails are in perfect condition. And I'm sure they will tweak it even better for the weekend. For the weekend. Get there early, stay late. It is what we have been waiting for.
  (John Prentice)
• Jan 25 - Superior Municipal Forest (Superior):
  Conditions: No Snow.
  Non-skiing report: The only snow in Superior falls off the trucks as they pass through town.
  (Mark Howard)
• Jan 25 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Very good for skate and classic.
  Another inch fell overnight in Brule. I skied classic trail, north loop, and aspen. It was slow, but a great workout. The snow in the trees was breathtakingly beautiful.
  Photos:  
  (Kevin Feind, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 24 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Both skate and classic are very good.
  The whole trail system was newly groomed today after 6" of moderately dense snow fell yesterday. Track at full depth was achieved for the classic skier. There are only a couple places on the whole system where their is exposed leaves/ground in the bottom of the track. Skate skier can leave their rock skies at home, the trail looks beautiful.
  (Kevin Feind, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 24 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Wonderful.
  Winter has finally come to Brule. Freshly groomed skate and classic tracks. Skate as good as it gets. Classic track deep on about 95% of trails with a few thin spots.
  (Joe Schneeweis)

• Feb 1 - Copper Falls State Park (Mellen):
  Conditions: Very Good. Excellent grooming. about 10 inches of snow in woods. Snow transformed due to the warm weather. Good base except some dirt showing in hemlock/pine areas due to the warmth.
  Undulating terrain similar to North End and Telemark trails. 8 k of skate lanes and more ks for classic.
  (Bill Burke)
• Jan 30 - Mt. Ashwabay Ski Trails (Bayfield):
  Conditions: Very good!
  With 1 1/2 - 2 inches of new snow, doc regroomed the classic trails. I regroomed (both packed and tracked) Telford, Anchor, Seagull, and Rollercoaster skate trails. With the new snow last Friday and today, the skate trails are in very good condition.
  (Scott Nesvold)
• Jan 30 - Mt. Valhalla Ski Trails (Washburn):
  Conditions: A bit soft but still good with a 4" base.
  All loops of both the Teuton and Valkyrie trails were groomed and had track set today. Teuton is ready for both skating and classic and Valkyrie for classic only.
  (Karen Larsen)
• Jan 29 - Mt. Valhalla Ski Trails (Washburn):
  Conditions: Snow very good, grooming...um...Loki must have lost another bet?
  Glad to see the trails finally groomed and the trails were being well used today. For those who might venture out there for a ski. Valhalla is groomed in a similar manner as last year: grooming snowmobile burnouts down to the dirt on the up hills, wind rows on the skate lanes, and tracks set on the soft trail edge. So use poles with big baskets and skate with soft knees.
  (Mike Weispfenning)
• Jan 29 - Mt. Ashwabay Ski Trails (Bayfield):
  Conditions: Good to very good!
  Friday night and Saturday morning, after about 3 inches of new snow up on the hill, the crew regroomed everything. Skate trails are packed and tracked, the classic trails tracked, except for Pines and Cabin where it is a bit thin was just packed with the ginzu. Dave said the new snow helped a lot, and the skate trails are looking very good, and the classic trails for the most part are in good condition.
  (Scott Nesvold)
• Jan 28 - Mt. Ashwabay Ski Trails (Bayfield):
  Conditions: Good to very good!
  Dave W. had been out after yesterday's mini snow squall, which left around 2 inches. That lead to the best conditions of the season. I classic skied with race skis. There are thin spots, but they are avoidable. The best was along Anchor, Sugarbrush, and Seagull. Deer Path and some of the other classic only trails were good to the west, but on the east the thin spots were more frequent. It would be best to not use your race skis there. The Ashwabay skate trails looked perfect and level. Jolly trails did get groomed for both skate and classic, but I didn't not check them out today. That's for tomorrow.
  (Mike Weispfenning)
• Jan 25 - Mt. Ashwabay Ski Trails (Bayfield):
  Conditions: Mostly Good.
  I skated the loop up to the top. It was in good shape, thou a bit soft in spots. I did see one large rock poking through just past the power line towards the chair lift...watch out for that. Otherwise.... things are really shaping up. Thanks to the groomers!
  (Matt Edmunds)
• Jan 24 - Penokee Mountain Trail (Mellen):
  Conditions: Good.
  Trails were groomed for classic skiing. Finally some good snow for skiing!
  (Lora Tucek, US Forest Service)
• Jan 24 - Mt. Valhalla Ski Trails (Washburn):
  Conditions: Teuton side - good, Valkyrie side fair to good.
  Valhalla area got around 6 inches of new snow. The Teuton trails were re-rolled, packed and tracked.
  Grooming plans: The same will be done on the Valkyrie trails Wednesday. If all goes well, we plan to do a quick clean-up of both sides again on Thursday after things settle a bit which should leave everything in really good shape for the weekend.
  (Karen Larsen)
• Jan 24 - Mt. Ashwabay Ski Trails (Bayfield):
  Conditions: Fair to very good!
  Somewhere like 4-7 inches of new snow last night. Today doc and helper rolled all the classic trails. I packed Jolly Long with the ginzu. Anchor, Seagull, Rollercoaster, and Telford I packed and tracked. The top part of Anchor and Seagull looked to come out real well with full depth tracks most places. The bottom part of Anchor the track was a bit ugly the first 1/2 km, but improved after that. Birch Hill and Jolly Connector I rolled as well. Generally I'd rate the Ashwabay skate good to very good condition. Jolly trails and classic only trails I would rate as fair to good.
  (Scott Nesvold)
• Jan 24 - Mt. Valhalla Ski Trails (Washburn):
  Conditions: Great for classic, soft for skate.
  Its looks like the FS groomed today. The trails have plenty of snow now. The classic tracks were set where we skied today. The skate trail looked a bit soft but that is understandable with the light snow the got two days ago. The conditions should just get better and better now if we can stay cold.
  (Matt Edmunds)

• Feb 3 - Timberland Hills West (Cumberland):
  Conditions: The snow base is holding on pretty well, however the freeze/thaw cycles are creating icy conditions depending on the temperature.
  The lights are on at the Lighted Trail nightly until 11 PM.
  (Louis Muench)
• Feb 2 - Blue Hills Trail (Bruce):
  Rocket fast skating and& striding this morning with cloudy skies & temps in the low 30s. The crusty hardpack surface yielded just enough to provide adequate edge control, and sticky conditions were absent yet at noon. The base is adequate throughout, although it is becoming visibly thin. Most of the trails have a smooth surface, only the back loops on the Eastside are still quite irregular.
  (Tom Paulsen, Blue Hills Trail Association)
• Feb 1 - Timberland Hills (Cumberland):
  Fair springlike conditions. It was on the icy side today. The snow base is holding up well so far except for some thin spots in the usual south-facing spots on the outer loop. No "portages" were required, but rock skis are a good idea unless you're cautious.
  (Louis Muench)
• Jan 30 - Beaver Brook Ski Trail (Spooner):
  Conditions: Groomed but bouncy (undulating terrain)!
  Trail is in good shape considering the amount of snow. We'll see what temps do to it, but I only ran across one icy spot.
  (Donna Ernster)
• Jan 30 - Spooner City Trails (Spooner):
  Conditions: 1 inch of new snow-very good to excellent in most areas.
  Spooner City Park has been groomed for skating and a new track (still a grassy spot or two) set. 7-8 inches of new snow has fallen the past week. The trails are in the best shape I have seen all year.
  (David Martin)
• Jan 30 - Beaver Brook Ski Trail (Spooner):
  Conditions: Very good, inch of new snow.
  The entire diagonal stride trail was set at Beaver Brook yesterday. The track, shallow in some areas, is in pretty good shape.
  (David Martin)
• Jan 29 - Blue Hills Trail (Bruce):
  Excellent conditions this past weekend, great packed powder skiing. Despite the low snow year, the entire trail system has enough base to use your good skis - and most trails have a relatively smooth surface.
  Photos:  
  (Tom Paulsen, Blue Hills Trail Association)
• Jan 29 - Timberland Hills (Cumberland):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Firm, solid track for classic. There is a good 6 inches of snow and very well groomed. Awesome rolling layout, well worth the 80 mile drive form Saint Paul. First time out on a "real" trail this year.
  Photos:  
  (Scott Ford)
• Jan 28 - Blue Hills Trail (Bruce):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent.
  Drove up from Eau Claire and skied Saturday and there is plenty of nice snow on top of a solid base. They have 12 K groomed for classic on the east side, so we skied all that and more, since the groomed skating lane was also great for striding. Very good edge control on the downhill turns. It was so nice to be where there really is winter! Tom Paulson and the crew do a wonderful job of grooming and letting us know what to expect.
  (Libby Stupak)
• Jan 28 - Timberland Hills (Cumberland):
  Conditions: Very good. Very good skate and classic.
  Skied classic on most of the trails. A well-defined track with good coverage on all but a few spots.
  (Jeff Roberts)
• Jan 28 - Blue Hills Trail (Bruce):
  Outstanding snow conditions today. Fast, firm, packed powder with great skating and very good striding (1" fresh snow in the track getting skied in).
  (Tom Paulsen, Blue Hills Trail Association)
• Jan 28 - Balsam Branch Trails (Amery):
  Conditions: Poor to fair overall - some areas that are well shaded are quite good. South facing slopes have some visible rocks, but no snakes.
  Freshly groomed in the last hours. Track not set due to lack of snow.
  (Larry Behne)
• Jan 27 - Red Barn Ski Trails (Shell Lake):
  Conditions: Well packed 2 to 4 inch base for skating, track is to be set.
  Several corners and tight spots have been regraded. The parking lot is plowed, enjoy.
  (Dale Cardwell)
• Jan 26 - Trade River Trail (Frederic):
  Conditions: Poor but improving.
  Rolled 3" of new snow. Occasional grass in open areas. B skis for now. No tracks set yet.
  (William Johnson)
• Jan 26 - Coon Lake Trail (Frederic):
  Conditions: Poor but improving.
  Rolled 3" of new snow. Occasional grass and sticks. No tracks set yet. B skis until further notice.
  (William Johnson)
• Jan 26 - Timberland Hills (Cumberland):
  Conditions: Good conditions, except for some occasional thin spots in the classic tracks.
  The trails have been groomed twice this week and should hold up well for the weekend.
  (Louis Muench)
• Jan 25 - Barron Area Nordic Trail Association (Barron):
  Conditions: Excellent - best skiing of the year so far.
  The whole trail system was groomed again Wednesday night. Tracks remain in the woods from Tuesday's grooming and are firm, deep and skied in. The trails in the fields now have adequate snow cover and have a nice skate deck (no tracks). Very few thin spots. Bring your best skis.
  (Bob Peterson)
• Jan 25 - Spooner City Trails (Spooner):
  Conditions: 1-2 inches of new snow, very good.
  Spooner City Park was groomed tonight for skate skiing - very good conditions, a bit soft for skating. Lights are on, enjoy!
  (David Martin)
• Jan 25 - Balsam Branch Trails (Amery):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  The entire trail system was rolled before approx 1 inch of new snow fell last night. The Green and blue trails have been packed and tracked. The trail is soft and some grass is showing through in spots.
  (Michelle Stone)
• Jan 24 - Blue Hills Trail (Bruce):
  Very good to excellent conditions throughout. Fresh snow, fresh mostly firm corduroy, surface undulations much less noticeable following this most recent snowfall and subsequent grooming.
  Photos:  
  (Tom Paulsen, Blue Hills Trail Association)
• Jan 24 - Timberland Hills (Cumberland):
  Conditions: Very good conditions for skating and classic.
  We finally got some fresh snow to cover the thin spots. All trails were groomed Monday night.
  (Louis Muench)

