First hand Trail Reports

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Minnesota Metro Area

• Mar 9 - Hiawatha Golf Course (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Firm and sloppy.
  Hiawatha's fair-to-good on 90 percent of the trail; it's the 10 percent that's a real boat-soaker! I love spring skiing, especially the wildlife: many ducks on a huge, on-trail pond near 22nd Ave, further down trail a gaggle of Canadian geese took wing upon my approach, and later an on-trail, off-leash dog & walker. We're not done yet!
  (Charlie Casserly)
• Mar 9 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Slow, soft, mushy.
  Thought classic skiing would be the way to avoid doing the mashed potato. Universal klister was not the ticket today although the tube says it's for "...granular wet snow, crust and icy tracks." Should've tried "Special klister for coarse wet snow." Don W. said his red klister was working okay. My tube at home had oozed out leaving me with nothing but, well, an empty tube - how does it do that? Pete, the Mayor of Elm Creek, had on his Crowns (skis...he's not the king yet) and let me try them. They were working pretty good despite the hum of the kick zone and friction during the glide. Oh how I long for my sidewall exploded Zetas which would've worked well and not hummed.
  That or the 22 technicians and quiver of skis to choose from.
  Looks like we'll end shy of the 100 natural snow ski day season by about a week or so. Damned that nighttime melt!
  Photos:  
  (Mark Lahtinen)
• Mar 9 - Terrace Oaks Park (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Not bad, actually.
  I skied mid-morning both skate and classic. It was soft and slow, but there is still lots of snow on the trail, with the exception of one icy spot. Even the man-hole cover is still below the snow. The tracks are getting shallow, but they're still there. From the footprints, there seems to have been more walkers than skiers on the trail.
  (Curt Hillstrom)
• Mar 9 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Cream of wheat...on the rocks.
  I skated the loop and Northern Lights from 8-9 a.m. The snow that is left is the consistency of cream of wheat. It is beginning to settle amidst the ice from the Christmas melt-down. Still, good coverage. Good classic track on the loop, almost non-existent on Northern Lights. I would be surprised if N.L. lasts until tomorrow. Kudos to the Elm creek groomers for keeping us in snow through thick and thin! I think this is it for me for the season.
  (Stan Hokanson)
• Mar 8 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Very good for skating at these temps. 34 degrees with few drops of rain switching to snow flurries. Full coverage; generally corn snow with a minimal ice by Norway Ridge(?) campground. I didn't notice classic track so I think it's pretty much gone. I used Fastwax Yellow LF.
  One other car in the lot when I arrived around 8:15 p.m. Building was closed and gate was locked when I left at 9:00. But the skiing was really pretty good. Unlike my Saturday struggles on the Cannon Valley Trail, I was able to to sustain my skating for the entire length of the trail except the hills which I generally walked. The base is holding up well; there were no bare spots. I did the 5.7K (I did the bypass on Ironwood) in 35 minutes.
  (Keith Carlson)
• Mar 8 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Slushy, but okay.
  Wirth is skiable - more so than yesterday. The big puddle drained so there's not as much waterskiing, and while the snow around the manmade loop is VERY dirty, it's snow. My (luckily) rock skis had a lot of visible dirt in the bases by the end of a couple of laps teaching. It's pretty soft but, with cooler temperatures and not a lot of sun, skiable. However, unless you have something to train for, it's not that great. The rest of the loop looked marginally skiable for hardcores only.
  (Ari Ofsevit)
• Mar 8 - Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Soft moist snow on a firm base.
  Skied around 4:30pm. After all this warm weather, there is still plenty of snow on the trails. The only wet spot is on the Razorback rest stop in the hollow. Only one south facing hill (just north of the bridge on the bog) had some trail creep on the edges. Skated all the loops and they are in "late" spring condition. Kettle and Knob trails are in good shape as well. Trails were pretty clean, with small amounts of debris and dirty snow here and there. Structure and LF8 provided a nice glide. It has been a great year at Murphy. Thank you Three Rivers Parks for the outstanding grooming of the two parks out here "south of the river"!
  (Rich Schulze)
• Mar 8 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Slow and slushy.
  The man made loop was painfully slow, with mashed-potato like snow. The northern lights loops was a bit harder and faster, but had a few puddles. Still excellent coverage throughout.
  (Drew Polasky)
• Mar 8 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Ungroomed as of 1 PM.
  What a case of "might have been". I went to get in a hard workout before Biathlon Nationals next week. I expected to be limited to the man-made snow loop. The snow is dirty of course but there is plenty of it. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to have been groomed since Saturday's tour.
  (Lou Chouinard)
• Mar 8 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Fair-poor. Decent coverage, some slush, some ice. Spring skiing.
  Skied the back 9/man-made and front nine starting at 10am. Back nine/man-made still had pretty decent coverage but was pretty dirty with lots of ice/slush patches. I'm glad I used rock skis. Burn-out section at the top of the back forty and big puddle where trail meets up with man-made. Tricky descents on the man-made loop downhill and other downhills (be careful!).
  Front nine was much the same - good coverage with some ice/slush puddles. The 2 railroad bridge underpasses have exposed concrete. Overall quite fun, got to play "Fast or Slow" where you didn't quite know if a puddle would be primarily ice resulting in the former or primarily slush which would result in the later. Fun spring skiing.
  (Bob Hendrickson)
• Mar 8 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Yes it's over, let's call it a day. Sorry it had to end this way... Our season went out with a bang. Actually there were more than 2000 bangs, which was the approximately the number of shots fired by the over 130 biathletes that were racing at Woodlands yesterday. Nearly a 100 were trying the sport for the first time. It was great fun to watch. A few of us will be skiing segments for a few more days. The trails will likely close later this week.
  The Woodlands Trail Crew would like to thank all who visited our trails this ski season. Seeing happy skiers is what makes us do what we do. Your donations are also greatly appreciated. The Trail Crew has logged over 200 grooming hours and has driven more than 1500km for our skiing pleasure. When grooming hours are combined with the time spent tree cutting and doing other non ski season trail maintenance, it adds up to roughly 1000 hours that volunteers put in each year to keep the system going. Enjoy whatever it is that makes you go when you are not on your skis.
  (Dave Anderson)
• Mar 7 - Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Eagan):
  Conditions: 36 degrees 9am cloudy.
  Surprisingly good on skate tracks section. First run a touch icy from overnight freeze, but soft snow by my third circuit 10:30 am. But good coverage and very few bare or icy spots at this late date.
  (David Moore)
• Mar 7 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Still alive and kicking (in slush).
  What may be my last ski of the year (unless we play more of The Game) at Wirth today was mostly teaching a couple folks who'd skied a combined once in their lives. Getting up the hill to the start was interesting (we probably should have walked up) but at least it was warm out. The trail is getting pretty good and slushy, but is skiable. The base on the non-snowmaking trail looked quite wet and slushy/icy where it's thin, but the base on the snowmaking course is generally thick.
  There was one burnout section right before the downhill before the sliding hill, and a lake at the bottom of the first big downhill out of the stadium. It made for great waterskiing (I was soaked from my thighs down) but was pretty much across the trail, and rather deep.
  But, it's March 7, so I can't complain. Especially when I get to bike (part-way) there.
  (Ari Ofsevit)
• Mar 7 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Fair to Good (great given the recent weather).
  Skied 11am-1pm. Almost complete coverage. While there were some thin areas, the only time I took off my skis was the railroad tracks. Yes, there was slush and some detritus on the trails, conditions weren't fast and it was great by me. Skiing in a t-shirt on a brilliant sunny day was a great way to end my local season.
  (Seth Lindenfelser)
• Mar 7 - Terrace Oaks Park (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Good skating, fair classic.
  Full coverage and no ruts on Sunday afternoon. The classic track was soft and in places it was washed out.
  Photos:  
  (Caleb Goltz)
• Mar 7 - Terrace Oaks Park (Burnsville):
  Conditions: 100% complete.
  Snow was soft, wet and dirty, but very flat. Four sets of footprints from the Burnsville Parkway lot to the southwest corner, plus a few dog/human tracks close to the Cty. Rd. 11 lot.
  Photos:  
  (Eli Smith)
• Mar 7 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Great, especially if you are going to do the CA Gold Rush in 3 weeks.
  Great snow cover warmed to mush by the bright sunshine. So much like sierra cement, felt like I was at Royal Gorge.
  (David Delforge)
• Mar 7 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Fair to poor, but still very skiable.
  I did a couple of loops on the par 3/back 9 this morning. With temperatures staying above freezing last night it was very soft with water standing in low areas and a few easily avoidable bare spots. But there is still a very nice base. I found skating to be a lot of work, so I switched to my waxless and had a lot more fun.
  (Curt Hillstrom)
• Mar 7 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Soft and slow.
  Wow, what a difference a day makes! It must have rained quite a bit last night. Outer loops were soft and slow with a lot of thin spots and just a couple of small bare spots. A couple more warm days or even a few hours of sun and there will be spots that are impassible. Too bad because 80-90% of the outer loops still have decent amounts of snow. Manmade snow was much softer and like thick mashed potatoes.
  (Al Anderson)
• Mar 6 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Good tracks and snow coverage.
  Very slow for classic by noon but still complete snow coverage and good tracks with very few icy spots. Looked very good for skate based on the few people I saw skating.
  (Dan Zenk)
• Mar 6 - Terrace Oaks Park (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Great coverage.
  Terrace Oaks holds snow well. I only found 1 spot where the sun has won the battle, but coverage is great everywhere else. By 2pm, the snow was getting wet, but a proper wax job could have solved the issues created by that.
  (John Saunders)
• Mar 6 - Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Skated today late morning. Great conditions. No melt out yet on the south facing hills. Minimal tree debris. Used good skis without problem.
  FWIW: The park police were handing out $65 tickets to those without a ski pass. Which they still give you if you left your pass at home. Doh! At least it goes back to the park system.
  (Zach Handler)
• Mar 6 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Okay for now.
  It was much sunnier than forecast so the trail got petty soft, but had full coverage. That won't last long, though; there are already holes forming in several spots—be especially careful on the paved paths on the prairie loop near the start. If it freezes up it should be good, if not, it will be pretty soft. The end is near.
  (Ari Ofsevit)
• Mar 6 - Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Eagan):
  Conditions: Tracks and snow pack very good in the woods. In open areas to the sun, some dirt areas and snow pack dwindling with washout of trail. Some low lying areas water and ice. Did not have to take skis off anywhere.
  Skied trails east of Pilot Knob Road.
  (Ken Kuznia)
• Mar 6 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Good enough for skating, fair for classic.
  I skied the entire outer loop and finished at 5pm. It has complete firm coverage for most of it. Two small bare patches at the base of south america and by the big tree after the railroad tracks. Surprisingly good.
  (Michael Wilke)
• Mar 6 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: 39 degrees starting out; 43 when I left.
  A great day to be out. Skating was OK, getting a bit slow as the day wore on. A couple of guys were in shorts. Classic track looked good as well.
  (Bryan Evarts, Minneapolis Ski Club (Nordic))
• Mar 6 - White Bear Lake (White Bear Lake):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  Conditions of the lake are great. Almost perfect corn snow this morning. Even with all the vehicle and snowmobile traffic there are still untracked areas that are really fun. With about 1-3" of corn snow on top of hard pack, it makes for fast cruising.
  (Tom Birkeland)
• Mar 6 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Warm but great!
  The outer loops are holding up pretty well. The Creek "Straight Away" is roped off so you have to take the wooded bypass which is in great shape. Overall the natural snow is good. When the sun came out from the high clouds it softened up quickly. Even so the natural snow is not nearly as rutty as the manmade loop. Recommend getting out before it softens up. Night skates just before sunset have been good this week - before things ice up again.
  (Al Anderson)
• Mar 6 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: I finished my lap at 11 this morning and my ski was very nice. The snow still had most of its speed and the sun had softened some of the slick spots. Skiers were just arriving for the Spring Fling and Ancient One and Babe were heading out to cut trees. The Trail Crew had the outer loop in great shape. We will have one more day and then we will be down to skiing segments.
  Buckthorn Bob and Doc will be dragging the screens this evening. The Goddess of the Trails will be out shoveling and setting course in the morning. With over a hundred biathletes coming to Woodlands tomorrow morning, I have a parking hint. My truck will be in the golf course lot just to the south of the Woodlands entrance. Enjoy one last time.
  (Dave Anderson)
• Mar 6 - Baker Park Reserve (Maple Plain):
  Conditions: Great coverage and expertly groomed.
  The snow was a little sticky after 12:30PM, but still good. I'm sure it was better in the morning. Get out on Sunday morning and enjoy one last fast fun ski. If you ski in the afternoon be sure to bring your fluro and structure tool.
  (Mike Sund)
• Mar 6 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Fresh grooming this morning for skating and classic! The groomers at Wirth continue to outdo themselves.
  I was out this morning at 10:00 and skied the Back 9. Starting at the Par 3 clubhouse, don't judge the trail to the Back 40 by the first couple blocks. It's kind of washed out going around the first bend, but after that, the whole Back 9 was in great March Skiing shape. The classic tracks were definitely skiable a lot of the time. The downhills were fast and fun. I think this has been one of the best years for skiing at Wirth with enough snow and excellent grooming.
  (Bill Lundberg)
• Mar 6 - Lake Harriet (Minneapolis):
  Tried Lake Harriet, it was ungroomed, but untrammelled. 2 inches of snow, a few ice patches. Nice gliding for this novice at 10 am.
  (Tom Amatruda)
• Mar 6 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Fair to very good for skate.
  Skied 10:30-12:00 this morning and there were a few other folks out. They had groomed last night and still have good coverage. Rich's Road was the best stretch by far and was great. The southern half of Gaylen's Gallop and Lori's Loop were good to very good as well. For me it was worth the $5 for over an hour of solid skiing in this weather.
  (Seth Lindenfelser)
• Mar 6 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  9 a.m. fast and fun. By 10:30 starting to get soft. Yes rutty but surprising conditions for this time of year. Better that Como yesterday evening. Thanks groomers for a great season.
  (Brett Smith)
• Mar 6 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  3 & 5K loops regroomed for skating--got most of the ruts out. A few enlarging bare and icy spots that need to be navigated around. Report that the outer loop's long downhill has large open area in the sun, thus not groomed. Overall, pretty doable.
  (Bill Kosfeld)
• Mar 5 - Hyland Hills downhill area (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Good until everything froze up at 8:30pm or so.
  Okay, not quite cross-country skiing, but a 20-year old pair of kid-sized Fischer skating skis were great for accompanying a couple of grade schoolers on their first time going downhill. In the early evening, the hill was soft enough to get an edge and turn well, and to skate uphill to help pick up the occasional yard sale. Once the temp got below freezing, everything turned really hard, with an inch or two of sugar snow on top. Had a couple interesting conversations on the lift, mostly along the lines of "what the heck are those?".
  (Adam Himes)
• Mar 5 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Should be good, mostly. For my money, I would wait until after 8 when the day starts to warm to start your Saturday ski.
  Ancient One and Wrench just reported in that they made three laps with the heavy screens around the outer 10K. The thought they hit the transition just about right. We will see. Shear Pin will be out in the morning setting course while the rest of us are skiing. This will likely be the last weekend for a continuous ski at Woodlands. Enjoy it while it lasts.
  (Dave Anderson)
• Mar 5 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Good!
  I skied it over lunch from about 11:30 to 12:30. Ideally I think the best time would be to start around 10:00. There is still good coverage everywhere for skating. A few slushy spots but all the loops are still 100% open for skiing. The deep base they have is holding up well. Another great day at Green Acres.
  (Tom Birkeland)
• Mar 5 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Melting but overall pretty good.
  Most of the trail is still in great shape, although I wouldn't use your best skis. There were a few spots down to the grass and dirt on the prairie loop and the south facing hill on the longer loop. Thanks to the groomers this year for such a great trail at Battle Creek this season.
  (Katie Anderson)
• Mar 5 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Quite decent for March 5th!
  Slogged through 2 slushy laps under sublime sunshine around 1:00. Skate lane has good coverage but it's wearing thin in the usual places. Rock ski conditions for sure. Just a suggestion of a classic track remains. Surely the last day of skiing without a dismount and a short, muddy walk.
  (Chas Joy)
• Mar 5 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  More, deeper skate ruts than yesterday. Couple places where double poling gets one past the water spots. I went out too late today, so only did one loop.
  (Stuart Knappmiller)
• Mar 5 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Kind of slow.
  Needed to be there before 10:00 today I think. There was slow wet snow, slow shaded/untransformed snow and a little faster snow (25%) in between on the outer loop and multi-use trail. Still looking for those wax techs and multiple pairs of skis to try.
  Good coverage though and a good classic track on the manmade and parts of the other loops.
  (Mark Lahtinen)
• Mar 5 - Baker Park Reserve (Maple Plain):
  Multi-use trails: Beautiful day, great grooming, Penny had fun. Several other dogs out enjoying the great conditions.
  (Larry Myers)
• Mar 5 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Variable but good.
  Skied JD Gardens and Eloise Butler... snow is holding well most places. Watch out on the first significant downhill in Butler, it is bare ground except for an 8" path (could be a surprise if you crested the hill at speed for descent). Ground opening up on the second south-facing significant downhill in Butler too. The rest of the coverage is good.
  (Sue Schroeder)
• Mar 5 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: It was great for skating. Very fast conditions. 100% trail coverage.
  Skied 2 1/2 hours at Hyland mid-morning. The groomers were out and had scratched it up enough in the few icy areas to get an edge. No rocks or dirt at all, so you can still use your good skis. If you go too early in the morning, you need fancy footwork as the downhills are a little icy from the overnight freeze. About 9:00-9:30 a.m. start is ideal. Wait too late and it gets mushy and slow.
  (Brent Bovitz)
• Mar 5 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Almost 30 degrees at 8 AM. Ugh. Skating was still in great shape, overall, though outer loops are getting "crunchy" off & on. Take the Creek wooded bypass--yesterday the straight-away was an ice rink at 8 AM. Get em' while you can, and earlier is always the best conditions. Tracks looked pretty icy, though OK on Valley. Hooray for vigilant groomers!
  (Andrea Potyondy-Smith)
• Mar 5 - French Regional Park (Plymouth):
  Conditions: Great hard pack freshly groomed.
  Josie, Karl and I have been skiing every morning this week at ~8-9am across the lake to French Park. Every morning has been freshly groomed and great hard pack conditions. Doug the groomer said they will only groom until Mar 14 so it will be interesting to see if the snow can last until then. By 10am conditions on my commute into work are starting to get softer, but not slow yet.
  (David Nelson, Skinnyski.com Race Team)
• Mar 5 - City of St. Paul Parks (Saint Paul):
  The City of St. Paul has discontinued grooming all of our ski trails for the season. We hope you have enjoyed our trails and look forward to seeing you next fall.
  (Stephen Dinger )
• Mar 4 - Terrace Oaks Park (Burnsville):
  Conditions: 5-6 pm. Very Good. No bare spots. A few twigs and some bark on the trail. Tracks look good. Great conditions for skating.
  Most of this park is in the woods and stays shaded throughout most of the day so it holds snow better than most places.
  (James Ross)
• Mar 4 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Most of trail was tough going, the sun is quickly taking its toll. A few wooded section exceptions. Many puddled areas, enjoy while you still can.
  Photos:  
  (David Seifert)
• Mar 4 - Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Eagan):
  Conditions: Good, 36 degrees at 11:30am, sunny.
  Groomed classical, some wet and slushy spots, but skied the whole loop from Jensen to the Visitor Center and back, no bare spots and tracks holding up well.
  (Kari Tyne)
• Mar 4 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Mostly very good to excellent.
  I don't need to repeat what others have already reported, which is that Theo Wirth Ski Course is tops! Thanks to the groomers for not quitting when there's still good skiing to be had.
  I want to put in a plug for the #7 bus. Today I finally walked my talk about climate change (which is not good for skiing) and took the bus to Theo Wirth instead of driving. The terminus for the 7C bus is close to Wirth Chalet, so the bus sits there for quite a few minutes before starting its new run.
  (Lois Braun)
• Mar 4 - Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Great Spring Skiing at Murphy today. The classic tracks were recently groomed and in good shape overall. Skating looked fine. A lot of the tracks in the woods and shade were firm and actually very good--in the sun and the south side of hills--soft and a little slushy. Good snow coverage.
  It's always a thrill at Murphy and the Razorback. The downhills were fast and furious! The uphills--well, not so fast. I still think if you like hills and a workout, Murphy is the best park in the metro! Thanks to the groomers for tracking one more time.
  Photos:  
  (Bill Lundberg)
• Mar 4 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Very nice conditions! A little icy in a couple of areas, but other than that the trail was in awesome shape. There were no bare spots anywhere. For those who wished to stride, the tracks were deep and not washed out.
  I skate skied in a vest, no hat and gloves under a wonderful sunny sky! Ahh...late winter skiing doesn't get any better than this!
  (Carolyn Krampe)
• Mar 4 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Classic skied on the artificial snow and Northern Lights trail 7-8am at 18deg. Hard wax would probably still work on the artificial snow while cold (looks like they're still grooming and setting the track every night). Violet spray-on klister worked like a charm on both loops. The NL track was icy in exposed spots (would need klister in the track). Skating looked good (and fast) everywhere - nothing close to a bare spot yet.
  Klister skiing is some of the most fun of the season - fast with great kick. Scrape off your hardwax, cover 6" of glide surface at either end of the klister zone with masking tape, and spray away. Two minutes later - voila! Get out early for the best skiing.
  (Pete Thurmes)