• Feb 2 - Lowes Creek County Park (Eau Claire):
  Conditions: Fair and patchy brown.
  Almost one less mother in Eau Claire after the icy ski this morning! The west loop was not too bad but the east loops had some significant brown. The skunk encounter on the trail topped the morning off - Phew!
  (Amy Rantala)
• Feb 1 - Hickory Ridge Trail (Bloomer):
  Conditions: Thin and thinner.
  Icy with bare spots early this morning. Some areas are down to dirt and leaves.
  (Frank Lowry)
• Feb 1 - Tower Ridge Ski Area (Eau Claire):
  Conditions: Hard packed with glaze of ice over.
  Snuck out for a mid-morning ski and found the trail to be fast and surprisingly well covered. Good practice for speed turnover and balance with icy conditions. Needless to say the harder packed skis in quiver are your best pick if you have a choice. Only did hills to I loop, fast and iced up, but still covered. The classic tracks are sparse and down to the dirt in places. Please do snow and cloud prayers/dances, so we can ski through the week!
  (Bob Losby)
• Jan 29 - Lake Wissota State Park (Chippewa Falls):
  Conditions: Fair.
  We just finished grooming all of the trails. The best we could do was to clean up the skating lane. We did not attempt to improve the classic track. It is pretty well iced in place -- both good and bad. In some places both the skating and classic are pretty good. In others it is almost down to brown earth. In general the further you get from the parking lot the better it is. The little used portions are very skiable.
  (Steve Thon)
• Jan 29 - Hickory Ridge Trail (Bloomer):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Classic skied about 20K today. Plenty of snow, and except for just a few spots, no dirt showing through. Classic tracks were nice and deep and in great shape. Skate lane was nice and solid and very workable. At the west end of the Highland Lake Loop, deer have been digging in the snow and bringing up the leaves, but it is easy to get around all the leaves. Thanks to Ross for the great grooming! And thanks today to our generous friends for providing sustenance at the warming house for the ski back to our car!
  (Libby Stupak)
• Jan 29 - Lake Wissota State Park (Chippewa Falls):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skiied the Staghorn on skate skis. Lots of hiking/snowshoe traffic on the skating lane. Nice to see classic tracks set.
  (Tim Shepardson)
• Jan 28 - Tower Ridge Ski Area (Eau Claire):
  Conditions: Perfect with a fresh snowfall.
  First time here and really enjoyed it. Lots of different trails to choose from with a fresh 1.5 inch snowfall. Trails were recently groomed with a nice set track and skating also looked good. A hidden gem so close to the Twin Cities.
  Photos:  
  (Conrad Sanders)
• Jan 28 - Red Cedar River Trail (Menomonie):
  Conditions: Fast, fun.
  Skied to Irvington form Menomonie trail head. Skate deck freshly groomed and very fast near perfect. Classic tracks very icy yet skiable - think violet klister with thick hard wax might work. Ice falls with full sun worth the effort, many birds, hawks, eagles and cardinals, oh my.
  Photos:  
  (Dave Leschke)
• Jan 28 - Lowes Creek County Park (Eau Claire):
  Conditions: Decent but not great.
  Skied all the groomed trails on both sides of the bridge. A few bad spots on the hills in the open areas but not bad overall. Wouldn't bring out the good skis yet.
  (Tony Biasi)
• Jan 28 - Hickory Ridge Trail (Bloomer):
  Conditions: Close to perfection - finally!
  Fresh snow on Friday, about 2 inches. Expert groomer Ross worked through the night with the Ginzu. All 27 K groomed for skate and classic. Enjoy!
  (Noah Michaelsen)
• Jan 25 - Tower Ridge Ski Area (Eau Claire):
  Conditions: Great for the current snow cover.
  Trails are in great shape! They finally had enough snow to set tracks on the trails. They are a bit shallow in a couple spots, so B skis would be best. Nice to ski in the tracks again.
  (Mike Mahoney)
• Jan 25 - Red Cedar River Trail (Menomonie):
  Conditions: Not the best but at least it's snow.
  Looks like they rolled it and then groomed it. Tracks were set to Irvington and at times looked a little shallow. The skate deck was best from Menomonie to Irvington. Beyond Irvington it was only rolled with a base of less than 2 inches of soft snow.
  (David Carew)
• Jan 24 - Hickory Ridge Trail (Bloomer):
  Conditions: Very nice, freshly set classic track and skate deck. Great coverage on the skate lane. Very good to leafy/dirty classic track.
  Ran into Ross the groomer at the start of my ski working on the grooming equipment at the shed. He was going to groom again later this evening. The trail is in excellent shape considering the little snow received this season. Hats off to the Hickory Crew!
  (Marty Bushland)

• Feb 3 - Camp Forest Springs (Westboro):
  We still have excellent conditions here! Snow coverage is very good except a few thin spots on Rollercoaster and Skidder. Groomed skate lanes this morning and shoveled snow on those thin spots.
  (Scott Everson)
• Jan 31 - Camp Forest Springs (Westboro):
  Trails were groomed Monday; I skied them this morning and they were beautiful! The (classic) skiing was great until it got too warm and my skis got way too sticky. Best to wait now until early tomorrow.
  (Scott Everson)
• Jan 29 - Rib Lake Ski Trails (Rib Lake):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Rib Lake's trails in very nice condition for skating: hard packed with ample snow on turns and downhills. Striding conditions appeared to be in good shape as well, tho I didn't classic ski. Trail was a bit narrow in places but overall very nice. Some locals claim this weekend was the best this winter! Oh: the ski-thru outhouse needs T.P.! (see photo)
  (Paul Matteoni)
• Jan 28 - Rib Lake Ski Trails (Rib Lake):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skied the Timm's Hill Trail and attempted to ski the High Point Ski Trail (loops around Timm's Hill). Timm's Hill Trail in good condition, well groomed and well set trails. A bit slow for skating in some soft stretches. Colder weather and continued grooming should rectify this. High Point Trail is not open due to logging around Timm's Hill County Park. Access the north end of Timm's Hill Trail from Rustic Road near High Point Village.
  (Paul Matteoni)
• Jan 28 - Camp Forest Springs (Westboro):
  Excellent - Trails groomed again this morning; seems like we're grooming almost every day! 20km, 12 loops to choose from (or just ski all of them). Finally have good snow cover under the hemlocks on Skidder and Rollercoaster.
  (Scott Everson)
• Jan 26 - Camp Forest Springs (Westboro):
  Excellent - probably the best conditions of this season. Everything was groomed again on Wednesday night after we had school groups here for the day. I skied some of the tracks this morning; it was a little slow but still great!
  (Scott Everson)

• Feb 2 - Troll Hollow (Dresser):
  Conditions: Had a good classic ski using waxless skis early today.
  Snow was soft but skate skiing was also good later today. Fourth high school meet in four days went off very well this evening as there is still ample snow. No slush and no dirt.
  (Mike Chrun)
• Jan 30 - Marshfield School Forest (Marshfield):
  Conditions: Good-Very good. 29 degrees partly cloudy.
  Skating deck better than tracks, which are glazed, worn a bit, and have occasional leaves and other debris in them. Still good skiing, but a little snow would be nice to freshen the system up.
  (David Henning)
• Jan 29 - Willow River State Park (Hudson):
  Conditions: Much better than expected!
  I skied pretty much all of the park today, snow coverage was quite good, but I stayed on my rock skis to be safe. If you're familiar with the park you probably know places that are problematic when snow is low. Red trail has good coverage, brown is good except for about 15ft where it meets up with red. Purple has two bare spots with low snow, probably the only trail I'd avoid. Green/campground is good, blue also has good coverage. Yellow/orange were in good condition as well. Unfortunately, the trails are still open to hiking so there are footprints on the trails but if you're dying to ski, get out there and do it!
  (Michael Phernetton)
• Jan 28 - Troll Hollow (Dresser):
  Conditions: Excellent for both classic and skate.
  Sorry about the condition of the tracks Friday. The morning groomer was inexperienced, and Trollhaugen is trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. I have taken over for Rollie, but honestly, the tracks have been set very nicely whenever I've skied this winter, and today was no exception.
  (Rollie, I know you're still monitoring, but don't fret. Your "Baby" might have been a bit colicky yesterday, but it's fine today. Enjoy your retirement!)
  Schedule update:
  Monday-JV race at 4:00. Done about 5:00.
  Tuesday-Conference meet starting at 10:00. Done about 3:00.
  Wednesday-Conference meet at 10:00. Done about 4:30.
  Thursday-JV meet at 6:00. Done about 7:00.
  Tracks will be reset after the meets Tuesday and Wednesday.
  (Mike Chrun)
• Jan 27 - Troll Hollow (Dresser):
  Conditions: Fresh grooming but worst classic tracks ever, skate was fine.
  Was the first person on the course this morning and thought, awesome fresh tracks, but was thoroughly disappointed instead. Could not keep my skis in the track on ANY corners because the corners were too sharp, sometimes the track was so close to the edge of the snow pack my outside pole would drop away from me. The skate lane had been groomed right over the track in numerous places. The tracks were not consistent and in some places weren't tracked continuously. Overall very poor conditions for classic, was a waste of my money. The skate lane was freshly groomed and fast.
  (Todd Mott)
• Jan 24 - Marshfield School Forest (Marshfield):
  Conditions: Excellent. 20 degrees and sunny--a perfect blue kick day. All trails nicely groomed.
  First time this year having tracks to ski in, and not having to use my rock skis. Skating deck appeared to be firm. More deer tracks than skier tracks. There are a few spots where the deer have turned up leaves on the trail. Fresh snow still hanging on the pines.
  (David Henning)
• Jan 24 - Willow River State Park (Hudson):
  Conditions: Rolled, no track.
  Willow received a bit more snow than the metro area, around 4-5 inches Sunday night. All of the ski trails were rolled. There is a pretty thin base but everything is covered and there is quite a bit of skier activity. I'd suggest "B" skis as gravel is lurking just below the surface in many areas. Ski trails are still open to hikers and pets.
  (David Thofern)
• Jan 24 - Willow River State Park (Hudson):
  Conditions: Not groomed yet.
  Grooming plans: Rolling will be done tonight at the latest. Trails will remain open to all users until there is full coverage for skiing.
  (Jeff Bolte)