• Mar 4 - Irondale Trails (New Brighton):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  Took the final pass with the groomer early this morning and cleaned up the skate lane. This will be the last grooming we will be able to do this season. That said, still lots of snow in the woods and trail is very skiable. I put in 15km after grooming and had a great time. All the North facing hills are very good. South facing hills are in tougher shape. If you hit the trails in the morning or later afternoon when snow is not so soft, it is awesome.
  (Chris Torvi)
• Mar 4 - Tamarack Nature Center (White Bear Township):
  Conditions: Fair in the meadows, still good in the woods.
  Considering the lack of any new snow in the past month, and the recent warm temperatures, the trails are holding up well. Tracks not shaded are mostly shallow and very wide, and there are a couple of bare spots along Co. Rd. H2, but in the shaded areas they're still much deeper then I expected. The trails that go through the woods as part of the long loop are still good, and even the south facing hills have full coverage. We started skiing around 10:15 which seemed to be the sweet spot; earlier and everything would be rock hard, later and it'd be sloppy. Good to be on the snow!
  Photos:  
  (Mark Weinberger)
• Mar 4 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: 90% excellent, 10% fair.
  Checked out Green Acres for the first time this morning. They seem to be grooming it regularly and most of the trail was nice fast corduroy. Some of the steepest uphills I've seen in the area. A few of the more exposed sections are getting thin and dirty, but nothing that can't be navigated around.
  (Peter Aggen)
• Mar 4 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: 32-34F kept part of skate frozen. Fast today on the ice. A lot of tracks from yesterday cut deeply and were frozen. 6 holes in skate from falls. Hills have deep carved tracks. Classic still looks good.
  Go early or late so track has had a chance to firm up please. The classic guy can't cover all our ruts!
  (Stuart Knappmiller)
• Mar 4 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Classic tracks still good on Hap and Judy loop, golf course is getting almost too washed out.
  (Leslie Hale)
• Mar 4 - Bunker Hills Regional Park (Coon Rapids):
  Conditions: Skate skied this morning starting at 9:45. It was icy to start but better as the temps warmed the snow.
  Started at the ski rental chalet. Trail groomed Monday night. The advanced trail was icy and challenging with quite a few sun-burned/open spots but in between was well groomed with little use. Over on the golf course there is a lot of snow with just a few open spots which are easy to avoid. The skate lane has had very little use since the grooming and the classic tracks are deep and look good.
  (Pamela Jawish)
• Mar 4 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Par 3, Back 9 were good for skating and classic.
  No major meltdowns except for the uphill in the back 40, but there's still plenty of room to get around it.
  (Tim Franz)
• Mar 4 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Not bad.
  I thought I was going out for a last hurrah, but I might be able to go again tomorrow. While the puddles are getting bigger and there are a few more of them now, the coverage is still good. Only a few spots where something (grass, mud, asphalt!) is poking through. Some sections are simply awesome (packed powder, superfast). The magic hour is 10-11am. It's getting just soft enough to give you better ski control. It ain't over til it's over. Get out there while it lasts.
  (Jenneke Oosterhoff)
• Mar 4 - Hiawatha Golf Course (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Iced in boot tracks.
  Despite the park board's final grooming, the dog walkers have trashed the trail. The boot and dog prints are deep pretty much throughout the trail. I would love to advocate on behalf of a groomed walking trail at Hiawatha, and/or enforcement of leash and ski pass rules. It's hard to call it a ski trail most of the season because of the walkers.
  (Sue Schroeder)
• Mar 3 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Classic skied on lakes and bog on Wednesday late afternoon/early evening.
  Skate lane appears to be holding well. Classic tracks were a combination of soft, melty, icy, and perfect (mostly the first three). The sun really is beating the trail. Tracks are nearly melted together on a lot of parts of the lakes. The section from Wirth Parkway toward the bog is really losing snowcover. The north tracks are completely melted, as is part of the skate deck. Get out while you can!
  (Katherine Himes)
• Mar 3 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: The trails are holding up nicely. I have been starting my evening ski a little after 5 to let the trail firm up a bit. Last night was a hoot and the best of the week so far.
  Saturday will be our 85th ski day of the season and I am still predicting a window of great skiing on Saturday and Sunday morning. Some on the Trail Crew have been grumbling about my predictions, especially Ancient One and Shear Pin, who will be on grooming duty for the first part of the weekend. Their comments were something like "putting up their hard work to back up my mouth". To which my reply was, "well that is what we pay you for"! They then reminded me that they don't get paid, but groom for the love of the ski and our skiing pleasure. They will groom Friday evening or Saturday morning or both, depending on temps. Stay tuned. Enjoy?
  (Dave Anderson)
• Mar 3 - Baker Park Reserve (Maple Plain):
  Trails are holding up well, still has a solid base of snow. Only a few scattered soft/icy sections.
  Photos:  
  (David Seifert)
• Mar 3 - Brown's Creek (Stillwater):
  Conditions: Groomed tonight. 100% snow coverage for now.
  The normal parking lot is all mud so park to the south by the playground. Shared trail to the south of RR track is post holed but skiable. North loop is smoother. Classic tracks have dissipated.
  (Matt McGuire)
• Mar 3 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Good snow pack still. Skied under the lights at night. 28 degrees F. With warm-up today to mid-40s and refreeze, a little icy in spots. Fast skating track.
  You could tell groomers groomed track in the morning. Grooming helped with getting an edge skating. Classic track looked very good for the most part with a few spots suffering wash out from the sun.
  (Ken Kuznia)
• Mar 3 - Cleary Lake Regional Park (Prior Lake):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  Classic skied Cleary tonight at 8pm. Both the tracks and skating lane were 100% covered with no burnout. The skating lane was glazed over and the tracks were icy but if groomed tomorrow they should be in as good of shape as they've been all season. Looks more like you'd expect in a January thaw than you would the first week of March!
  (Dan Steger)
• Mar 3 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Good base on all trails. Some standing water on Lake Trail which can be easily avoided. I was skating but it looked like waxless classic skies would work well in the set classic track.
  Beautiful spring skiing in the Cities.
  (Alfred Wellnitz)
• Mar 3 - Fort Snelling State Park (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Fair, degrading quickly.
  I skied Pike Island this morning at 10am. The west side of the loop was icy and the snow is melting rapidly from the sun. The tracks have deep ruts from the melting. The east side (river side)of the loop was in better skiing condition which had less melted spots. There is a lot of animal scat in the tracks.
  (Michelle Cybyske)
• Mar 3 - Columbia Golf Course (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Mixed - soft, wet.
  Only one place on the back loop that has melted away - easy to get around. Still great skiing, and that sunshine is amazing!
  (Diana Jankovich)
• Mar 3 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Pretty okay.
  Como tonight, right around freeze-up, was not horrible. There are some wet/icy sections but for skating it seems to be okay. Not so great for classic, but it's not the end of the world, and the folks I was teaching seemed to pick it up okay.
  (Ari Ofsevit)
• Mar 3 - Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park (Cottage Grove):
  Conditions: Good.
  The trails at ravine had overall good coverage and a thick base in all but a few spots. There were only three small and avoidable bare spots that I saw at 3:00pm today. Be sure to watch out for trail trash surfacing in the melting process.
  (Wyatt Behrends)
• Mar 3 - Sunfish Lake Park (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Full coverage, except right at the trailhead. Mixed of conditions, a little more glazed that two days ago.
  Skied around 11 am. Parking lot very muddy and trail right in front looks bad, but that area is fully exposured and dirty, so its melting fast. Once you get into the trail system, everything is fine. The classic tracks are a little shallower, but still fine. Hard to figure the wax when I was out, started with waxed skis and actually had too much grip (on the downhills!), then tried waxless and it was a little too glazed in some spots. Temps were in the mid 30s. Heavy foot traffic, as usual.
  Photos:  
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Mar 3 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Out before noon in 34-37F. Too warm, try for earlier. There was a bit of ice but much of trail was inch of slush already. Great spring skiing!
  (Stuart Knappmiller)
• Mar 3 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Still holding, just barely (outer loops)...
  Skated everything at 8 AM in 21 degrees and no wind. A couple spots on Lake are starting to wear thin along the edges, but everything is still totally covered. Some light debris getting tilled up by the groomers, but they are doing an awesome job keeping the trails in shape. A few icy places here and there on the outer trails, but nothing dangerous. The tracks are looking tired and icy; fishscales or klister seem to be the trend. Get those early morning workouts in while you can.
  (Andrea Potyondy-Smith)
• Mar 3 - Hiawatha Golf Course (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Good skating; fair classic.
  They were grooming the skate lanes as I finished this morning! (Pics taken before it was groomed.) It may, however, be the final groom as the Park Board has removed the roller and groomer from their chained spot near the Clubhouse. The classic lane is both icy and soft at times; skinny skis are digging ever deeper making it rough going for my wide waxless skis. Very little lane debris; still too many footprints.
  Photos:  
  (Charlie Casserly)
• Mar 3 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Good to excellent for skate.
  Skate lanes on front and back nine and JD gardens regroomed again today. Thanks groomers! Conditions excellent most places... a few icy spots. Great to be out in the sun with the birds singing. Enjoy it!
  (Sue Schroeder)
• Mar 3 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Great skate. Classic looked good on manmade.
  It's faster to come out before the midday melt slows things down.
  Skied the skijoring loop which was also in great shape. The trails were faster where it wasn't touched recently - slightly glazed over - and in areas that received more sun where more snow had transformed.
  The classic tracks looked okay at the intersections but they are developing uneven side slopes in the track and widening out in places. Definitely looked like klister conditions in most places.
  (Mark Lahtinen)
• Mar 3 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Par 3 and Back 9 were very good for skate. Good for classic as of 10:30.
  Big thanks to the groomer for taking care of the trails. He was out pushing snow into the thin areas.
  (Tim Franz)
• Mar 3 - Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent. Groomers were out working on the classic track. Full coverage throughout the Razorback/outer loop. Fast, firm for skating, groomed classic nice and powdery.
  Started 10 sm, I would guess the temps were still under 30F degrees. I had a great time, wish I had more gas in the tank, only went around once. Awesome spring day. Wish I had camera phone.
  (Scott Stanley)
• Mar 3 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Freshly groomed and gorgeous!
  Skied the back 9 this morning. The groomer was just finishing up both classic and skate around 9:00, grinding up the ice and making a huge difference. Get out early!
  (Amy Lewis)
• Mar 3 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  Bright sunny and 20s-30s, little wind. Trails are groomed well as always and tracks are well set. It is beautiful skiing on the outer loop (multi-use trails as well). The multi-use trails will be used for the bike and run portions of the Pole Pedal Pant winter triathlon on March 13. It was a lot of fun last year. Photos from March 1st.
  Photos:  
  (Amy Xu, Rainbow Resort)
• Mar 3 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Skate lanes of 3 and 5 km trails are groomed this morning and are in good to excellent shape. Spring sun has burned some areas, which are easily avoidable. Enjoy spring skiing.