Wisconsin Northeast

• Feb 3 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Good to very good, warm and sunny, 34F.
  Skied most of the trails around mid-day. Some soft conditions, some crusty parts, and an inch or so of new snow made tough waxing conditions, but the trail is in pretty good shape. Hopefully the warm temps won't rob us of this great snow!
  (Dan Mckissack)
• Feb 3 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: Real winter skiing.
  Skied at 10 am found great trail system with plenty of snow - conditions held up under the afternoon sun and warming temps 38F at 1pm. Classic track deep and firm, used red klister with good results. Skate deck firm and starting to slow with the sun but plenty of snow. Today was great - real snow great trail system.
  Photos:  
  (Dave Leschke)
• Feb 3 - Nordmarka Ski Trails (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Fair to good for classic and skate.
  I groomed the skate lane this morning. The classic track was in decent shape so I left it alone. Still have great snow coverage except by 2 signs and the low snow spots are very small. Not many km's at this course, but it is close to town!
  Photos:  
  (Troy Walters)
• Feb 3 - Escanaba Trail (Boulder Junction):
  Conditions: Good condition.
  Tracked this morning and I was surprised how much snow was left and how well it tracked. 10-12 inches in the woods, March like conditions fast in Am and slower in the afternoon. This intermediate level trail is holding up to the mild weather quite well.
  (Dan Jacoby, Wisconsin DNR)
• Feb 2 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Snow white and the groomers.
  The Rendezvous should be golden. There's plenty of snow depth, well groomed, and warm temps. The snow is fairly fresh looking, but you might want to bring klister.
  (Ken Schoville)
• Feb 2 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Plenty of great snow up here, enjoyed the fresh grooming with a dusting of snow. A few avoidable patches of dirt. Should be fine skiing for the race here this weekend. Skate was really good, tracks also looked firm and deep.
  (Judy Archibald)
• Feb 1 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  First trip to Afterglow. I had high expectations and was not let down. Virtually untouched fresh corduroy, silky smooth, firm and fast surface. Just enough screamin' hills to keep it lively without becoming a chore. I picked the perfect place to celebrate my 50th birthday, and won't wait another 50 to return.
  (Rick Bie)
• Feb 1 - Three Eagle Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: 35 deg falling to 30. Freshly groomed skate and classic. Excellent!
  Wow, what a great surface. I classic skied the whole trail late this afternoon as the sun was going down. I hopped in the skate lane a couple times and it was solid. The super grooming was only trumped by the amazing sunset. Thanks for all the great grooming effort this year!
  (Troy Walters)
• Feb 1 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skied most of the trails this morning. Pretty good, but fairly soft conditions. The shoulder of the trail is pretty soft in places and makes for some unpredictable pole plants, and the skate deck - while fairly solid - seemed a bit bumpy. Got practice for moguls! :) All in all the trails seemed pretty good, Jeff has done a great job with the tools and conditions he's had to work with. Thanks for the efforts!
  (Dan Mckissack)
• Jan 31 - Schlecht Lake (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Good to very good skating, but little to no classic tracks.
  Is skated here Tuesday and the snow was fun and fast. However, the trail could use a grooming. It appears it wasn't groomed after the last couple of inches of snow. The trail gets enough traffic that skating was quite good nonetheless. I only noticed a fair set of classic tracks in one area and none elsewhere.
  (Karen Olkowski )
• Jan 31 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: As good as it gets.
  Great skiing on the best groomed trails in the Midwest.
  (Bob Faherty)
• Jan 31 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  A large group came out for 2 for Tues. today. Trails were perfect skate and classic. All skate lanes groomed again tonight. Perfect. Trails have been groomed 33 of the last 39 nights. 18" snow depth in the woods. Our trails go through a thick forest and are well protected from the sun. We had hazy to cloudy skies and a high of 38F today. Trails have trees about 11 to 12' apart but have a wide skate lane with a classic track with plenty of room for a solid pole plant. Snow at the Glow.
  Photos:  
  (Pete Moline, Afterglow Lake Resort)
• Jan 31 - McNaughton Lake Trail (Lake Tomahawk):
  Conditions: Very good.
  All loops groomed.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 31 - Raven Trails (Woodruff):
  Conditions: Very good.
  All loops groomed.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 31 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Very good 8" base groomed and tracked. Just before the warm weather, try skiing in morning.
  Sorry about the tracker being broke down, I understand the frustration.
  (Jeff Higley, US Forest Service)
• Jan 31 - Three Eagle Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  Strided the trail this morning. Conditions were perfect, it looked like the trail had been very recently groomed. Great kick and glide, skate deck looked perfect. Nice job!
  (Dan Mckissack)
• Jan 29 - CAVOC Trails (Rhinelander):
  Trails are excellent, firm, well groomed, no debris and no bare or soft spots.
  (John Almquist)
• Jan 29 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Trails are in excellent condition, firm, well groomed, no debris, and no bare or soft spots.
  (John Almquist)
• Jan 29 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Skate and classical: excellent.
  The groomers were very proud of their work, and rightfully so! New tracks throughout, wonderful firm base. Plenty of snow! Don't forget to check out the Tea Room, a new ski-in spot this season.
  (Joseph Bednarowski)
• Jan 29 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Excellent! 15 deg, freshly groomed skate and classic.
  I skated all the trails twice and found excellent conditions. The trails had set up well and the skate push off was solid! The trails have been leveled perfectly for a magic carpet surface. Great grooming Pete!
  (Troy Walters)
• Jan 29 - Nose Lake Ski Trail (Rhinelander):
  Ungroomed. Despite how awesome this trail is, its a hit or miss when it comes to the grooming. There is however skiable tracks to follow as many many skiers have ventured out to enjoy the great weather despite the status of this trail!
  Photos:  
  (Lilly Lee)
• Jan 29 - Cassian Two-Way Ski Trail (Rhinelander):
  Conditions: Very good.
  The recent snow is nicely compacted, giving fair glide and a little soft on kick. The people who snowshoe on the trail despite the signs have made a few areas at the trail head a little dicey.
  (Randy Bryan)
• Jan 29 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Excellent. 1" new snow. 18" snow depth. All skate lanes groomed. All classic track set again for Sunday morning. Grooming started at 2am and I finished at 5:25am. Now the trail can firm up before 9am when we open. Grooming during the day looks nice, but only softens the trail so each skier can do more damage to a groomers hard work. Trails have been groomed 31 of the last 36 nights.
  A Discover Wisconsin TV crew was here filming skiing, tubing, igloos, and the famous Afterglow Polar Dunk yesterday. Next weekend they will be back filming iceskating, hockey, s'mores around the campfire and snowshoeing. Glow in the snow.
  (Pete Moline, Afterglow Lake Resort)
• Jan 28 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Excellent to very good for skate and classic.
  Interior trails that I skied were again in great shape, very firm and fast, even with the light snowfall from the night before which continued throughout the day. River Run had been groomed sometime that morning and so the skate lane was very soft. Plenty of snow.
  (Kirby Schuller)
• Jan 28 - Three Eagle Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Strided the trail at dusk. There is about 2" of new snow on the trail, but the tracks have been skied in well so it's really more of an issue for skaters. The open area at Mud Creek Bridge is almost completely covered with drifts, the trail is 90% covered in soft snow for a short stretch, but easy to navigate.
  (Dan Mckissack)
• Jan 28 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Mighty fine.
  Classic skied the high school race courses with the Wausau Team and found everything to be in excellent condition. Had a good 2" and maybe more on the trails that was groomed in well in most, with the exception of Beaver Pond, which made the downhills powdery fun.
  (Ken Schoville)
• Jan 28 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: Skate and classical: Perfect.
  The trails were fast and absolutely pristine today. No flaws to report. Firm base with no crust or ice. New tracks recently set, and the groomers were out combing the skate deck around mid-afternoon.
  (Joseph Bednarowski)
• Jan 28 - Razorback Ridges Trail (Sayner):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Freshly groomed and in great shape.
  (Chris Morris)
• Jan 28 - Madeline Lake Trail (Arbor Vitae):
  Trail was groomed today and in excellent condition.
  (Julie Brooks)
• Jan 28 - Escanaba Trail (Boulder Junction):
  Conditions: Good to very good conditions.
  Leveled and groomed this morning. 1.5 inches last night another inch of lake snow arriving now so trails around this area should be in prime condition. About 14-15 inches of snow in the woods. Very scenic with new snow settling on the pines.
  (Dan Jacoby, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 28 - Raven Trails (Woodruff):
  Conditions: Very good.
  All loops tracked.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 28 - McNaughton Lake Trail (Lake Tomahawk):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skaters loop groomed. All other loops tracked.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 27 - Three Eagle Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Strided the trail late this afternoon/early evening. Conditions were very good, excellent glide, although the skate deck seemed on the soft side. The trail looks to have seen a fair amount of activity, but is holding up well.
  (Dan Mckissack)
• Jan 27 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Very poor.
  As already mentioned...No tracking. Very difficult to ski over the bumps and holes. Disapointing for many in the parking lot, including "trees for tomorrow" children.
  (Roger LeBarron)
• Jan 27 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: From perfect for skate to very good, classic all looked excellent.
  Fresh grooming on the interior trails I skated, Base Loop, Nose Dive Alley, XC Xpress, Sleigh Ride and Silver strider were perfection. Virgin cord from last nights grooming had the track nice and firm and very fast. Yukon, C&D Express and Lake Marie hadn't seen a pass by the groomer for a few days and as such were actually a bit soft in spots but still very good. Boy it was nice out today.
  (Kirby Schuller)
• Jan 27 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Classic - no tracks.
  Also made the assumption that the trails getting 'done' meant they were tracked.
  (Marina McKissack)
• Jan 27 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Perfect skate lane and deep classic tracks exist. For the highest quality skiing, no dogs, no walking and no snowshoeing is allowed on our ski trails. The 8 mile snowshoe trail system is in excellent condition. Snowshoe rentals available. Trails have been groomed 38 times this season. A pine grosbeak landed on my Tidd Tech G2 and I was able to get a photo.
  Photos:  
  (Pete Moline, Afterglow Lake Resort)
• Jan 27 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Bluebird day on crystalline snow. The new snow and warm temps gave way to a nice freeze last evening and a fresh groom, with deep firm classic tracks and fresh corduroy on the skate deck throughout most of the park. Early skiers noticing the difference with reports of firm plants and a fast track relative to midweek. Should only get better all weekend long with the temps dropping.
  (Joel Knutson)
• Jan 27 - Escanaba Trail (Boulder Junction):
  Conditions: Good conditions.
  Last groomed January 24th after 8 inches of new snow. Finally good snow to work with. No more thin spots. firm track with 14 inches of snow in the woods. Remember no dogs or snowshoes even if fluffy is a well trained dog or you stay to the side with snowshoes. As groomers we need the snow from tree to tree on the trail surface. We pull the snow in from the sides to level and mix snow types. Snow shoes make pock marks, inconsistent crusty snow, and a very bumpy ride for the groomer. We have snowshoe trails at North Trout, Fallison and Star Lake Nature trails with plowed lots.
  (Dan Jacoby, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 26 - Raven Trails (Woodruff):
  Conditions: Perfect.
  We went to Raven and were rewarded with a perfect outing. Firepit was well-stocked, the nuthatches, woodpeckers and chicadees were abundant and the trails were excellent.
  (Larry Cain)
• Jan 26 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Trail was groomed but not tracked.
  Made the assumption that the long-awaited grooming asserted by Jeff would have included tracking so we went to Anvil Thursday only to discover that, although the trail had finally been groomed, no classic track had been established and, predictably, a novice skier was floundering along. What a shame to have such perfect conditions for skiing and no classic tracks!
  (Larry Cain)
• Jan 26 - McNaughton Lake Trail (Lake Tomahawk):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skaters loop groomed. All other loops tracked.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 25 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Fresh grooming on 7" new snow. 32 degrees.
  Afterglow's trails are as advertised by the resort and as endorsed by others, wonderful. I had enough time to ski a variety of easy and more difficult trails. The Blue labelled trails I skied seemed to fall into the easier side of the Blue designation. At 32 degrees, everyone on classic skis was taking a best guess since there was no consensus. After a long drive to get there, and being somewhat road weary, I thought I had the right wax applied and wound up with only Toko binder for kick wax. It worked.
  The trails are beautiful the north woods you would expect and everything was flocked with the new snow. The classic track is cut out wide from the edge providing a generous poling lane. I left plenty to explore and as such, a reason to return.
  (Jeff Bolte)
• Jan 25 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Well tuned.
  Skied the first 20 k of the Wolf Tracks Race course and found everything to be groomed to perfection and trackset for a classic Wednesday date ski with the honey. All the twisty-turnys will be a fun challenge for the racers.
  (Ken Schoville)
• Jan 25 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: Skate deck still soft. Tracks are deep and awesome.
  Skied 2-1/2 hours tonight. What a difference 24 hours makes. The skate deck is still soft, but very skiable. The tracks are deep and firm and were awesome. Should be great conditions for the weekend.
  (Brian Hegge)
• Jan 25 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  We've come to believe that, no matter what the circumstances, we'll always find well-groomed trails at Afterglow Lake Resort. Today, after finding Anvil Trail untracked Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, we went to Afterglow and found every trail groomed to perfection.
  (Larry Cain)
• Jan 25 - Madeline Lake Trail (Arbor Vitae):
  Conditions: Very good.
  All loops tracked.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 25 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: Striding: most excellent, skating: very good just soft.
  Starting out skating and quit after an hour as the trails are soft, soft, soft, slow, slow and one hour felt like four hours. The groomers were out again today and the classic track was perfect.
  Photos:  
  (Greg Dahl)
• Jan 25 - Nordmarka Ski Trails (Eagle River):
  Conditions: 90% good to very good... 10% still thin - mostly by the trailhead. Classic track set on a majority of the trail system and very wide skate lane.
  The trails were groomed this morning and should be quite nice. I would still not use your best skis, as a couple spots have pavement beneath a thin base. I have marked the sections with signs. Overall, if you want something close to the city, it is not all bad!
  (Troy Walters)
• Jan 25 - Nicolet North Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: 6" base good condition all groomed.
  Not tracked.
  (Jeff Higley, US Forest Service)
• Jan 25 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Good 6" base and all trails groomed.
  Grooming update: We are using a back up groomer until we get the Sherpa fixed, sorry it took until today to get the trails done. Had to rig an old groomer with another sled. Thanks for your patience.
  (Jeff Higley, US Forest Service)
• Jan 24 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Perfect.
  9" new. Groomed 4 times in the last two nights. Firm skate and classic. Trails groomed 27 of the last 32 nights. Sleep less. Groom more!
  (Pete Moline, Afterglow Lake Resort)
• Jan 24 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: The snow covering Anvil Trails is pristine, how however the trails are not groomed.
  Grooming update: I found a groomer sitting with 6" of snow covering it at the #2 entrance. I stopped at the Eagle River Ranger Station and was told the machine has been broken for the past 3 weeks.
  (Roger LeBarron)
• Jan 24 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: 5 inches of new snow on Tuesday. Skate deck is soft and tracks are 1/2 depth and also soft.
  Beautiful snow on Tuesday but the snow has not been compacted. The skate deck breaks down and the tracks are poor and only 1/2 depth and washed out.
  (Brian Hegge)
• Jan 24 - Three Eagle Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  Classic skied the trail this evening. A little soft, but the perfection of the snow and the awesome grooming made it a moot point. It doesn't get much better than this, hit the trail!
  (Dan Mckissack)
• Jan 24 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: Striding: most excellent.
  Wow we keep getting richer - 8 inches snow Monday and another 2 today. The trails were groomed on Monday so there was 2 inches of powder on top of skating deck and I skied in some tracks and some were already skied in. I finished about 2 PM and the groomers were hard at it. The tracks were great, easy to ski and surprising fast even with the new snow. The skating decks were soft, soft, soft, slow, slow slow.
  Photos:  
  (Greg Dahl)
• Jan 24 - Three Eagle Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Excellent for classic and skating.
  It really doesn't get much better than this although some purists might find all of the new snow just a bit on the soft side of perfection.
  Photos:  
  (Tom Rulseh)
• Jan 24 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Soft and partially groomed since the big dump on Monday.
  Most trails I skied had only been rolled, not combed or track set. Ran into a groomer just as I was finishing this morning, putting down a comb on Nepcos Cruise. Lots and lots of new snow.
  (Kirby Schuller)
• Jan 24 - Raven Trails (Woodruff):
  Conditions: Good / very good.
  All loops leveled and tracked.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Jan 24 - Nose Lake Ski Trail (Rhinelander):
  Freshly groomed! I just missed the groomers as me and the dog headed out and struggled with snow depths up to our ears! But just as we were coming off the ungroomed trail, there they were heading out! So make the trip now, its all freshly groomed!
  Photos:  
  (Lilly Lee)
• Jan 24 - Razorback Ridges Trail (Sayner):
  Grooming update: Wow! This was a bunch of snow to move around. After 8-10 inches of new powder hit Sunday night and through the day Monday, the volunteer groomers are close to getting everything in shape. Skate loops got a once through Monday afternoon and half the classic loops were given multiple passes Monday night with a really excellent track set the last time through. As we speak Tuesday afternoon, a Lions Club volunteer is on the trail finishing up the skate loops. I'll be back out tonight after I close the store to finish the classic loops. It should be really excellent when we're done.
  (Will Maines)

• Feb 3 - Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area (Wausau):
  Badger State Scouting Report: Just finished skiing the 21/43 km course. 100 percent snow covered - no ice, or dirt. Was in the upper 30's but held up well. Skate lane was fine. Track was not, but they are suppose to be setting new track tonight. Evidence of lots of shoveling by volunteers. Be sure to thank them.
  Expect firm conditions in the morning, softening through the day. Downhills will be fast, and turns at the bottoms will be scraped to ice by the second lap.
  Note - course change for 43 km. Leo's Loop is out. Instead, there will be three laps around the final 7 km - my favorite part of the course. Have fun tomorrow!
  (John McCarthy)
• Feb 2 - Greenwood Hills Trail (Wausau):
  Conditions: Icy.
  The majority is pretty iced up...but with the conditions we've been having we are lucky to even have snow!
  (Dawn Sillars)
• Feb 2 - Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area (Wausau):
  Conditions: Skate conditions very good.
  Snow has been brought in to mend a few trouble areas. The surface should groom up nicely with a very hard base, expect fast conditions but not icy and no bare spots.
  (Perry Dau)
• Feb 2 - Greenwood Hills Trail (Wausau):
  Conditions: Good to poor.
  Junior Olympic loop is good and groomed today. Rest of trails are hit and miss. We could use more snow again.
  (Scott Sann)
• Feb 1 - Iola Winter Sports Club Trails (Iola):
  Conditions: Boilerplate.
  We tried skiing Wednesday night, should have listened to Phils message about going biking instead, did one green loop and abandoned our efforts, wishing for skis with metal edges. The base is very thin and not much to work with. There were a few people out taking advantage of shallow tracks to do some double poling but in the dark the occasional bare spot was interesting to say the least. We talked with Phil and he said until this warm spell is over he doesn't have plans to groom. Looks as if we will continue to allocate our ski budget to travel instead of new equipment.
  (Tracy Piontkowski)
• Feb 1 - Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area (Wausau):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Update for the Badger State Games, just got done going over the trails and am happy to report that there is a 2 inch base over most of the trail, work is being done on the few thin spots and it looks like we should have a complete set of races for Saturday.
  (Ron Roloff)
• Jan 31 - Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area (Wausau):
  Conditions: Held up very well after a warm day.
  I had a blast skiing this afternoon. The snow was freezing up well after a warm day.
  (Perry Dau)
• Jan 30 - Inshalla golf course (Tomahawk):
  Not groomed but skiable. Looks like there were plenty of people who enjoyed the trail over the weekend since under the fluff I could see the indentations of poles, dogs, and snowshoers! Although not groomed I used my good classic skis and did well. open areas of course are blown over with deeper snow, but only makes it more adventerous!
  (Lilly Lee)
• Jan 30 - Greenwood Hills Trail (Wausau):
  Conditions: Conditions are very good.
  100% of trails open to skating. 75% of trails open for traditional/thin in some areas.
  (Scott Sann)
• Jan 29 - Underdown Recreation Area (Irma):
  Conditions: Good to Excellent.
  Perfect hard wax day. Plenty of snow. Inside trails were a little washed out from weekend users but the outside trails, including the single track cutoffs, were in great shape.
  Photos:  
  (George Cleveland)
• Jan 29 - Plover River Ski Trail (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Snow covered and slippery.
  Generally one shallow skied-in track throughout. But it turns to hard-pack on any turn or hill, making the normally tame little hills on the system a bit challenging. Still very scenic for an in-town trail!
  (Bill Fehrenbach)
• Jan 29 - Standing Rocks Park (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Thin, thin, thin. Good to fair.
  Most of the blue trail is still skiable, but there are large (several square feet) thin and dirty areas. Leaves, needles, twigs and grass. Once, or twice it was difficult to avoid dirt. Downhills are bumpy, so be careful. Classical track is set, where appropriate, but also with debris. Leave your Sunday skis at home. Bring the "B" skis for the experience.
  (Chris Szymonski)
• Jan 28 - Iola Winter Sports Club Trails (Iola):
  Conditions: Snow covered and groomed, some debris spots on hills. The northern most black loop is still roped off, but the blue and green loops are fine.
  I skied Iola on Friday and Saturday and it was packed and fast! Some thin spots but easily avoided. Phil and Co. were shoveling snow into the bare patches in the fields in preparation for the Norseman Challenge race. Skate deck is fine, and tracks set for the classic race also.
  (Scott Frazier)
• Jan 28 - Underdown Recreation Area (Irma):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Full coverage with no ice now on this great classic layout. The light dusting of snow since the last grooming has been skied in.
  (Greg Pleski)
• Jan 28 - Standing Rocks Park (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skated the blue loop (excluding Red Pine) this afternoon. Coverage is good in most areas - a few spots with exposed dirt and trail debris that are easy to avoid. Coverage is thin in the pines on Lodge Loop. I used "B" skis with no problem. Trail was groomed yesterday and again today. They thought the lodge would be open Monday and Tuesday (11:00-4:30), although things could change if it rains.
  (Dan McGlynn)
• Jan 28 - Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area (Wausau):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Classic skied the red loop and safely used my good skis. The sides of the track were a little soft but bottoms were nice and firm. Worth the drive.
  (Blake Schlaeppi)
• Jan 27 - Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area (Wausau):
  Conditions: Very good!
  Nice skate conditions today. Classic trail isn't has deep as one might want but they were well-set and fast The skiing was great!
  (Paul Matteoni)
• Jan 26 - Standing Rocks Park (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Full coverage with some ground leaves in places.
  Skied all the trails except the Red Pine section. The trails have full coverage except some ground leaves in the gravel pit area. Some leaves also in spots on the blue trails. Overall not bad for the little bit of snow they have.
  (Diane Gustin)
• Jan 26 - Inshalla Golf Course (Tomahawk):
  Perfect! Welcome skiers to Inshalla! I discovered that Inshalla golf course is now grooming xc ski trails and is open to the public for free! It is a beautiful trail system that one can enjoy with family friends and fido! They do not have a donation box but if you do go and really like the skiing send them a donation via mail, they really deserve it for offering this gem to the public!
  Photos:  
  (Lilly Lee)
• Jan 25 - Plover River Ski Trail (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Base was packed but there are no set tracks. Very good skiing nonetheless on this relatively flat, quiet, pretty system.
  (John Pehoski)
• Jan 25 - Iola Winter Sports Club Trails (Iola):
  Conditions: Excellent for skate. Good tracks.
  Iola area received 3-4 inches on Monday. Wow what a difference. The Clydesdale's were out in full force with perfect glide on a nice winter evening. The trail should be in mint shape for the race on Sunday. There is still one area on the back hill Phil has roped off. Field has a few thin spots but not a big deal, otherwise get out and enjoy, the days are now getting longer.
  (Tracy Piontkowski)
• Jan 25 - Iola Winter Sports Club Trails (Iola):
  Conditions: Very good for skating. Classic appeared to be very good as well; tracks were set everywhere I skied tonight.
  If not for a couple of thin spots and a few lumps, the trails tonight would have been in excellent condition. Monday's new snow set up firm and fast. Great edge and good control on downhill turns. Tons of fun on a beautiful, quiet evening at the club.
  Photos:  
  (Rick Bie)
• Jan 25 - Underdown Recreation Area (Irma):
  Conditions: Excellent for classic.
  A great day trip to the Underdown Ski Trail in Lincoln County. Joanie and I skied the long 18K loop, plus a little extra. Had been freshly groomed and tracked the day before with a dusting of snow in the tracks. Amazing how much snow there is here just north of Merrill. Still a few thin spots under the overhanging pines, but excellent condition overall.
  A great day trip to the Underdown Ski Trail in Lincoln County. Joanie and I skied the long 18K loop, plus a little extra. Had been freshly groomed and tracked the day before with a dusting of snow in the tracks. Amazing how much snow there is here just north of Merrill. Still a few thin spots under the overhanging pines, but excellent condition overall.
  A great day trip to the Underdown Ski Trail in Lincoln County. Joanie and I skied the long 18K loop, plus a little extra. Had been freshly groomed and tracked the day before with a dusting of snow in the tracks. Amazing how much snow there is here just north of Merrill. Still a few thin spots under the overhanging pines, but excellent condition overall.
  (Darren Blankenship)
• Jan 25 - Nine Mile County Forest Recreation Area (Wausau):
  4" new snow this week with some moisture content. All trails are groomed and tracks set. Very good conditions.
  (Greg Freix, Wausau/Marathon County Parks)
• Jan 24 - Standing Rocks Park (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Good.
  The trails were in good shape with the Monday snow and finally are in action for the season. Classic tracks looked good. Trail was soft for skating, but will stiffen up overnight and with some more gentle grooming. A few spots with leaves and needles could use shoveling after the groomer.
  (Jim Sheibley)
• Jan 24 - Underdown Recreation Area (Irma):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  The Lincoln County crew did an excellent job today grooming the fresh 6 inches of snow we got on Monday. Unbelievably, I was the only person to ski the fresh groomed trails. They were a little soft.
  (Luke Linnell)