  Best March skiing in years.
  (Ahvo Taipale, Finn Sisu)
• Mar 2 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Skied mid afternoon. 1-2 inches slush where sun is on snow, some ice, some pretty good snow. Up to 4 inch skate cuts, with most in 1-2 inch range. Classic looked icy. Be out there early...
  (Stuart Knappmiller)
• Mar 2 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: From what I saw, good.
  Today was apparently the last day for snow mountain biking, so I only felt cross-sections of the trail beneath my tires. However, the snow looked quite good and, and I can attest, after several close encounters, that there's still a foot in the woods.
  (Ari Ofsevit)
• Mar 2 - Terrace Oaks Park (Burnsville):
  Conditions: 40 deg, soft at 4PM but 100% awesome!
  Plenty of coverage, and a recent grooming to boot. The sun's starting to win on a couple of highly exposed areas, but its otherwise holding up very well to the warmer temps. Debris and dog stuff coming up here and there though. And ... the hiker's toll is starting to become more significant. Good skis still OK.
  (Randy Zarecki)
• Mar 2 - Battle Creek Regional Park West (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Soft to start at 6PM turning to ice in the skate lanes, tracks rock hard and fast!
  There is plenty of snow, just need to hit the trail when just warming or cooling down. There must have been grooming done earlier in the day because the skate lane was nice and even. Tracks are set nicely.
  (Bill Stuber)
• Mar 2 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skated the Butler and Bog between 4:30 and 5:30 conditions were fun, fast and manageable. I might start a bit earlier tomorrow as conditions were starting to glaze over.
  A beautiful warm sunny day, fast skiing, girls in sports bras, even the ankle biters that live next to the Bog were smiling as they readied to charge.
  (Jon Erickson)
• Mar 2 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Skate lane just fine, classic was getting slick and wet.
  Still lots of skiers out for the warm spring skiing. No face masks seen today! Should be OK for a few more days.
  (Dick Green)
• Mar 2 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Skied the back 9 on purple klister in the late afternoon sun. Excellent conditions. A small patch of dirt on the steep uphill by twin lake, but otherwise not a speck of ground to be seen. Conditions better than it ever gets some winters. As is the nature of spring skiing, snow will be soft in the afternoon, but freezes overnight and is hard in the morning. As always, kudos to the groomers who did a good job all winter to set up this nice spring snow pack. I think there will be skiing into late March this year for those who choose.
  (Zach Handler)
• Mar 2 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Good conditions, solid base, only one wet area, classic track mainly powder-like with a few icy sections.
  Skied the back 9 around 11 am today. Just about perfect. Plenty of snow, no thin spots, but one wet/icy section by the mound section. Classic skied and was surprised how little icing there was to the track -- many sections still had hard wax conditions. Skate lane looked fine everywhere on the back 9 and the groomers were out around 11:30.
  Photos:  
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Mar 2 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Back 9 groomed, and skiing was good around 2PM. Trail getting soft in a lot of places, thin in some others. I think Wirth is on its last legs.
  Waxless skis worked great.
  (Ralph Schwartz)
• Mar 2 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Good Spring Skiing--They're still grooming the Loppet Trail for skating--even the lakes!
  I had a fun ski on the Loppet around noon today. It was a little warm at 37 and 40 by the time I finished. The classic tracks are still somewhat skiable in the woods (Eloise/Erickson, & Bog), although a lot of ice and slush in the bottom of the tracks. The skating lanes had been freshly groomed and were in good shape. I also skied over to Brownie, Cedar, and the Isles. I couldn't believe the groomers had regroomed the skating lane on all the lake trails. It was awesome!
  (Bill Lundberg)
• Mar 2 - Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Groomed this morning for skate with a fresh classic track as well. Soft, clean snow on top of a firm base.
  11:30am, Very nice job by the TRP groomers this morning. Razorback, Knob and Kettle loops are in great shape. Plenty of snow, clean trail and only a few soft spots. I left the trail at 2:30 and it was 40 degrees. Very few skiers today as the trail was largely untouched. Looking forward to a fast ski early tomorrow morning.
  (Rich Schulze)
• Mar 2 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Today was the first of what has become a spring ritual for me: strap my skis to my bike and bike to Como Beach...er Golf Course to sunbathe...er ski. I skied from 11:30 to 1. I worried that I was an hour or two too late, but judging from Jenneke's report, maybe I hit it just right. I found almost no ice. Although the south-facing uphills were a bit soft, almost all flat or north-facing areas were just fine. The "glacier" by the zoo was suberb.
  (Lois Braun)
• Mar 2 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Skating looked very good. Classic was definitely spring skiing.
  Skating part was being groomed early afternoon. Classic tracks hadn't been however and were pretty soft and very wide in places. Still decent cover but water over the skis for a short section is a sign that the season might be coming to a close.
  (Mike Chrun)
• Mar 2 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Pretty good.
  Skate looked fine. An hour or two before noon would've been better. Classic was good on the manmade but starting to break down on the natural snow in the sun-soaked areas. My Triple-klister mix worked okay - a little slow - (might've been a little long and/or thick on my non-klister skis). I was looking for my 22 wax technicians to switch out my skis between laps but they weren't there.
  (Mark Lahtinen)
• Mar 2 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Good to great for skate and the classic track looked lovely and mostly not glare ice.
  Skated this morning on the Back 9. Based on yesterday's trail reports, I expected the groomers to be out, tilling up the lane, but not so. Most areas were not very icy, especially in the woods and on north-facing hills. A few areas that were icy, but one can still get an edge. Softening in the sun...
  (Katherine Himes)
• Mar 2 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Outstanding.
  I skated the Front 9, the Gardens, Jar Hill, Mrs. Butler and Mr. Bog this morning and found the trail to be in excellent condition. The snow began to soften up and slow down -- for me, anyway -- around 10:45, so get out early and have some fun.
  (Matt Callahan)
• Mar 2 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Challenging.
  Como is melting down in the usual places, with puddles forming along Lexington, ruts going up the hills, and ice going down. Fun fun fun. It will be very soft later this afternoon (judging by the ruts that had formed), so you can take your pick: Early morning ski control test, or afternoon slush fest. There are also large potions that are quite nice still. Problem is: You have to get to them via the icy bits.
  (Jenneke Oosterhoff)
• Mar 2 - Irondale Trails (New Brighton):
  Conditions: Mixed.
  Skated the trail early this morning. Very icy in spots. Big downhills were very fast with the freeze overnight. Use caution.
  Other parts of the trail that did not get as much sun were great.
  As the temps rise, everything should be much better.
  (Chris Torvi)
• Mar 1 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Front and back 9 were groomed in the morning and were in excellent shape. Classic tracks still very good. Very little leaf debris anywhere. Purple klister was good.
  (Zach Handler)
• Mar 1 - Bunker Hills Regional Park (Coon Rapids):
  Conditions: Freshly groomed. Very good for skating. OK for classic.
  Skied the golf course and skijoring trails this evening. Both were groomed today. The skate trail was in great shape tonight (it looked very soft in few spots on the golf course for one skater today), with a few avoidable dirt spots. The classic track ranged from excellent to fair, depending on sun exposure. Spots on the track were very shallow and a few skis wide in places; other spots were superb. Track was beginning to get icy after dark.
  (Chris Rauschl)
• Mar 1 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Amazingly good considering the warm weather.
  Great skating around the lighted loop after work. Pretty amazing how good of shape the loop is in, considering the warm temps. Skating is just a tad icy, but no major problems in the lighted loop.
  (Bill Oyler)
• Mar 1 - Irondale Trails (New Brighton):
  Conditions: Skate lane regroomed.
  Late in the afternoon I went through and put the teeth down and groomed the skate lane. Still very good coverage throughout. The trail seems to be holding up pretty well with the warm temps. Couple of areas that get more sunlight are melting more. Most of the trail is in the shade and looks good. Should be really good before the warm-up tomorrow afternoon.
  (Chris Torvi)
• Mar 1 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Excellent skating at 4PM this afternoon. No slush or ice on the manmade snow loop; a few spots beginning to get icy on the rest of the lit loop. Very fast conditions. Classic track great on manmade snow loop as well, good on the rest of lit loop.
  Used fast wax yellow with FW yellow paste.
  (Ralph Schwartz)
• Mar 1 - Manitou Ridge Golf Course (White Bear Lake):
  Skied late morning till just after noon. Classic tracks are holding up well. They softened up toward the end of my ski. Overall it is still pretty good. However, a two or three walkers are consistently leaving their tracks. They are especially tearing up a couple of the down hill runs - making them a bit difficult.
  (Dave Puskala)
• Mar 1 - Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Eagan):
  Conditions: Very good. Freshly groomed, good coverage on 95% of the system.
  Went out after 11:30am. Started to get a little slow, should of been out a little bit earlier. Still had a wonderful time on this great classical trail system.
  (Scott Stanley)
• Mar 1 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: 9:00am 25 degrees, calm.
  Awesome conditions. Skated the multi-use and outer loops and it was still in excellent condition.
  (Don Callander)
• Mar 1 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Skated everything this morning. No burn through anywhere...yet. The tracks looked pretty good, though they are getting somewhat shallow. Again, no burn through or bare spots yet. No major debris anywhere. Get there really early (best conditions) or long after dark (tolerable conditions) to take advantage of it!
  (Andrea Potyondy-Smith)
• Mar 1 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Par 3, Back 9 - Very Good as of 10:30 am.
  No signs of a meltdown yet. The groomer was out for skate lanes. Classic tracks were good, but as far as I could tell, not new.
  (Tim Franz)
• Feb 28 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Excellent skate, good classic.
  Skated the Lake trail and classic skied everything else. Still plenty of snow everywhere but classic tracks were getting really wet and slow by 2 pm.
  (Dan Zenk)
• Feb 28 - William O'Brien State Park (Marine on St. Croix):
  Conditions: Very good: park completely groomed by 1PM.
  Wonderful sunshiny day. Ski around 10 and get the best skiing.
  (Ellie Peden)
• Feb 28 - Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (Burnsville):
  Conditions: Between 4:30 and 5:30 very good to excellent. 37 degrees and sunny. A little slushy in a few sun-exposed spots but no ice and the slush was not on any of the downhills. Most of the trail was hard packed and dry - consequently fast except in the deepest shade where it slowed with my wax - and the longer downhills had great coverage so control was no problem for a cautious snowplower like me. I skated but classic track looked fine. I used Fastwax Yellow LF.
  I was warned to watch out for slush by a father and son coming off the trail when I started at 4:25, which added to my concern that I had waited too late in the season and too late in the afternoon before I attempted the challenge of Murphy. The concern was unfounded. It was one of my best skis of the year. I did the entire 10.3k of the perimeter except for except for the little side loop coming off the south side of Kettle in an hour and five minutes. After having my stamina pushed at Carver on Friday and again at the course on the lake to the east of Bethel University on Saturday, the faster trail conditions were welcomed despite the many hill climbs, most which I walked except the shorter ones. Given the warning, I kept on anticipating slush on the downhills. Never found it. The softest - corn snow - was on the uphills on the North end of Razorback. Didn't see a soul on the trail. There were three cars in the lot besides mine.
  (Keith Carlson)
• Feb 28 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Very good overall.
  After an exciting afternoon of Minnesota-themed Olympic television—the 50k (exciting) and the gold medal hockey game (exciting)—I decided I'd had too much sitting. Plus, I wanted to see what the mountain bike trail was looking like at Wirth. So I went and did the snowmaking side trails. Once. Slowly.
  The trails are in very good shape with a few notable deficiencies. There were several large ice chunks just past the equipment shed which, after sticking my tip in to one of them, I kicked/pushed off the trail. The main other issue is that going over or around the mound is becoming an issue. Over is thinning out on both the uphill and downhill. Going around to the south is suffering as the slope melts from the high sunshine and undermines the trail. (Of course, last year this happened early in February, not on the last day.) They've groomed around the ice/water, but it's thinning quickly. It might soon be time to groom to the north side of the mound. Otherwise, everything is good and generally powdery, although hills with southern exposure are getting icy. And the bike trail looks superb.
  (Ari Ofsevit)
• Feb 28 - Sunfish Lake Park (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Good coverage, lots of footprints, mixed conditions.
  Skied around 1 pm. The parking lot was half filled with water and the trail right at the lot looks terrible (because it is dirty and completely exposed). But once you ski into the woods, the trail is just fine. A lot of foot traffic, but the tracks were pretty good, especially as you worked toward the outer trails. A real mix of conditions, depending on the trail coverage -- encountered everything from slush and slow to ice to powder. Most of it was quite good.
  Photos:  
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Feb 28 - Baker Park Reserve (Maple Plain):
  As expected, skating was wonderful right after fresh grooming, say around 10:30am. But it hit 38 by early afternoon, as the snow was starting to get mushy. Another week of this... well, get out early, and/or pray for snow.
  (Rich Swenson)
• Feb 28 - Manitou Ridge Golf Course (White Bear Lake):
  Conditions: Skating was better today than yesterday. Classic tracks still look good except for one little bare spot in the middle of the golf course.
  Skied Manitou all week leading up to this weekend and the skate deck actually got better with age like a fine wine. Did 2 1/2 laps today at the hottest point (38 deg) around 2-3 pm, and had a blast. I've concluded that this place stays good for so long because it sees very little traffic aside from the occasional high school meet. Awesome!
  (Steven Pamlenyi)
• Feb 28 - Carver Park Reserve (Excelsior):
  Conditions: OK.
  Skate conditions: Most of the trails suffering from washboard. Hopefully this can be groomed out.
  (Jim Geppert)
• Feb 28 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Good to excellent.
  What a day to be out skiing! Couldn't pass a day like this up even thought I did the Birkie yesterday. Everything is still in really good shape. The sun is making the snow soft in the exposed areas. There are some areas were its dirty making the ski's drag. I would recommend getting out there early before the sun starts to soften it up. Get out and enjoy it while you can!
  (Sam Oftedahl)
• Feb 28 - Theodore Wirth Regional Park (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Fantastic! Noon was 37F. Recently groomed this morning.
  Skied back 9.
  (Kevin Gregerson)
• Feb 28 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: So good I wish it would never end. By the end of my lap the trails were slowing considerably due to the big warm sun.
  With warm temps forecast for each day this week, Woodlands will not be groomed until Friday evening at transition. There will still be some good skiing during the week, but you will have to time your ski to the temps. My favorite this time of year is the evening transition. Watch for slick spots as they are growing in number and length on the more exposed sections when the trails haven’t warmed to soften them. Stay tuned.
  (Dave Anderson)
• Feb 28 - Lebanon Hills Regional Park (Eagan):
  Conditions: Good.
  It looks like the groomer made a recent pass. A hint of dirt showing here and there, but the coverage is still complete. The warm afternoons are taking a toll, but skiing here is still very enjoyable.
  (Brian Wray)
• Feb 28 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Good in the morning.
  Freshly groomed, great coverage, but getting soft and slow very quickly. There were some icy areas, and I have never seen Hyland so wavy. A constant "deng" "deng" "deng" going on under my skis. When we left at 11:00 it was getting very busy in the parking lot. Don't wait that long.
  Photos:  
  (Jenneke Oosterhoff)
• Feb 27 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Great skate.
  Kind of quiet with everybody at the Birkie. Some leaf litter but pretty fast.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Lahtinen)
• Feb 27 - Elm Creek Park Reserve (Maple Grove):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Early morning skate with the sun coming up. Had the trails to myself except for a pheasant and 5 deer. Conditions couldn't have been better on the skate lanes - classic tracks looked good too! I think everyone else was in Hayward!
  (Beth Palmer)
• Feb 27 - Bunker Hills Regional Park (Coon Rapids):
  Conditions: Skijor trail is excellent.
  Freshly groomed for both skate and classic. There are 3 sunny spots where the trail is down to the dirt but they was enough snow on the edges to easily ski around. The rest of the trail is in fantastic condition. Holding up nicely in spite of all the warm weather.
  (Sue Logan)
• Feb 27 - Fort Snelling State Park (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Good.
  Moonlight ski was profoundly brilliant. Trails firmed up nicely for night ski around Pike Island. South side was icy but tracks were solid; tracks guided our skis throughout the run even when trees cast shadows on trail. Lots of deer out tonight as well. With the perfect weather, nearly full moon, clear skies, and the park open till 10, it was amazing we had the trail to ourselves.
  (Linda Evert)
• Feb 27 - Como Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Classic tracks icy in sunny spots, good in shade.
  When I skated Como on Friday I knocked myself for not having thought to bring my classic skis to take advantage of the excellent tracks. So I returned on Saturday--and wished I had reversed the two days. Classic tracks were icy on most of the part north of the chalet and on the north half of the southern loop. There were two puddles next to Lexington. But the "glacier" by the zoo was just fine, as expected. I ended up just going back and forth on it. The skate lane appeared to be just fine, if a little hard packed. The skaters I spoke with were satisfied with it, though most of them seem to have gone north for the big B.
  (Lois Braun)
• Feb 27 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Very good.
  A beautiful day for a noon time skate. The trails are fast and there is just enough edge bite. The only difficulty was trying to keep up with my 17 year old son - pay back time. Many thanks to the dedicated folks that maintain this incredible place.
  (Jon Erickson)
• Feb 27 - Green Acres Recreation (Lake Elmo):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Skied Green Acres for the first time today. Trails are in great shape with an ample amount of snow. 5 bucks for a day pass and well worth it. May have to get the season pass next year. With a head lamp they say you can ski in the evening. This is great as most of the parks that I go to close 1/2 hour after sunset. Will have to head out some evening when there is a full moon! Have fun everyone!
  (Pete Schneider)
• Feb 27 - Hyland Lake Park Reserve (Bloomington):
  Conditions: Great from 9 am until noon at least.
  Freshly groomed, hard packed, very fast, excellent skating. Fewer skiers--must have been a race somewhere--meant the warm temps didn't adversely affect the trail as fast. I'd say get there early.
  (Rich Swenson)
• Feb 27 - Battle Creek Regional Park East (Maplewood):
  Conditions: 11:00 am, sunny.
  Classic tracks are icy, with quite a bit of debris. My wax held enough debris to impede forward progress, but not give kick!
  (Dee Hein)
• Feb 27 - Bunker Hills Regional Park (Coon Rapids):
  Conditions: Generally good conditions, considering the recent weather. Groomed on Friday.
  Skied the east side of the park (not the golf course). Skate and classic track groomed on Friday. Both tracks generally in decent shape consider the weather lately. About 10% of the classic track was shallow due to melting. Skaters need to avoid several patches of dirt, but they are easy to maneuver around. Part of the one-way section of the track now has two tracks for the full moon ski tonight (6-9PM), so parts of the skate track become narrow in a few spots. Not too much icing on the tracks this afternoon, but could be slick for the full moon ski tonight.
  (Chris Rauschl)
• Feb 27 - Fort Snelling State Park (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Adequate.
  The sun and traffic is taking a toll on the trails, especially on the south side of Pike Island. Lots of debris from the eagles, hawks and trees in the tracks. Slushing in the sun. But well worth the short trip around the island - saw as many deer as people.
  (Tom Eckstein)
• Feb 27 - Afton State Park (Afton):
  Conditions: Poor to very good.
  Skied 10:30-12:30. Headed west from the Visitor Center, then north along the base of the ski hill. The trails were a mix of snow conditions and finding the right kick wax was tough. There were also many footprints from walkers and a whole lot of debris on many tracks. We then headed to the north end of the park. Most of the hills were sheets of ice, if they faced anywhere between SW to SE. The section of trails, however, in the NW quadrant of the park was in very good shape. There were few or no footprints. The ski tracks were fresh, mostly intact and deep. I wish I hadn't wasted time or energy anywhere else in the park.
  (Seth Lindenfelser)
• Feb 27 - Irondale Trails (New Brighton):
  Conditions: Noon, 30 and sunny.
  Trail in good shape for skating (especially for the end of February). Some downhills were very fast and hard to step turn, from skiers snow-plowing snow off the trail down to hard pack. Use caution.
  (Eric Snider)
• Feb 27 - Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park (Cottage Grove):
  Conditions: Good conditions with track holding up well in this warmer weather.
  Classic skiing on Loop A was fairly decent around noon, up hills a little slick. Skating, especially along Highway 19 very good. Able to generate good speed on small frozen ice balls from recent track renovation. Last groomed within the last day.
  Photos:  
  (Scott Ford)
• Feb 27 - Phalen Golf Course (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Still not groomed.
  However, ski control was not an issue because it was already getting pretty warm and slower (around noon). The trail is getting a lot of kanine and human foot traffic. That bothers me more than the ruts that have been made by other skiers.
  (Jenneke Oosterhoff)
• Feb 27 - City of Lakes Loppet Trail (Minneapolis):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Skated butler, bog, brownie, and cedar. All were in great shape. No ice.
  (Jim Geppert)
• Feb 27 - Woodland Trails (Elk River):
  Conditions: Uplifting! The trails are in excellent shape and groomed to perfection for skate.
  My ski last night was fast and fun. This morning was even better. I stopped at the top of many of the hills just to revel in our sport and this great ski season. We have the ski trails, the biathlon range, and after this week I was wishing we had a ski jump. This weekend is usually quiet due to having many of the Trail Crew and our skiing friends up at the race. The Lonely Groomer was out three times this past week keeping our trails scratched up. Last night Rookie G and Buckthorn Bob pulled the double heavy screens and left us with the perfect trail surface for our Saturday ski. Ancient One and Babe will be out cutting later this afternoon. Blinking Yellow Light and 007 will be out tonight dragging the screens again. Enjoy your Sunday ski, no matter where it is.
  (Dave Anderson)
• Feb 27 - Fort Snelling State Park (Saint Paul):
  Conditions: Fair and icy.
  Kr 50 flexi klister worked perfectly on the lightning fast icy slots around Pike island Friday at dusk. Some debris. Overall well worth the trip. A nice option if you like fast ice. It doesn't look like there has been any grooming for a while here.
  (Louie Seliga)