• Jan 31 - Bridgewood Resort (Neenah):
  Trail is closed until further notice.
  (Greg Hollub)
• Jan 30 - Bridgewood Resort (Neenah):
  Conditions: Fair to poor.
  Skied Monday night. Trails are icy and more bare spots emerging. Considering we have only had a couple of inches of snow this year, trails are ski able. Bring rock skis!
  (Tom Oehler)
• Jan 29 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 1-2" of packed powder over icy base. Full coverage, modest debris, too shallow for tracks.
  The shelter was open and the trails pretty fast with temps in the teens. Buckets of skiers out with over 35 vehicles parked at 3pm. Call it 80% good skiing, 100% fun in the sun.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Ernst, In Competition Sports)
• Jan 29 - Bridgewood Resort (Neenah):
  Conditions: Good to very good.
  Conditions continue to get better and better. Trails are packed solid with a good base. Only a few spots of grass to look out for and a few rocks near the hotel. Great conditions considering the lack of snow.
  (Mike Mundl )
• Jan 28 - Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 27F, 2" new snow over crust, icy base.
  The trails were rolled. We don't have enough snow for tracks yet. Barkhausen is normally classic only but there were a few skate tracks with no ill effects as there are no tracks. Trail walkers abound here, I find taking their photo a non-confront-able way to discourage their trail wreckin' ways.
  (Mark Ernst, In Competition Sports)
• Jan 28 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: Hard pack base, couple of inches of new snow.
  At 8am guys were out grooming trails. Good skating deck through the trail system. Full snow cover with some icy spots. Shelter was also open.
  (Mike Fahrbach)
• Jan 28 - Bridgewood Resort (Neenah):
  Freshly groomed. 2" fresh snow. A few lingering icy spots. The trail was just rolled.
  (Greg Hollub)
• Jan 25 - Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 20F Crusty crust, intermittent snow over irregular base. Not tracked.
  Checked out the back loop on the way into town. Trail is skiable if you are desperate. Bare sections with some serious cratering from several trail walkers who seriously can’t read.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Ernst, In Competition Sports)
• Jan 25 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 20F Crusty dust over ice.
  Skiable but glazed in spots. Trail is "officially" closed but still OK. It would be good to stay off when and if temps go above freezing. Snowmo trail is skiable as well.
  (Mark Ernst, In Competition Sports)
• Jan 24 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: Skied 2:15 with the boys, 28F clear skies. Trail had a hard base with 1/2 inch of snow so it was relatively easy to get an edge. I rate it OK and fun to ski.
  I enjoyed the skiing. It was fast and pretty flat. Skiers did stay off the trail yesterday which allowed the trail to level and smooth. Maybe just one slush walker was out doing damage yesterday so the trail held up well(we really need to "educate" that guy!). Just enough snow followed the other mix of precip. to make it pleasantly ski-able and the left the base solid boilerplate. There are several large frozen puddles to ski around. Also, I would note that the woods aren't quite crust skiing yet.
  (Scott Putman)

• Feb 2 - Whitefish Dunes State Park (Sturgeon Bay):
  Conditions: Poor.
  Trails last groomed Monday, Jan 30. Since then there has been considerable melting during the day and freezing freezing overnight, resulting in mostly ice, with some snow and quite a few bare spots. Skiing is not recommended at this time.
  (Rich Dirks)

• Feb 3 - Lakewood XC Ski Trails (Lakewood):
  Conditions: The trail was rolled and combed yesterday with the snowmobile. There are no set tracks. A few small bare spots are beginning to show. There are some moguls and uneveness which can challenge your balance. Conditions are packed powder.
  Because of the occasional bare spot I would recommend B skis. However the trail is very skiable and fast if you catch it before it warms up later in the day.
  (Fred Axelrod)
• Jan 30 - Governor Thompson State Park (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Skiable! Poor to Good.
  After this mornings snow was rolled into the trail-we have skiing! Sorry, no classic track yet, but the trails are definitely skiable. Some vegetation stubble still showing through in places, but nothing you can't ski around. Trails are still uneven in places and will be until we get more snow to fill in the dips.
  (Maggie Kailhofer)
• Jan 27 - Lakewood XC Ski Trails (Lakewood):
  Conditions: Good.
  The entire trail was snow covered not icy with some stubble and some bumpy spots. The trail took a little toil on the southern exposure today, but was still good at the end of the day.
  (Tom Meyer)
• Jan 27 - Lakewood XC Ski Trails (Lakewood):
  Conditions: Full coverage, groomed for skating only, no classic tracks yet.
  I skied the entire trail today, except for the shortcuts. Everything has good snow coverage including the south facing hills. Golf course loop and the loop on the far northeast end of the course were the best. Some of the sections in between those had uneven or soft spots, but overall pretty nice.
  (Dan Statz)
• Jan 26 - Lauterman National Recreation Trail (Florence):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Freshly groomed trails from yesterday; thank you Larry! A little soft as I was the first one on it but sure nice to have snow.
  (Dan Hinch)
• Jan 25 - Halls Creek Trail (Fern):
  Conditions: Very good.
  The county as done a nice job packing and setting track, a little soft in places, but overall very good. Plenty of snow and it is nice to see trails finally being groomed in the area. Six to seven miles of rolling hills with a very good flow to the system.
  (Alfred Sauld)
• Jan 24 - Lauterman National Recreation Trail (Florence):
  Conditions: Good.
  Groomed on Tuesday 8 inches of new snow should be nice.
  (Larry Vassar)
• Jan 24 - Governor Thompson State Park (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Poor.
  We had 4-5 inches of new snow and the trails were rolled Tuesday. We need more snow! There are bare patches and grass showing through the trail. Trails are still open to hikers.
  (Maggie Kailhofer)
• Jan 24 - Lakewood XC Ski Trails (Lakewood):
  Conditions: Report from one of the groomers: Trail 100% rolled and combed (except for 2 short cutoff trails). Coverage is 100%.
  The snow that fell at Lakewood was very moisture dense and groomed up nicely. The trail smoothed out some but is lumpy in places. Several more inches should allow a nice skate race.
  (Scott Putman)
• Jan 24 - Spring Rapids Trail (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Fair to poor.
  The entire system has been packed, but there isn't enough snow to lay track yet. There was a timber sale along the trail system this fall and winter, and the trail now has some spectacular views.
  Photos:  
  (Sara Pearson, Wisconsin DNR)

Wisconsin Southwest

• Feb 2 - Drugan's Golf Course (Holmen):
  Conditions: Skiable, no tracks set, some bare spots. Soft in areas, crusty in others.
  Most of the groomed trail is still there, but someone has been walking their dog on it.
  (Scott Cooper)
• Jan 31 - Drugan's Golf Course (Holmen):
  Conditions: Groomed for skating, a few bare spots. No track set.
  You know it is going to be a bad day when you are skiing in the morning with a headlamp and it is already 40 degrees. Skiing was OK with the no-wax classicals.
  (Scott Cooper)
• Jan 28 - Drugan's Golf Course (Holmen):
  Trail had been groomed for skating, no tracks for classic set. Recent warmth left an icy crust and several bare spots.
  (Kevin Drewiske)
• Jan 28 - Hixon Forest (La Crosse):
  Conditions: Hardpan. Classic tracks were set a few days ago, but are deteriorating.
  I scarified the woods and the golf course trail to Main Street. The trail is pretty hard, but skiable.
  (Scott Cooper)
• Jan 26 - Viroqua Hills Golf Course (Viroqua):
  Soft and a new bare spots. Its skiable snow though. Bring the B-skis / rock skis.
  (Eric Weidman)
• Jan 26 - Hixon Forest (La Crosse):
  Conditions: Groomed for skating and classical. Good coverage, just a few dirt spots on some of the hills.
  Great job grooming Roger and Fred.
  (Scott Cooper)
• Jan 25 - Hixon Forest (La Crosse):
  Conditions: Excellent, best of the season.
  Actually very good, we got a couple inches this week. Everything is groomed and track set.
  (Scott Cooper)
• Jan 24 - Hixon Forest (La Crosse):
  Conditions: Good.
  The new 2 inches of snow did the hills well. The golf course trails were soft and a few of the hills were soft. It was a good morning to ski. The classic tracks were re-set after the weekend also.
  (Nick Leisz)

• Jan 30 - Black River Falls State Forest (Millston):
  Conditions: Skate and classic track set on Wildcat. Crusty base with half inch of fresh.
  Wonderful day on the trail. Wildcat was very fast. One other person had skied it the day before otherwise I was the first to classic ski it. Not a soul around. I had the place to myself. I expect that the trail will deteriorate fast with the warm weather. The base is minimal but still plenty of cover.
  (Steve Horn)

• Feb 1 - Levis/Trow Mound Trail (Neillsville):
  Conditions: Fair.
  We arrived early and the trails were icy and softening as the temps warmed. We skate skied. Dirt spots but you can ski around them. Really fast conditions at 9 AM.
  (Steve Beezley)
• Jan 28 - Levis/Trow Mound Trail (Neillsville):
  Conditions: Pretty darn good as posted in the chalet.
  Started at 11:00 and Gil was grooming. Skating was really great, could see a new track was being set so came back for that later. Boy scout weekend and a lot of skiers enjoying near perfect conditions!
  (Mark Sproul)
• Jan 26 - Levis/Trow Mound Trail (Neillsville):
  Conditions: Very good, excellent, best of the season.
  Both classic and skate really good. 38 degrees when I started today so classic skied with waxless crowns. Great kick and glide in a nice glazed track. A couple thin spots but not a problem! After reading groomer Steve's blog about the wolfs & fresh kill had to go and see for myself. Right from the start near the chalet two nice set of tracks one set big!
  (Mark Sproul)