Minnesota Northeast

• Mar 9 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Not that bad.
  Dug out the waxless classic rock skis this morning and found Lester surprisingly skiable. The lower loops have some puddles and small open patches, but coverage is still pretty good on the upper loops.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Mar 8 - Spirit Mountain (Duluth):
  Conditions: Pretty rotten thanks to snowmobile traffic.
  There's plenty of snow left at Spirit, but most of the 11k loop has deep ruts from the passage of several snowmobiles and is really not fun to skate. Where they aren't obliterated, the tracks have melted into barely noticeable depressions.
  (Erik Riker-Coleman)
• Mar 8 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good overall.
  I classic ski and thought it wasn't too bad this morning, but there are some soft deep spots that'll take you down if you're not keeping an eye on what's ahead. I talked to a skate skier afterwords and he had a great ski, much better than he thought it would be.
  (Mark Gagnon)
• Mar 7 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good overall, 10k temporarily poor.
  Skied part of the 10K then switch to the 5K. It did not get below freezing on Saturday night so the 10K base was quite soft. The 5K was still firm. Lots of snow. I'm expecting good conditions for the Wooden Ski Rendezvous.
  (John Jereczek)
• Mar 7 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: Great but warm.
  After classic skiing earlier on some private trails in WI, I wasn't sure what to expect...the trails were in excellent shape at Boulder, almost completely debris free, nice white snow, tons of it, no signs of the land under the snow, the depths on the sides of the trail as measured in medium sized doggie height are still shoulder high too! I think I know what the Olympians felt like skiing minus the good wax job. My timing was slushy and slow, double "k" day!
  (Eve Stein)
• Mar 7 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Skied at 8am this morning. Air temp 37, I'm not sure it froze overnight.
  I jumped on the trail at the hockey rinks (hike up the small hill, put on skis) and then I skied the upper reaches of Lester, skipping what I imagined would be a less-spectacular lower portion. It was nice. The worst I encountered was icy groundwater flow, but in general the trail is fully covered with snow. I did not ski down any of the little "expert" loops off the trail -- only because I ran out of energy not out of snow. One or two spots where there's a downed tree or something dark in the trail we see the snow melting away.
  Photos:  
  (Kristin Riker-Coleman)
• Mar 6 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good to very good.
  Skated 51K during the afternoon into late afternoon and after adjusting to the mildly icy conditions in shady areas and contrastingly soft snow in sunny areas (as Tom mentioned) was able to have a great day skating. As the sun started setting conditions hardened nicely. Boulder didn't disappoint in the least today. Thanks to the groomers who have done such a fine job throughout the season here.
  (Lane Ellis)
• Mar 6 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: A mixed bag of decent spring skiing.
  I went out to Boulder today because of the good snow depth and recent grooming (2 days ago). I skated everything in the south loop late morning. It was in the upper 30's at the time. It was fast and crusty (a tad icy in places) in the shade and near slush in some of the sunny areas. It was a good test of balance going from fast to slow and back again. There is a lot of debris on parts of Nine Pine but overall, you could use your good skis. Get out there and enjoy the snow while its here.
  (Tom Heinitz)
• Mar 6 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Still quite good.
  The conditions at Snowflake continue to surprise me. Classic and skated the 10k, overall quite good. Tracks are a little soft. Best skiing is within an hour or two after temps get above freezing.
  (John Jereczek)
• Mar 5 - Hartley Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good conditions for spring skiing.
  Looks like the trail has recently been groomed. Snow is clean except for under the pines. One or two minor bare spots.
  (John Jereczek)
• Mar 5 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Not quite as nice as yesterday, but still good.
  Most of the trail was still firm and reasonably fast, especially in the more shaded areas. There is good snow depth with no bare spots, but Shovel Hill may be in need of a shovel soon if this weather keeps up. The only thing that marred a great spring ski was some minor damage done by humans. There were deep gashes hardened into the downhills on the 10K, left by a couple of skiers who skied the trail backward when it was soft, and the first 3 kilometers of the 5K had been driven on by snowmobiles and were rutted and chewed up in a few places. These weren't major problems, more of an annoyance.
  (Sue Janssen)
• Mar 5 - Magney-Snively Trail (Duluth):
  Conditions: Very good spring skating.
  It was 39 degrees and getting mushy when I got off the trail at 11:40 this morning. Coverage is still good throughout. There are ruts on a few exposed uphills. A couple of snowmobilers took a joyride through the whole system, but the skate lane wasn't really damaged. They messed up the classic track in a number of places but I think it's still skiable.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Mar 4 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: Super!
  We skijored, skate skied around 3:30ish today. All the loops are in excellent shape, appeared to have been recently groomed and there is plenty of snow! The groomer is so incredibly awesome out there that I bet the trails will be good for a long time!
  (Eve Stein)
• Mar 4 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Beautiful spring skiing at dawn at snowflake on Thursday. The warm temps have me in April mode in early March. Early start, but sufficient light so I turned off the headlamp around 6:10 AM. Trails, both classic and skate in unbelievably good shape for the warm days we have had. Not icy at all, fast yet plenty of edge in the skate lane. Classic tracks were set Monday, I think, and are still perfect. I strided on waxless (could have used the good skis even without klister I bet) and skated, and it was great. I'll be out most mornings from now on!
  (Tim Holst)
• Mar 3 - Hartley Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Conditions are good overall.
  It looks like the trails have been recently groomed. A little dirt but now bare patches yet. Excellent klister conditions - fast with great kick.
  (John Jereczek)
• Mar 3 - Gooseberry Falls State Park (Two Harbors):
  Conditions: Poor.
  We ended up hiking in Gooseberry. The trails haven't been groomed in some time and are a mish-mash of ice, dirt and snow. Much less snow than in the metro area.
  (David Thofern)
• Mar 3 - Split Rock Lighthouse State Park (Two Harbors):
  Conditions: Poor.
  We ended up hiking in Split Rock. The trails haven't been groomed in some time and are a mish-mash of ice, dirt and snow. Much less snow than in the metro area.
  (David Thofern)
• Mar 3 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good. Still full coverage and very little ice in the skate lane. Classic is good with klister or waxless. Tracks holding up pretty good. Skate lane is hard packed and some icy patches. Just some ruts on a couple uphills.
  I skied the entire loop today and yesterday in the morning. It was fast and very fun! The northern loop is in better shape, but the whole thing was really fun. Hope it lasts a little while longer!
  (Carol Koos)
• Mar 3 - Magney-Snively Trail (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good spring conditions.
  Skated the beautifully hilly Magney trails mid morning with temps right about at freezing. Conditions were good. No grooming in a few days but the trail has not been heavily used. Mixed bag of conditions as one would expect with fast firm crust in parts, soft spring snow in some, and refrozen mashed potatoes on the south facing hills. There was a good edge throughout. There is still great coverage throughout and the debris isn't bad (by Magney standards- many of the oak leaves have melted themselves down an inch or so). The city is not grooming it during this warm stretch, so what you see is what you're going to get-- time it right.
  (Tom Heinitz)
• Mar 2 - Two Harbors Ski Trail (Two Harbors):
  Fantastic skate conditions, freshly groomed skate lane, soft snow and very fast - the classic track is in very good shape on about 80% of the trail - in other spots it is shallow or has grass showing. I don't know how many days we will have skiing left on the trail but the grass patches are growing!
  (John Cron)
• Mar 2 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Very good. The "10k" was groomed today, and "5k" is still nice from yesterday. No debris to speak of, and only a couple south facing hills were chopped up in the heat of the day. Thank you for grooming!
  Skied as the sun was going down, and the snow was speeding up. It was a blast!
  (Jonathon Rulseh)
• Mar 1 - Mother Bear Ski Trail (Brimson):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  Icy in the morning, mushy in the sun in afternoon. Tracks are wearing down in some spots with the 40 degree temps. Saw 3 black wolves on Monday afternoon so it was great.
  (Al Ringer)
• Mar 1 - Snowflake Nordic Ski Center (Duluth):
  Conditions: Very good! The "5k" was groomed today, nice skate lane and full depth tracks, it wasn't icy, and conditions were close to becoming "Hero Snow"... The "10k" was groomed longer ago, and was quite good even if it was a bit skied out (very fast skating, with plenty of edge control, but a little uneven).
  Klister might be it for kicker this week, should be fast as long as the slush stays away!
  (Jonathon Rulseh)
• Mar 1 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good spring skating.
  34 degrees at 4 PM. We skipped J, and the ice rink loop is closed, but everything else was quite skiable with good coverage and not much ice. The hill on the 2nd half of the L loop is icy. The striding tracks look a bit icy.
  (Catherine Winter)
• Mar 1 - Magney-Snively Trail (Duluth):
  Conditions: Fantastic skating!
  Firm and fast. I agree with Bryan French, get out before the warm temps or after it cools down. If classic skiing, think klister.
  (Shawn Miller)
• Feb 28 - Piedmont Trail (Duluth):
  Conditions: Good.
  Piedmont is in pretty good shape. The tracks were rock hard and not skied out in any place except on the steepest down hills. I was there at sunset, so things were glazed over. A little multigrade klister thumbed in, covered with hard wax kicked great and didn't wear off to bad.
  (Matthew Ryan)
• Feb 28 - Boulder Lake Management Area Ski Trails (Duluth):
  Conditions: Great!
  The trails look like they have been recently groomed. We headed out to skijor midday and it was an issue of timing. The sunny parts were softened up just right with only a few spots being a bit too slow. Under the trees in a few places it was a bit icy, otherwise a great day of skate skiing with a dog! Classic tracks were in excellent shape too!
  (Eve Stein)
• Feb 28 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Surprisingly good. Appears to have been groomed this past Thursday or Friday. Avoid the hockey rink loop - bare dirt across the width of the trail. All other side loops are in good to great shape. Also, if you can avoid the lowest loop (by the playground), do. It's an icy/dirty mess on the two steep sections.
  If you can catch the trails after the overnight freeze, and before the out-and-out mush from these too-warm days, you are treated to very nice skiing.
  Photos:  
  (Bryan French, Duluth XC Ski Club)
• Feb 28 - Lester Park (Duluth):
  Conditions: Poor.
  Skate lane was hard and icy as of 9:30am. It will probably be slushy later in the day. There may be a small window of OK skiing before it gets slushy. Don't ski the Chalet loop. It should be closed. There was hard ice and then exposed ground on the downhill slope.
  (Nic Bacigalupo)
• Feb 27 - Jay Cooke State Park (Carlton):
  Conditions: Very good.
  We skied the Spruce loop on Saturday, the White Pine loop on Friday. Both trails were groomed recently and snow cover is good. We have only found one patch with grass showing in all of the territory covered in both sections.
  (Jan Hille)
• Feb 27 - Magney-Snively Trail (Duluth):
  Conditions: Very Good.
  Has seen some traffic since last grooming but still in great shape for skating and classic. Southern facing hills starting to get a little soft, but not slushy or mashed potatoes yet.
  (Adam Sundberg)

• Mar 7 - Northwoods Ski Trail (Silver Bay):
  Conditions: Mostly good.
  Skied for first time on Sunday afternoon. Considering the warmth, the trails were quite good. No issue on coverage and still very deep in most places - skis and pole plants starting to fall in a bit as snow got softer. Got slower as the day progressed as would be expected. Overall, very enjoyable.
  (Peter Aggen)
• Mar 7 - Cascade River/Deer Yard Lake (Lutsen):
  Conditions: Warm, Sunny, spring like conditions--a lot of fun!
  We have been enjoying our third week of great sunny springtime conditions! While we would love to have a bit more snow, especially near the lake, the warm temperatures and excellent base the groomers have set up on our inland trails really can't be beat! I have been skiing in a long sleeve shirt and enjoying the bright blue sky, the maples which are beginning to show signs of syrup and the very nice skiing temperatures. A great bit of fun in a very mild winter.
  (Michael O'Phelan, Cascade Lodge)
• Mar 6 - George Crosby-Manitou State Park (Finland):
  Conditions: 22 inches if un-groomed snow still on the ground; This is Bushwacker Territory!
  Heard reports the snow at Crosby was still good for backcountry skiing (or snowshoeing) and it is! Measured the depth several times in our jaunt, minimum found was 15 inches, max was over 22. No grooming, although trails have seen frequent snowshoe use. Park is beautiful, and backcountry skis, like my Bushwackers, work great.
  (Hans Erdman, Backcountry Trail Patrol)
• Mar 6 - Sugarbush Trail System (Tofte):
  Conditions: Powder with some ice.
  The trails were groomed Thursday night, tracks great, skate deck looked in good condition also. I was skiing by 9:00 this morning, had a wonderful time with some VR75 under foot. The snow was starting to soften up by 10:30.
  Photos:  
  (Liz Wagner)
• Mar 6 - Central Gunflint Trail System (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Warm and sunny.
  Trails were rocket fast this morning and then slowed down in the 40 degree sun. Still plenty enough snow for the good skis. Although, wife broke a ski yesterday! Chased daughter all around Flour lake, quite the workout! Going to sit the midday out and let things cool back down and get back out then.
  Photos:  
  (Craig Holgate)
• Mar 5 - Tettegouche State Park (Silver Bay):
  Conditions: Still deep snow in the wooded areas, but conditions by the lake are deteriorating rapidly.
  The snow is melting, causing icy conditions in the mornings. The main ski loop is in fair to good condition (better condition the further you get away from Lake Superior). The Tettegouche Camp road is in fair condition, but tracks are eroding with the melting.
  (Hans Erdman, Backcountry Trail Patrol)
• Mar 5 - Northwoods Ski Trail (Silver Bay):
  Conditions: The melt is on, but still able to enjoy skiing in the Northwoods.
  Don't let the lack of visable snow on Hwy. 61 fool you. There is still snow to be skied in the forests above Lake Superior. Northwoods trails are icy, slushy, and sticky, but the snow is still there for now. Base about 4 inches, with no thin spots seen. Snow in the woods is over 18 inches deep. Ski it while you can!
  (Hans Erdman, Backcountry Trail Patrol)
• Mar 3 - Central Gunflint Trail System (Grand Marais):
  Conditions: Very good.
  We skied the trails on the north side of Golden Eagle. The warm temperatures has produced typical spring skiing with fast tracks in the morning giving way to softer tracks in the afternoon especially in areas exposed to the sun. The classic tracks were in very good shape, and there was enough loose snow to provide full control on down-hills. The classic skier, like us, will appreciate Golden Eagle’s attention to track placement on down hills.
  (Robert Eliason)
• Mar 1 - Cascade River/Deer Yard Lake (Lutsen):
  Conditions: Poor to good.
  Skiied Deeryard Lake loop today. First part in pine trees full of debris and slow. After that it was good with a few small problems with debris.
  (Wayne Nelson)
• Feb 28 - Sugarbush Trail System (Tofte):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skied easy trails, Wood Duck and such to the Bridge run. Little bit of ice with temps in 30's but overall great conditions thanks to groomers.
  (Wayne Nelson)
• Feb 28 - Sugarbush Trail System (Tofte):
  Conditions: Good to Very Good classic tracks. Used the noisy boards on Hogback, Homestead, and Bridge Run. Probably would have needed klister for waxables on this mid-afternoon ski.
  Track appeared to be groomed recently with clean edges. Glazed from warm sun in most places, with some fast runs on hard glaze and a few slow areas where soft glaze caused suction braking. Probably rocket fast earlier in the day.
  (Joel Rosen)
• Feb 28 - Sugarbush Trail System (Tofte):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  The Picnic Loop from the Oberg Mt. parking lot was sublime. Don't let the bare ground by the lake fool you - there's lots of snow in the hills. Grooming was perfect.
  (Adam Himes)