Wisconsin Southeast

• Feb 2 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Icy.
  Plenty of ice, little snow to edge.
  (Lynne Dzuba)
• Jan 29 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: 1-2" hard packed base with ice underneath. Some thin spots here and there. Very little debris, but a rock here and there.
  Very nice day at Greenbush. The woods help break the wind. Best trails were purple-green-purple (very good), brown (excellent) and the SW purple up to the overlook (very good). The south marsh area was rough in spots. Still recommend rock or B skis.
  (Matthew Stanke)
• Jan 29 - Zillmer Ski Trails (Campbellsport):
  Best ski conditions of the season and what a gorgeous day!
  (Paul Poblocki)
• Jan 28 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Very Good, considering what the groomers had to work with.
  I give those who groomed these trails an A+. I skied with older skis but could have used my newer racing skis. The light snow that came last night along with a solid base made skiing enjoyable. There were spots where the coverage was thin, but the groomers did such a good job by not only preserving the trail base but providing room to ski around these spots. The bottom line is I had a good time.
  (Ken Spiegelberg)
• Jan 28 - Zillmer Ski Trails (Campbellsport):
  Conditions: Good coverage for the most part with an occasional bare spot showing through. Great conditions considering the recent warm weather and lack of snow.
  Definitely worth the drive from Milwaukee. I used my rock skis but could have safely used "B" skis.
  (John Peterson)
• Jan 26 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  I skate skied purple-green-purple, red and brown trails Thursday afternoon. Not bad. They had a fresh inch of snow on late on Wednesday over groomed hard pack. At 35 degrees, it was slow in spots, so I got a good workout.
  (Steve Scharrer)
• Jan 25 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  The brown, red, the first half of the green and the second half of the purple have all been groomed. Green was screamin! Watch for some ice and some thin spots. Overall, pretty darn good.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Jan 25 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Excellent skiing at Greenbush this afternoon. The 3/4 inch of wet snow adhered to the existing base to make for some great skiing. Even striders were having a good ski in skied in tracks. Stick to the purple to green to green cutoff back to the purple for the best skiing. Brown trail is also very good.
  (Dick Roeber)
• Jan 24 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: We were out this morning and fortunately Jeff was just beginning to groom the trails. The rain left the trails icy in spots and hard-packed in others. Without grooming the trails would have been too dangerous. We followed the groomer and skated the brown and red trails. They were fast and fun with just enough purchase to control your skis. Most of the trails had complete coverage.
  I don't recommend classic skiing until we get more snow.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)

• Feb 2 - Blue Mound State Park (Blue Mounds):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  Skied all wooded trails. Classic track solid but about half icy with a few bare spots. Classic outside the tracks was fine. Skating would probably be pretty darn good as overall coverage is good. I would ski it when above freezing or it might be too icy/rutted/dicey. Watch for the 2 small spots of exposed gravel on the John Minix Trails downhill from the swimming pool parking lot. Campground area had the best coverage (100%) and best tracks. Pleasant Valley is melted.
  (Don Fariss)
• Feb 2 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Poor.
  I skied fern dell, hastings, and turtleville this morning. Rutted up, bare spots, rocks, icy. If it was groomed in the morning it could be fair, but with all the warm temps coming, not worth wasting the gas.
  (Dave Statz)
• Feb 1 - Blue Mound State Park (Blue Mounds):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Only skied in campground, but tracks in excellent shape and skate deck firm. 2 to 3 inches deep. Snow not wet. Right now BM is an oasis as the rest of the county melts.
  (Don Fariss)
• Jan 30 - Elver Park (Madison):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Firm and fast at 10am. Skied all of the West side and the slalom down East which was still very good. The climb and descent of the first hill on West were softening noticeably by 11:15.
  (Robert Abendroth)
• Jan 29 - Elver Park (Madison):
  Conditions: Good to very good.
  The new snow made the trails nearly ideal for skating. There were a few places where the ice below had worn through. There was still no classic track. The trails should still be good tomorrow morning.
  (Matt Valley)
• Jan 29 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skated Fern Dell, Turtleville, Hastings and Pinecone Pass. All heavily used over the weekend but as of Sunday afternoon remained in very good condition. Skate deck firm and fully covered, a little debris here and there, and some fresh snow overnight.
  (Gene Musser)
• Jan 29 - Cam-Rock Park (Cambridge):
  Conditions: Good classic skiing.
  An inch or so new snow in well-set tracks made for oil-smooth striding on the old railroad grade between Cambridge and Rockdale. The skate zone looked smooth, but no one had skied on it. A half-dozen others were out enjoying the crisp, blue sky day.
  (Phil Van Valkenberg)
• Jan 28 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skated Fern Dell and Turtleville Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. A little slow with the warm temps on Friday but the one inch of snow and colder temps on Saturday made for excellent conditions.
  (Mike Wiegel)
• Jan 28 - Elver Park (Madison):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skiers that like it firm and fast may think it very good. Amazing what a dusting of snow can do. The hills are still icy particularly at the turn and base of the first. Overall much better than Wednesday. More snow should make things better.
  (Robert Abendroth)
• Jan 28 - Devil's Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  Steinke Basin was tracked several days ago so it is a bit beat-up. Great coverage though and almost no debris.
  (Sue Ann)
• Jan 28 - Blue Mound State Park (Blue Mounds):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Park has set a deep and firm classical track that is the best I’ve seen anywhere all year. And Friday night's half inch of powder has collected in the tracks yielding beautiful hard wax conditions. A note of warning: Whoever did the grooming set the tracks down some of the steeper hills. Be sure to get out of the tracks early so you don't get stuck in them.
  Note: Now that they have set tracks, the trails are classic only again.
  (Don Fariss)
• Jan 28 - Maple Bluff Country Club (Maple Bluff):
  Icy, several bare spots in the classic track. The few areas with some fresh snow in the track were fun, though. Skate lane looked fairly icy and bumpy. Some might call these conditions poor, but it beats walking.
  (Jon Beers)
• Jan 28 - Blue Mound State Park (Blue Mounds):
  Conditions: Good, tracked!
  Finally, groomed tracks. Super fast after last night's dusting. Downhills near the bike trail are hairy as tracks laid most/all of the way down/up the 3 descents but enough snow fell to get grip with one ski out of the track. Descent into campground is wicked fast too!
  (Pedro Sanchez)
• Jan 28 - Lake Kegonsa State Park (Stoughton):
  Conditions: Good to excellent.
  Just got back from Lake K and was high impressed considering the warm temps recently. The system was groomed last night and they did an outstanding job which left a very firm corduroy base. The half inch of new snow received on Friday night also made for excellent skiing, just enough to help keep a stable ski. There were some icy spots in places but you should be able to manage these sections from seeing other skiers tracks. Classic lanes looked good too. "B" skis if you have them just in case.
  (Brant Wesolek)
• Jan 27 - Elver Park (Madison):
  Conditions: Fair.
  The trails were nearly completely covered and rock hard. They were mostly ice. It was very difficult to get an edge. The downhills were treacherous. Classic skiing would not be fun.
  (Matt Valley)
• Jan 26 - Maple Bluff Country Club (Maple Bluff):
  Conditions: Good classic, fair skate.
  Classic track mostly deep and firm, but very icy. Skate lane rolled well and firm, but damaged. Some bonehead skated the trail when soft, and left ruts. They also sign and pack a walking trail, and most walkers are pretty good about going there, but it only takes one on a warm day to posthole the skate lane. From the depth of the prints, it looks like a gorilla took the Hound of the Baskervilles for a walk. Still pretty good skiing, however. Thanks for the grooming!
  (Pete Anderson)
• Jan 25 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Very good.
  They groomed everything today again and set track. With the little warm up today, the base has really firmed up. Skied Ishnala today and no rocks on the surface. A few thin spots in Northwest loops.
  (Dave Statz)
• Jan 25 - Pleasant View Golf Course (Middleton):
  Conditions: Good.
  Classic tracks - a rarity in Madison this year. There are a few bare/icy spots, but they can be skied around easily. The groomer here is magical. Thanks for the nice treat! Skate lane was nicely groomed too, with just a few icy spots.
  (Amanda Stone)
• Jan 24 - Pleasant View Golf Course (Middleton):
  Conditions: Pretty good.
  The trails were pretty good. The grooming was very good considering the rain Monday morning. The skate lanes were hard, fast and wide. There were some icy parts. Under the pine trees there were icy/bare spots. You could ski around them, but warm weather likely will make them much worse. There was a good classic track.
  (Matt Valley)
• Jan 24 - Blue Mound State Park (Blue Mounds):
  Conditions: Skate and classical: good, considering.
  Full coverage throughout the trail system, .5" of day old snow on top of a crusty base. The tracks were a little sloppy, and there was significant icing on the prairie section. The wooded trails were surprisingly good.
  (Joseph Bednarowski)
• Jan 24 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skate lane was groomed, great to ski on. Classic tracks had not been reset, but looked pretty good for the most part.
  (Judy Archibald)
• Jan 24 - Odana Hills Golf Course (Madison):
  Conditions: Good skate deck, icy classic.
  Skied all loops just after groomer this morning. Skating fast with some grip - thank you groomer! Did not hop in classic tracks, but could see gleams of ice. We really need another foot of snow! Should be faster as day warms up.
  (Dave Minden)