• Mar 9 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: 1-3 inches base, granular. Ski in the morning when it goes from icy to slush. Good conditions on the Bronze, Summit, Gold, Cedar. Bare spots on the Silver, Biwabik Spur, Oslo. Laurentian, Wynne Creek closed for the season.
  Warm sunny conditions are drastically taking down the snowpack, we will have to wait and see what happens after the weather later this week.
  (John Filander)
• Mar 6 - Big Aspen Recreation Area (Virginia):
  Conditions: 9:30 sunny and icy. Some rocks starting to pop up in spots. Stayed to the West and explored a couple other spots down to 27 and up to 26,25,15,19,20 and back.
  Some really fun roller hills and fast. By 11 it was just starting to slow a bit. We managed to stay low to the sun and had a great ski. By 11:30 when we got back to the lot it was sticky near the end. Perfect timing.
  Photos:  
  (Ron Kutsi)
• Mar 5 - Big Aspen Recreation Area (Virginia):
  Conditions: Surprising to see tracks still exist. Though they are getting wider and more shallow.
  We went west to 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 23, 22, 19, 20, and back. Icy to begin with but at 10 AM by 11 it was getting soft fast and getting tough on the hills with icy in the shade and stop you dead in the sun. Temps in the upper 40s this afternoon. Only a couple bare spots in the tracks where we skied. Go early and enjoy.
  Photos:  
  (Ron Kutsi)
• Mar 4 - Carey Lake (Hibbing):
  Conditions: Overall good.
  Bare spots starting to show in a few exposed areas under pines. Overall, most of the trail base is still fully intact. Not having skied here much this year, I was pleasantly surprised to find several new trails added in the southern half of the system, and a reversal of the usual skate- vs. classic-only trail designation.
  (Matt Zak)
• Mar 2 - Carey Lake (Hibbing):
  Conditions: Sunny and 40 degrees. Good to just okay.
  Sunshine and warm weather beginning to take it's toll. Skated Black Forest this afternoon, and many parts of the loop are still in very good condition. However soft areas, and icy spots are becoming more frequent. Rocks, sticks and bare ground beginning to emerge in some spots too. Just about time to relocate the rocks skis... certainly saw signs of the beginning of the end today.
  (Craig Holgate)
• Mar 2 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  4-6 inches of base, Pisten Bully groomed, still hard wax for kick. Perfect early spring skiing conditions -- ski it before its gone!
  (John Filander)
• Feb 28 - Big Aspen Recreation Area (Virginia):
  Conditions: Sunny and quickly warming up. Started at 11 AM and went to the west to avoid debris. Leaves are falling more now. Tracks still hanging on. It wasn't icy and by 1PM it was starting to get sticky in the tracks so I left rather than damage the trails. Lots of wolf activity and scat.
  Saw one deer on the trail running. It's that time of year now. 12 vehicles in the lot when I left. Good to see it being used.
  Photos:  
  (Ron Kutsi)
• Feb 28 - Carey Lake (Hibbing):
  Conditions: Sunny 36 degrees.
  Trails surviving the heat nicely. Only a few soft spots, otherwise in great shape. Only exception is about 4 bare spots in some of the tracks. Skied the Black Forest and Southern Lights; a wonderful afternoon to be out.
  (Craig Holgate)
• Feb 27 - Big Aspen Recreation Area (Virginia):
  Conditions: At 11 am solid mostly very good tracks, some debris. Softening up a little at 2 pm. But still a very enjoyable day of skiing. I used Swix CH8 for glide but it didn't give me any advantage over my buddy with a blue wax.
  We didn't see anyone on the west trails but several friendly ones on our return up the east side. Lots of cars in the lot and more skiers going out on the trails at 4 pm. Still a very viable trail to enjoy. Get out while it's there!
  Photos:  
  (Ron Kutsi)
• Feb 27 - Trout Lake Recreation Area (Grand Rapids):
  Conditions: Excellent conditions. Sunny and 34 degrees.
  This trail should be on everyone's to do list. Trails in great shape, groomer out working somewhere today. We had double track on the way in and single on the way out. But never saw nor heard him. Always great to explore the buildings of the Joyce Estate, very cool. Took time to explore and sip some wine in the sunshine.
  Photos:  
  (Craig Holgate)
• Feb 27 - Giants Ridge (Biwabik):
  Conditions: Outstanding conditions, new solid tracks, warm and fast!
  A great day to be out skiing. The classical tracks have not been better.
  (Perry Yoder)

• Mar 7 - Bear Head Lake State Park (Ely):
  Conditions: Slush to sublime, melting pretty fast.
  The lake has had a huge amount of snowmobile and ATV traffic and is pretty useless for crust skiing, much worse than previous years. Trails have not been groomed for some time, but have reasonable snow cover. The Blueberry Lake loop had not seen any recent traffic other than a moose. If you can tolerate the occasional sketchy bit or detour around rocks, the trails should be OK.
  (David Zarkower)
• Mar 1 - Aurora Recreation Trails (Aurora):
  Good skiing in the morning, tracks are wearing down from the lack of new snow and it's icy in the open areas, but still an enjoyable ski.
  (George Bekkala)
• Feb 28 - Flathorn-Gegoka Trails (Isabella):
  Conditions: Good.
  Still plenty of snow coverage. A little icy and rough in spots on the narrower wooded trails but the main trail was perfect. Spring skiing doesn't get better then it was this last weekend. Stayed at National Forest Lodge, so skiing out our cabin door we were able to enjoy a fullmoon ski and a another ski at sunrise both on the lake, then hit the trail system during the day. The sauna by the lake and outdoor hot tub topped it off. If you haven't classic skiied this trail and you like peaceful beautiful forests with lots of big white pines this is a must do.
  (Kristi Lee)

• Mar 4 - Tilson Creek Ski Trail (International Falls):
  Conditions: Sunny and 19 degrees at 10:15am -- woods were still, other than the spring calls of the chickadees.
  Beautiful day at Tilson! Trail is in great shape thanks to some timely recent grooming--and has held up quite well despite the "heat" & bright sunshine of recent days. Only a few icy spots under the cedar trees (why, always under the cedars??) and on some of the south facing slopes. Firm deck + fast skis = big smiley!
  (Teresa Stone)
• Mar 2 - Tilson Creek Ski Trail (International Falls):
  Conditions: 38 above, sunny.
  Perfect March skiing! Trail groomed Friday and again this morning, leaving a firm skate lane throughout. I skied at about 2 PM this afternoon and the trail was fine, if a bit slow with left over blue wax. Base is packed so that the warm temps do not yet soften the trail except for a few south-facing spots on the red trail.
  (Burgess Eberhardt)

Minnesota Northwest

• Mar 6 - Lake Bemidji State Park (Bemidji):
  Overcast 38 degree. All trails remain skiable and are best suited for waxless skis. The mild weather is taking its toll on overall conditions. Trails are fast and icy in many spots.
  (John Fylpaa)
• Mar 3 - Lake Bemidji State Park (Bemidji):
  Sunny, calm, 33 degrees. Great spring skiing for waxless skis. Trails are holding their track through out the system. You will find all conditions on a day like to day but still fun.
  (John Fylpaa)
• Mar 1 - Buena Vista Ski Trail (Bemidji):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Despite the warm weather the west side has held up exceptionally well, and it looked to have been rolled recently. The trail is packed, the tracks are still set, and it looks to be skiable for the foreseeable future. Get out while you can.
  (Michael Meehlhause, Minnesota Finlandia)