• Feb 2 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Skied the manmade loop including the big hill section and it was delightful. The glide was very good and it was not icy at 9:30am. By 11am is was a little soft but still very enjoyable.
  This was ideal training for the Badger State Games race on Saturday.
  (Don Howell)
• Feb 1 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Man-made loops only: icy and transformed snow. Needs tilling and resurfacing by grooming staff.
  I truly hope we have the coldest and longest winter ever in 2013 with good snowfall! Then I hope we surpass that in both 2014 and 2015. Enough said!
  (Matthew Stanke)
• Feb 1 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Fair, despite meltdown.
  I skied the purple loop from 1:30 to 2:30, was surprisingly in ok shape. There were bare spots, slush puddles and bits of ice here and there, but I was able to skate without taking my skis off. I was able to maneuver around the bare spots. Wasn't fast, but I had decent glide for 40 degrees, and I even skied in my bike shorts. The longer loops are not worth trying until more snow arrives.
  (Ed Edinger)
• Feb 1 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Poor.
  Skated this morning. Some sections are still o.k. for sustainable skiing, south side of the first field,the woods to the south of the marsh, truck lane, corkscrew. The east and west loops in the woods are in poor condition. The parking lot is closed, but you can walk in from the north entrance to the lower field.
  (Jerry Gensch)
• Jan 30 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Firm and fast.
  Skied early Monday morning with trails in great shape. Jerry was out grooming, like icing on the cake. I hope it lasts.
  (Matt Smith)
• Jan 30 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Snowmaking loop -- still in good condition on Monday evening.
  The Lapham "Glacier" is holding up well. Even though it was 40 degrees on Monday evening, the skating was good and the striding looked fine. The kids were having a great time on the trails and in the Nordic Playground.
  (John McCarthy)
• Jan 30 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Skating glide good, not icy, packed from Sunday grooming with some loose snow on top. Good coverage, used good skis. By 11am it started to get soft over 32 degrees but still OK.
  (Don Howell)
• Jan 30 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Fair to good on lower loops, good to very good on upper loops.
  Skated both lower and upper loops this morning. Things were better than I expected. Nearly all of the upper loops were in very good shape with decent snow cover and no ice. Some lower loop areas are a bit iffy but you can ski around them without too much trouble. The final hill of "two tier" is probably the worst.
  (David Schauer)
• Jan 29 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Excellent, firm an fast.
  Skied most of the trails late Sunday afternoon. Skating conditions are great throughout the system. Firm but not icy with a little bit of powder on top for good purchase. Classic trails good considering the amount of snow we have but still pretty good (bare in a few spots).
  (Russ Sobotta)
• Jan 29 - UW-Parkside Ski Trail (Kenosha):
  Conditions: Fair/good.
  Skated Sunday afternoon. The inch or so new snow helped a lot but could press through to the grass in open areas. Not groomed as of Sunday afternoon.
  (Robert Garner)
• Jan 29 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent.
  Skied entire Blue Loop. Very thin on the last two climbs and some scattered ice patches under trees. Fresh snow really helped as did the grooming. Rolled but not packed and no classical track. Best skating I've had this year.
  (Robert Abendroth)
• Jan 29 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skated most of the blue loop and had only one bare spot at the top of a hill that was easily avoided. The small amount of snow we had made a huge difference from what the trails were like mid-week. Groomers were out Sunday afternoon.
  (Mike Wiegel)
• Jan 28 - UW-Parkside Ski Trail (Kenosha):
  Conditions: Unskiable.
  Rain and warm weather have decimated the trails.
  (Robert Garner)
• Jan 28 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Snow covered very skiable, only 3 or 4 rough spots,.
  Great considering, I did the blue loop, and even had my new 2 week old skis, not a mark on them. Hard base underneath, with a dusting on top.
  (Paul Lemens)
• Jan 28 - Lac Lawrann Conservancy (West Bend):
  Icy with 1" new blowing snow. Base too shallow to regroom now.
  (Bob Broman)
• Jan 27 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  Warm temps have created a fast and icy track at Fox Hill. Most of the flats and open spaces still have adequate purchase, but use extra caution on hills. I would advise rock skis until we get some more snow.
  (Jeff Grotenhuis)
• Jan 27 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Parts really good, parts not so much. Crusty throughout.
  Skied this late afternoon on the lower loops and upper field sections. Crusty but skiable for the most part but there are some thin sections, especially the bridges. You can catch a decent edge where the groomer tilled the top layer but the hilly sections were treacherous. Good double-pole workout conditions but not great skiing. Fortunately good grooming this past week preserved the trail through the difficult weather.
  (Russ Sobotta)
• Jan 27 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Thin but skiable.
  Very thin and icy. Only skied the purple and was able to get an edge most of the time. They started dragging the trails at 10am. It got better at the temp rose. They are all set for the candle light ski/hike Saturday night. Ski while the snow lasts.
  (Doug Gillaspie)
• Jan 26 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Slow but full coverage.
  Skated Thursday night around 8 for 1 hour. 34 degrees at the Delafield exit ramp and 42 degrees at the parking lot, weird. Very slow and I felt like I was fighting my skis the whole way. I'm not sure if any wax recipe would have helped, everyone looked slow. Good workout and at least we have something.
  (Danny Crawford)
• Jan 26 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: 1-2 inch base, slowly deteriorating due to upper 30's.
  I skied from 3:30 to 5:30, and with the warmer temps it was soft and sticky in areas. Got a bit better when the temp dropped a few degrees. I saw more bare spots, although they are easily maneuverable, the up hills are getting thin, but ok overall.
  (Ed Edinger)
• Jan 26 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Early morning ski through the entire system found a freshly groomed skate lane. Wednesday's surprise snowfall provided consistent purchase over the hardened base.
  (Jeff Grotenhuis)
• Jan 26 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  The conditions are fine. There is 100% coverage throughout with literally a couple rocks to watch for. A hard/icy base is holding nicely and some areas have a nice fluff/broken icy layer on top of it.
  (Doug Bailey)
• Jan 25 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Good to very good in places.
  Great grooming job Tuesday and this morning. Much of the trail is solid and fast after Jerry worked the ice over repeatedly Tuesday and this morning. There are still some very thin spots that are icy. Most are easily avoided except for the twisting downhill coming back to the parking lot from the wooded section. This is most safely skied uphill.
  (Charlie Dee)
• Jan 25 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Firm, slick/icy.
  Skied this afternoon and conditions were OK, but was a bit slick from the rain on Sunday that froze. About 75% of trail decent and I was able to get an edge, but the downhills were pretty sketchy, washed out, so use caution. Also a bit thin on the steeper ups, but I was happy to get a good ski in. Another grooming to churn up the ice or another few inches of snow would be great, but it is what it is.
  (Ed Edinger)
• Jan 24 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Manmade loops were good. Other loops: only the meadow is safe and skiable for rock skis.
  The terrible winter of 2012 continues throughout most of the country and luckily we have lighted and snowmaking loops at Lapham. Keep those donations coming-the groomers/staff have been super. Here's hoping for the coldest winter (Nov-March) ever in 2013!
  (Matthew Stanke)
• Jan 24 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Man-made loop is good for skating - classic track looked OK. Thanks to the staff.
  (David Anderson)
• Jan 24 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: The white, purple, and brown trails were groomed to breakup the icy condition and were surprisingly OK with good coverage and some ice patches that were easy to ski around. The big climb on the white was OK except at the very top with some large bare spots that you had to step around. The blue, green, orange, and red had not been groomed as of noon and were unskiable due to hard boiler plate condition. No track have been set.
  Still had fun with the fast conditions and did 20k. Plan to be there tomorrow.
  (Don Howell)
• Jan 24 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Good to very good.
  Grooming report: "ball-bearings baby" groomed-up really well, few icy spots, fields are good, woods had complete coverage except very icy on turn going north to parking lot. Can use good skis or rock skis as conditions are very fast. Suggest going counter-clockwise to avoid icy section on downhill.
  (Jerry Gensch)

Michigan Upper Peninsula

• Feb 2 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Perfect!
  Mild temps are making skiing very pleasant. Plenty of snow, no ice, and as always great grooming! Should be another awesome weekend of skiing here.
  (Rich Scott)
• Feb 1 - ABR (Ironwood):
  The Clydesdales skied the main trails tonight that were groomed in the AM , no glazed tracks, just some nice hard firm fast tracks. We had a super ski, all 13 of us. The Pisten Bully will be headed out early in the morning to groom Blueberry, Bards, Hautanen, Coyote, Meadow and maybe Peltonen.
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Ski Shop)
• Feb 1 - Miljes Ski Trails (Wakefield):
  Conditions: Spring like conditions.
  Freshly groomed and corduroy smooth. Warmer temps this week combined with excellent trail conditions should make for some fine nordic skiing! Enjoy!
  (Greg Miljevich)
• Jan 31 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: It was nice skiing today, John reported French Silk Pie at 10 AM, Birdman Bob reported nice skiing at 1 PM and a rare American 3 toed woodpecker on the White Pine Trail. Angela reported cold dry powder in the wooded shaded areas and warm snow in the open areas when she skied at 3 PM. 47 Team Gogebic members had a nice ski from 4 PM to dark and some reported conditions were starting to ice up at dusk.
  The base is deep and we have the Pisten Bully and other groomers to groom for the freeze thaw sessions. We will be out in the early morning grooming, it will not be all 60 km but we will have nice skiing for Wednesday at 9 AM.
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Lodging)
• Jan 30 - ABR (Ironwood):
  One of our local “dessert” skiers described skiing as “French Silk Pie”; one of our ”desert” skiers from the south described skiing as “caviar”. Pig Heart ran the PB this morning and Wully Bully ran the John Deere Gator and groomer. About 32 k were regroomed this morning after the inch of new snow.
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Lodging)
• Jan 30 - Wolverine Ski Trail (Ironwood):
  Freshly groomed this morning for skating and striding. Temps warmed up nicely when the sun came out.
  Photos:  
  (Deborah Leonard)
• Jan 29 - Wolverine Ski Trail (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Trails were in perfect shape for striding and skating.
  Everyone out having a great ski.
  Photos:  
  (Deborah Leonard)
• Jan 29 - Miljes Ski Trails (Wakefield):
  Conditions: Fresh snow and very beautiful.
  We had wanted to ski at this small trail system for a long time and finally got a chance to go there. The trail system is mostly flat and somewhat rolling, but very pretty with the snow everywhere. This is a nice out of the way classic trail system and worth a stop.
  (Kevin Hillegas)
• Jan 29 - Wolverine Ski Trail (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Perfect. Sunny 14 degrees. Star Green for kick.
  Last night's 3 inches of fluffy snow was all groomed in by the time I arrived this morning. Piston Bully perfection throughout the entire trail system. Classic skied it all and then went out and skated the novice loop. (Thanks for naming a trail after my skating abilities!) Loved the Powderhorn loop and the jacket flapping downhills on Cliffhanger. Met a lot of nice skiers today and almost all were from Minnesota. (Strange don't they have snow there?) Even met a couple of high school skiers from section 7!(Daughters section) Fantastic trail system, keep up the great work.
  Photos:  
  (Craig Holgate)
• Jan 28 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: New Snow.
  Although a bit chilly with the wind, it was another great day skiing at ABR. It snowed about 2-3 inches Friday night and snowed another 2 while we were skiing. We classic skied 30k's and the new snow was very welcome, especially on Peltonen Passout trail giving us much welcome control on the downhills. As usual, the grooming was excellent and the trails were beautiful with all the new fallen snow.
  (Kevin Hillegas)
• Jan 28 - Wolverine Ski Trail (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Freshly groomed this morning. Lake affect snow kicked in. Striding track is great and the skate lane has some fluffy snow on it. It's been snowing all day. Some wind in the open spots but quiet in the woods. Groomers will be out again Sunday morning.
  A snow-globe day at Wolverine.
  Photos:  
  (Deborah Leonard)
• Jan 28 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Near perfect! Cloudy, light snow, 18 degrees. Swix special Blue a great choice today.
  Not sure what took so long, but today was my first time here. Won't be the last that's for sure. Nice to pull in and be greeted by a friendly face telling you all 66K have been freshly groomed and are ready to go. Started in the morning and classiced a good portion of the trails throughout the day. Plenty of snow, nice deep tracks and solid pole plants throughout. Enjoyed the Sunset trail, and covered Cougar crossing in the south to White Pine in the north. Thanks for a great day of skiing.
  Photos:  
  (Craig Holgate)
• Jan 28 - Miljes Ski Trails (Wakefield):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  As I was getting ready to groom Friday, a local and regular skier at Milje's mentioned that the trails were in great shape, but that "the deer were starting to cross the trail heavily in some spots." Only in the Northwoods! It's now freshly groomed and tracked and waiting to be used. (I saw several deer too). Have fun and hope you spot some Northwood's wildlife.
  (Greg Miljevich)
• Jan 27 - Miljes Ski Trails (Wakefield):
  Conditions: Excellent, with a firm track and great pole plants. Cloudy 35 degrees. Swix V60 Red Silver worked great.
  Wow what a fun quaint little trail system. If like me you are drawn to the area by the other "big" name trail systems, don't overlook the quiet gem. Had the honor of meeting the owners/trail groomers at the warming house. Got the history on the humble beginnings of this trail system and the plans for future expansion. A very mild donation only trail so be sure to bring the whole family out for this one. Had the entire trail system to myself as I skied it one and half times. A perfect afternoon ski made even better by the light snow that started to fall. Ski Miljes!
  Photos:  
  (Craig Holgate)
• Jan 27 - Wolverine Ski Trail (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Conditions were great.
  The trails were well groomed with fresh snow covering the tree tops. The scene was a Currier and Ives photo. Donations are requested, so please donate.
  (Angela Heigl)
• Jan 24 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Skiing was reported as perfect today. The 4 inches of new snow groomed up well and with the mid 20's temps skied well.
  The Clydesdales get going this Wednesday at 4:00 and 4:30 PM. Free trail pass and equipment provided for 200 lbs and over for striding. We ski in groups, no one is left behind all levels of skiers, optional ... drinks, snacks and sauna follows.
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Lodging)
• Jan 24 - Miljes Ski Trails (Wakefield):
  Excellent. Freshly groomed as of this afternoon. Mother nature is sure letting us have it. The trails are in fantastic condition and the scenery is second to none.
  (Greg Miljevich)

• Feb 3 - Noquemanon Trail (Marquette):
  Conditions: Wonderful.
  Lots of base so trails are holding up well despite the warm weather. It's been cold enough at night to ginzu groom so mornng skating has been super. Classic tracks are a few days old and are still very nice.
  Photos:  
  (Dennis Loy)
• Feb 2 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: 10" solid base with well formed tracks. Skate lanes rolled and combed.
  Great response from our Green Bay friends who skied in the morning. Solid skate lanes all over. The preferred classic ski was the no-wax. Temps rose above 32F in the afternoon and skating slowed. Matt P. was skating after work and called it Excellent at 6:30 pm, so he was doing 30K. The mornings or late evenings will be the best throughout the weekend.
  (John Gierke)
• Feb 2 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: A bit soft for skating but remained firm for classic even though it warmed up to 36 today.
  Trails are typical for VS, well groomed and holding up well. The groomers here are definitely over-achievers. Great job guys.
  (Brian Roll)
• Feb 1 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: Very good cover: Temp mid 30F.
  Classic skied, tracks were in very good shape, climbed "Stairway to Heaven" several times just to assure that I wasn't dreaming! The grooming is state of the art and the groomers continue to do a great job. Tomorrow will be my fourth day here and it continues to be my top venue.
  (Dick Langer)
• Feb 1 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: Good but softening.
  Grooming plans: We will be setting tracks today where needed. We will drag skate lanes on Thursday morning. Trails are holding fair in this warm weather. We will be doing what we can to provide the best trails possible.
  (John Swanberg)
• Jan 31 - Al Quaal Recreation Area (Ishpeming):
  Deer Lake Trail – Groomed and tracked (trail is in great shape!).
  All other trails will be groomed and tracked starting with Teal Lake Trail.
  (Denise Gurnack)
• Jan 30 - Blueberry Ridge Trail (Sands):
  Full groom and track Monday.
  (Denise Gurnack)
• Jan 30 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: Good to excellent.
  10.5" base. 2' of snow in woods. Received 2" of new snow on Monday. Groomed and tracked on Monday. Expect a great skate deck and tracks.
  (John Swanberg)
• Jan 29 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: Superb...
  Enjoyed a wonderful post Noque ski at Valley Spur. What a gem of a place, warming hut, wood fire, soup and bread. Excellent grooming for both skate and classic.
  Photos:  
  (Leslie Taylor)
• Jan 28 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  My first visit ever at Valley Spur and what a system of trails. They were even grooming during the day right behind you to keep things perfect. The Field of Dreams of CC skiing!
  (Dan Hinch)
• Jan 25 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: Good to excellent. 10" base, 2' in the woods. Skate lanes firm.
  All trails were groomed today. Classic tracks had small chunks of ice in them and made for fast tracks with lots of kick.
  (John Swanberg)
• Jan 25 - Noquemanon Trail (Marquette):
  Conditions: Very good conditions from Deer Lake to Dead River Basin (45k-33k of the race trail.
  This part of the race trail is only opened for the race so skiing it in such good conditions is a treat.
  Photos:  
  (Joseph Jameson)
• Jan 25 - McKeever Hills (Munising):
  The snow is quite granular from the last rain but Larry was able to break things up enough to get a pretty good track. No wax skis work well on the granular base. The C loop is excellent.
  (Autumn Jauck)

• Feb 1 - Swedetown Trails (Calumet):
  Conditions: I took a guess that the higher elevation at Swedetown might have better conditions than what I'd seen earlier at Chassell and MTU, which were both icy in the track. Swedetown was excellent, considering how warm it has been. It was 33 degrees with light drizzle.
  Due to lack of use, the skate deck was still plenty fluffy when I headed out at 3:00 pm, and the classic track was also very good. The track had been set some time ago. The tree snow had fallen into it here and there, something a regular skier at Swedetown is used to.
  I took the good no wax classic skis all the way out to the end of the Bear Chase trails following a one lap warm up on Pines. I have not been out the Bear trails for a long time and I wanted something not fast. It was somewhat slow going. The farther out I got on the Bear loops, the better the track got for an easy kick. The downhills were easy out of track with the fluffy skate deck.
  Back at the car I messed around with kick wax until I got it right and headed out Powderhouse after a warmup on Len's. The waxable skis ran considerably faster than the no waxers and they climbed better in the track. Powderhouse is a blast and you can skip the two tough entry hills, Jekyll and Hyde, by starting on the Pines. Due to oveall lack of snow time on groomed trails, I skipped J and H. They are a thrill ride when you're ready for it.
  It was good to start with the easy stuff and then take just enough of the rock-em-sock-em on Powderhouse to finish up about three hours of skiing. It was better than expected, good job groomers.
  (Jeff Bolte)
• Jan 29 - Maasto Hiihto Ski Trails (Hancock):
  Conditions: Excellent, normal winter conditions for here.
  We received a snippet of snow here over the weekend so we went for a wonderful BC ski in the Churning Rapids today. This is the volume of snow the trail mutt apprentices. All of these photos were taken in Churning Rapids today.
  Photos:  
  (Arly Aronson)
• Jan 24 - Swedetown Trails (Calumet):
  Conditions: Trail was a little soft for skating today after about 18" of new snow fell from Monday morning until this morning. It was beautiful out there, and the groomers did a great job with all the new snow, much of which was heavier and wetter than we usually get this time of year.
  We've received about four feet of snow here over the past two weeks. It's a winter wonderland!
  (Peter Vorhes)
• Jan 24 - Maasto Hiihto Ski Trails (Hancock):
  Conditions: Excellent, best yet this season.
  Monday's wet heavy snow followed by Monday night/Tuesday morning's dry light fluffy snow was groomed down to perfection by the trail crew...all day today. The result was a firm but not hard surface, perfect for our striding only trails. The combo of the snow and my skis made for the best grip and glide of the season for me. Trail dog Gromit found the new deep powder refreshing and actually had to work to keep ahead of me on the descents for once. Report by Sandy & Gromti. Photos courtesy of the grooming crew.
  Photos:  
  (Arly Aronson)

• Feb 2 - Ge-Che Trail (Iron River):
  Conditions: Good.
  Best classical grooming in years at this huge trail system. Best parking at Covenant Point Bible Camp, other lots unplowed.
  (Dan Hinch)
• Jan 30 - Listening Inn (Crystal Falls):
  Conditions: Excellent, all trail loops are packed and track set. There is also about 5K of Skate lane.
  They received about a foot of new snow in the last week.
  (Bill Ziegler)
• Jan 24 - Listening Inn (Crystal Falls):
  10" of new snowfall Sunday into Monday. Trails are all open. Trails are packed and tracks are set as of 5am today. Very good conditions.
  (Gordy Reed)

Iowa

• Jan 24 - Wickiup Hill Trails (Toddville):
  27 F. Very icy this morning. Skating not recommended. Shallow track, icy also. Good for double poling. Lots of human and animal footprints on trail.
  (John Morris)

• Jan 28 - Mines of Spain Recreation Area (Dubuque):
  Conditions: Good.
  Trails were in pretty good shape for both classical and freestyle. Dubuque keeps getting traces of new snow so trails were fast for Mines of Spain to host the races for the Iowa Games.
  (Mary Beth Driscoll)
• Jan 24 - Lime Creek Nature Center (Mason City):
  Woodland classic trails good. Skate loops in very nice condition. The occasional rock lies hidden so do not use your best race ski.
  (Robert Polking)

Canada

• Jan 26 - Kamview Nordic Centre (Thunder Bay):
  Very good to excellent skate/classic on 30km. All Pisten Bully groomed. Moved PB160 out to Sleeping Giant Park today as lots of snow out there. Loppet course has enough snow now for race on March 3rd. Be there!
  (Peter Crooks)

Illinois

• Jan 31 - Rock Cut State Park (Loves Park):
  Conditions: Fair.
  I skied Rock Cut this morning about 10:30 and found it better than I expected. From the Rt 173 entrance I went in the connector loop to the Vasa loop. (Is it now called the Wayne Fish loop?) The whole loop is skiable if you are comfortable skiing on hardpark with a thin layer of soft snow on top. There are short bare spots under the pines where the connector loop connects, and crossing the ditch on the connector trail. The rest is fair to good. Even the tollway hill was pretty good. The sun will do some damage this afternoon but I think it will still be skiable tomorrow morning. Rock skis recommended. Happy skiun.
  (Tom Detzner)
• Jan 30 - Rock Cut State Park (Loves Park):
  Conditions: fair to good.
  Skied this afternoon, and despite the temp in the upper 40's, the packed track was surprisingly good, not too slow, better in the shaded areas. Was groomed last week, so that helped alot otherwise it probably would not be very skiable.
  (Ed Edinger)

North Dakota

• Feb 2 - Lindenwood Park Ski Trails (Fargo):
  One inch icy base is holding except for sections with a southern exposure where there are numerous areas of grass and dirt. The shaded edge of the river bank is holding five inches of snow and good skiing with a skier tracked trail. Spring skiing conditions.
  (Gary Brekke)
• Jan 27 - Lindenwood Park Ski Trails (Fargo):
  The light dusting of snow this morning took the edge off the glaze in the classical track from yesterday's warm temps and sun and filled in most of the bare or dirty sections. Short sections of trail with south exposures still have thin sections with bare dirt exposed. The skating lane is firm with good edging. One inch packed base. Exposed areas of both trails are drifting in with wind-blown snow.
  (Gary Brekke)
• Jan 26 - Edgewood Golf Course Ski Trail (Fargo):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  Classic trail is good in most areas around the riverside loop. Classic trails on open fairways have been blown in with snow and are difficult to ski. Considering the small amount of snow we have had, it is worth it to ski there. However, there is only one set of tracks set instead of two side-by-side.
  (Laura Sivertson)
• Jan 25 - Viking Ship/Davy Park Trail (Moorhead):
  Conditions: Good.
  The trail was roll packed on Tuesday. There are just 5 or 6" of snow so no classic tracks were set but people have made classical tracks and there is a skating lane as well. Some of the areas are a little thin and that may get thinner with warm weather so be careful. I went at night. It is well lit!
  (Jeffrey Quam)
• Jan 24 - Lindenwood Park Ski Trails (Fargo):
  Trails groomed Tuesday morning with a snowmobile pulling a track-setter. Classical tracks are deep with numerous areas where the track-setter bottomed out on dirt, leaves, and grass. Skating lane packed out with an inch base.
  (Gary Brekke)

United States

• Feb 2 - Methow Valley (Winthrop, WA):
  Conditions: Hard packed, corduroy, groomed and tracked daily.
  Spent last 4 days skiing these trails. The reputation of the Methow lived up to my expectations - the grooming was exceptional and every trail provided beautiful views of the Cascades against blue sky. Cozy little cabins to rent at reasonable prices. We brought our dog and found several dog friendly trails.
  Photos:  
  (Vicki Longhini)
• Jan 31 - Icicle River Trail (Leavenworth, WA):
  Conditions: Fantastic conditions this morning! Freshly groomed old snow--but the glide was great in both the skate lane and track. Sunny and clear.
  This was our best ski of the 2011-12 season. Great flow to this 8k trail and the mountain scenery is hard to beat. Made 3 loops and then broke for lunch. Sweet!
  (John Morris)
• Jan 29 - Methow Valley (Winthrop, WA):
  Conditions: 36F with icy trail conditions in the valley. Track was superb for double poling. Skate lane was hard in most places but difficult to get an edge during our morning ski. Hoping for the trails to soften a wee bit during the afternoon.
  Cross country skiing is "king" in this valley. Over 200k of groomed trails. There is plenty of snow here for snow-starved Midwesterners.
  (John Morris)
• Jan 27 - Alturas Lake (Stanley, ID):
  Conditions: Perfect snow though grooming was in progress. Single track was coming. We had rolled now. Outstanding scenery surrounding 3 foot plus snow pack.
  Alturas Lake is a series of trails near an alpine lake 32 miles north west of Sun Valley. Narrow trails were a nice change from wider trails elsewhere in the area. Wonderful trip to remind us what good snow is like.
  Photos:  
  (Chip Treen)
• Jan 24 - Harriman Trail (Galena, ID):
  Conditions: Freshly groomed over 3 feet plus of great snow, much of it falling in the past week. Blue wax conditions held for another day.
  The Harriman Trail is a 32k skating/classic run along a mountain valley from Galena Lodge toward Sun Valley. Temps were below zero just prior to our start but recovered into the 20's when we finished.
  Photos:  
  (Chip Treen)