• Mar 8 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: 100% corn. Base of 3-6". Soft and slow spring skiing. Grooming last night on three classic trails and Skaters Waltz. Mid 30's. No freeze down since Friday night.
  Early morning Jake and I skied with Jack Hinkens on Skaters Waltz. Grooming last night compacted the snow making for a pretty decent ski surface but lack of freezing temps made for bit slower going. Beautiful morning ski though. Trails are holding out fine today with best skiing on trails that have been groomed daily the last 5 days. Grooming on hold until cooler weather forecasted. Skiing on the weekend looks likely but depends on forecasted rain. Thanks to everyone who came to the Lotvola Cup event. It was one of the more exciting races at the front with a group of up to 14 skiers battling position throughout the entire race until the end including a near ski into the open water on Bullhead lake!! Soft and slow conditions made it difficult for any skier to get away and the challenging snow caused skiers to auger, lose skis, etc. We have left the rope at the lake crossing on Bullhead lake until we close the trails.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Mar 6 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Plenty of snow, light rain.
  Skied late afternoon, under a light drizzle. Trails were holding up surprisingly well with firm conditions. The damp conditions made the snow a little slow, but otherwise the trails were in excellent shape. Really a lot of snow still, no thin spots (and nothing looking even remotely close to thin). Hoping for cooler, drier weather on Sunday for the Lotvola Cup.
  Photos:  
  (Bruce Adelsman)
• Mar 6 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Fantastic spring skiing!
  All trails well groomed, 100% coverage, fast in the morning and slower as the day goes on. Come up for the Lotvola Cup 12K tour Sunday!
  (Kevin Gregerson)
• Mar 5 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Variable Trail Surface conditions; currently 28*F above and cloudy; courses for upcoming Rendezvous Race groomed late last night; 5 to 7 inch base throughout; base temp at -2.7*C; best ski snow conditions.
  The last couple of mild temp days have put us more into spring time conditions. As I was grooming last night I found that renovated surface on trail segments exposed to the sun through out the day were definitely granular with some small ice chucks prevailing on the surface however for the most part trails protected at all by forest groomed up like mid season form. Our weather forecast for Saturday is for a high of 35*F, cloudy skis, and a 20% chance of snow.
  (Doug Schumann, Rainbow Resort)
• Mar 4 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Beautiful Springlike skiing today. Trails fast this morning than softening up with sun and warmer temps. Fresh groomed last night included Rootin Tootin, Roy’s Run and Island Lake. Grooming this morning on Mother Hen and JibFly. Trails groomed this morning getting soft and slow around noon but other trails holding firm and getting soft later. Few trails have icy sections and caution must be used on downhills. However, the snow is holding out nicely and good skiing depending on timing and right waxing/ski selection. We will be grooming again this evening on North Loup, Wavy Gravy, Mother North Star and the skating trails and touching up inner trails as well.
  The two days previous not as warm as forecasted with cloudy conditions keeping snow damage to a minimum.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Mar 4 - Five Lakes Nordic (Frazee):
  Conditions: Sunny, 27 degrees, no wind, solid base with well defined corduroy.
  Skated out to the Power Line and was expecting a glazed course due to recent high temps. Was pleasantly surprised to find the course has been recently scratched with knives but not too deep to make the trail sugar snow soft. Course had great definition with very good control. Skied the entire Power Line and into the North Field. The pines, snow cover, wind protection and trail grooming was outstanding in North Field especially up the middle with the rolling hills. Skied down into the Hidden Meadow, down the Wall and back by the cabins. Should be a great weekend of skiing. Thank you.
  (Jason Sannes-Venhuizen)
• Mar 2 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Very Good; Blue Skis; 32*F above; 3/4” snow cover on trails from the past week; average compact base 5 to 7 inches; base temperature -7.3*C; renovating on trails for upcoming Rainbow Rendezvous began today; Lost Bobcat, Hawks Trail, Hawks Run, and Cougars run renovated and track set; overall ski conditions rated for best skis.
  We have seen some of that tree effect warm up during the past few days with temps hitting the mid 30s above and causing some melting on exposed trail sections. The cold overnight lows however, below 0*F to 10*F above, have really helped preserve the trail conditions. Plans are to continue grooming and course prep for the remainder of the week.
  Photos:  
  (Doug Schumann, Rainbow Resort)
• Mar 1 - Mountain View Recreation Area (Detroit Lakes):
  Conditions: Skate at 5:20pm. Top crusty with a few soft spots during the cool down of the day on a fairly hard deck. Fast!
  A fast loop just before sunset. Deer tracked, and footprints and seeing some skate action earlier in the day. Set track shallow but holding up. Could use a freshening up in the groom dept but overall holding up well. Beautiful spring like conditions, good to get out!
  (Tony Schmitz)
• Feb 28 - Maplelag Resort (Callaway):
  Conditions: Excellent. Easing in to Springlike. Beautiful moonlight skiing tonight.
  A fantastic weekend of skiing. As we gently move to Springlike conditions, grooming taking place in the evening to allow the tracks and structure on the skate lanes to set up proper and hold longer during the day. Despite the warmer temps today, the low humidity and dewpoints keeping the slushiness factor very low with only direct southern exposed areas getting soft and glazing late. Early morning ski on skate trails found fast, firm and perfect edging. Beautiful moonlight ski tonight pretty much same conditions and tracks we checked out were holding up great and not icylike as expected, again, few direct southern exposed areas. We have also started working on the jib park and things are taking shape.
  Photos:  
  (Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)
• Feb 28 - Rainbow Resort Trails (Waubun):
  Conditions: Great spring conditions, fast and firm in the morning, sloppy and slow in the afternoon.
  Still plenty of snow. A lovely trail system and abs-busting hills proving I was not really ready for this years Birkie!
  Photos:  
  (Jim Farrell)
• Feb 27 - Five Lakes Nordic (Frazee):
  Conditions: Excellent snow cover, mostly skate but classic tracks throughout.
  Feels like spring skiing! Warm temperatures and excellent trail conditions made for perfect skiing Saturday!
  Photos:  
  (Lisa Kaldahl)

• Mar 4 - Soaring Eagle Trail (Park Rapids):
  Conditions: Good spring conditions, with 4-6" base on all but a few tiny spots that are thinning. Grooming from last week is still holding up nicely.
  Beautiful spring skiing, best timed when temp is climbing above 32 or just dropping down. I skied Eagle trail today, most of it looks clean, and was great skating late afternoon. Classic skiers would need waxless or klister. There are the usual few spots catching some heavy sun, notably the sw part of Eagle.
  (Deane Johnson)
• Feb 28 - Soaring Eagle Trail (Park Rapids):
  Conditions: Good, with 4 - 6" base, no new snow since Feb 24.
  Spring conditions have arrived, with a high of 40 today -- yellow bubble gum on the classic skis. So the trails are glazed in the sun and under conifers. There will be a few icy downhills in these areas (esp. SW part of Eagle), turning to soft slow spots as the sun warms in the afternoon. The trails still look generally good, and very skiable, though, so come out and enjoy the sunshine!
  (Deane Johnson)

Minnesota Central

• Feb 27 - Mille Lacs Kathio State Park (Onamia):
  Conditions: Fair to poor.
  We skied Kathio in late afternoon on Saturday. The trail is mostly in fair to poor condition, due to crumbling edges, deep tracks and a railroad track-sheen. The expert loop (the second one) we took was borderline: treacherous due to a fast track with bottom-of-the-hill squiggles, deteriorating edges, and unfilled crevasse where earlier skiers abruptly sat down or crashed. To be fair, the late afternoon shadows made seeing difficult, but most skiers would be advised to avoid the expert loops until further tracking/snow occurs. Despite thirty plus temperatures, special blue wax worked well.
  (Gary Erickson)

• Mar 5 - Graystone Trails (Saint Cloud):
  Conditions: Freestyle groomed Friday night, mostly still very good coverage.
  We made 2 passes of the skate lanes to smooth them out and the snow is holding up really well. A few puddles on orchard, and 1 bare spot on the hilltop on the last turn by the pisten bully barn but other than that good March skiing. Recommend using A skis on North Loop and B or C skis on the rest but in reality its just a bit of dirty snow. Classical not reworked and is fair with intermittent good to poor tracks.
  (Kris Anderson)
• Mar 3 - Graystone Trails (Saint Cloud):
  Conditions: Firmly packed, glazed in some spots, but good coverage.
  I skied 3 times around Orchard loop, and it was nice except for a couple of patches that had melted and frozen into ridges. Still great skiing considering the warm weather!
  (Rachel Willis)
• Mar 3 - Graystone Trails (Saint Cloud):
  Conditions: Hilltop, Warm-up Loop Closed Wed March 3 and Wed Mar 10 as the rifle range is in use.
  North loop in good shape, some ruts, but great to be out in March.
  (Bruce Busta)
• Feb 28 - Graystone Trails (Saint Cloud):
  Conditions: Great shape.
  Baltos, Warm-up, Orchard and Hilltop in good shape on Sunday.
  (Bruce Busta)

• Feb 28 - Spidahl Ski Gaard (Fergus Falls):
  Conditions: Warm, clear blue sky.
  These trails are in near perfect condition. Everyone was freshly groomed, the classical tracks were perfectly set. The skating lanes were smooth, wide, and there was plenty of base. Bob the dog followed us for a while, waiting at the top of the hills.
  (Craig Molstad)
• Feb 27 - Andes Tower Hill Ski Area (Kensington):
  Conditions: OK skiing, but really needs grooming!
  Been skiing here for the last few days, and with each visit I hoped that the groomer had been out on the trails. The skating lane has needed grooming for over a week, and as of 1:00 still nothing, despite a rumor that they were going to do something today. Higher temperatures meant high water content, and thus a tad slow. Classical tracks are ok, but getting shallower with melt and compaction. Still quite ski-able but could be much better.
  (Keith Brugger)

• Feb 28 - Banning State Park (Sandstone):
  Conditions: Good.
  Skied the Cartway and Cabbage trails and they were fine. Some debris under pines but not too often.
  (Wayne Nelson)
• Feb 28 - Vasaloppet Public Ski Area (Warman):
  Could it be any better? Wonderful trails, great snow, deep blue sky, suberb grooming and Mora hospitality. And, of course the best little race in Minnesota - the Beaver Dam Classic.
  (Michael Sweet)
• Feb 27 - Vasaloppet Public Ski Area (Warman):
  Conditions: Absolutely wonderful, the best they have been in years!
  Saturday morning I found the Memorial Trail, the Lantern Loop and the Beaver Dam Trail in superb Skiing Condition. They had all been groomed on Friday Night with a skate lane and classic track set on the Memorial and Lantern loops. The Beaver Dam Trail has two classic tracks set in preparation for the Beaver Dam Classic Race set to take place on Sunday the 28th at 1:00. Happy Trails.
  Photos:  
  (Jon Larson)

• Mar 7 - Wild River State Park (Center City):
  Conditions: At the right time, still good spring skiing on Sunrise end.
  Still good coverage except for one gap in the first open area beyond the bridge. Much softer today than yesterday. If it gets below freezing tonight there should still be a window tomorrow-11:00 to 1:00 has been the best skiing.
  (Mike Chrun)
• Mar 6 - Wild River State Park (Center City):
  Conditions: Overall pretty good.
  Skated Pioneer Loop: only a couple of thin spots. Moved on to the advanced loop. Take your skis off at the bench on top of the hill once you get into the open near the Breezy Valley backpack camping spot: major bare spots on the downhill, and you can't see them until it's almost tool late. Also had to "skortage" up the hill to the Aspen Knob backpack site. A fine March afternoon!
  (Bryan Lueth)
• Mar 5 - Sibley State Park (New London):
  Conditions: Very good for skate. Looked good on the classic trails.
  The skate trails had all been recently groomed...think crumbles, not corduroy, and were soft enough on top to easily go through that, while very firm underneath with no icy spots. There was excellent coverage throughout, and the skating was great. It looks like the classic tracks were groomed in some places, not everywhere. I'd guess your best bet will be waxless with these temps. The coverage looked good in all the spots I checked out.
  (Margie Rock)
• Mar 4 - Wild River State Park (Center City):
  Conditions: Good to Fair. We still have a good base on wooded trails with a few open patches out in the prairie. Tracks are firm and icy in the morning but soften up for good skiing in the afternoon. Groomed Amador prairie and advanced ski loops for skate. Coverage is good except in a few spots on west side of prairie and on one south facing up hill stretch on the advanced ski trails.
  Will Be grooming the Pioneer Loop flat for skaters Early friday Morning
  Might be the last week end of the season so come on out.
  Remember, ski trail passes are required. Daily ski passes are sold at the park.
  (Shawn Donais)
• Mar 1 - Wild River State Park (Center City):
  Conditions: Skiing Deer Creek Loop under a full moon on waxless skiis was phenomenal. Absolutely gorgeous. The advanced Breezy Valley had bare spots on hills facing the sun. Pioneer Trail had beautiful scenery, but the trail had been damaged by sun and hikers.
  If skiing out the door is too far away from the trail, I left a solo quinzhee at the Spring Creek camp site (pictured). It was such a beautiful night I slept with my head out. Take a shovel to hollow a bit more if you want to be inside.
  Photos:  
  (Lee Wenzel)
• Mar 1 - Wild River State Park (Center City):
  Conditions: Overall good.
  It's been a while since the last grooming, but waxless skis really worked well today. Started late morning when the snow was just starting to soften. By 2:00 there were some real soft spots in the open although the trails in the woods were still very good. There is bare ground showing by the boat landing and the creek just south of it, but still good cover.
  (Mike Chrun)

Minnesota Southern

• Mar 8 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Conditions: Fair.
  Base on main trails is still quite deep. Surface Monday morning was soft, with occasional icy spots or debris and only very rare thin spots. Overall fair skiing conditions. First section of Rattlesnake is poor; access Rattlesnake from the Orchard cut-off, and the rest is fine. Classic tracks remain on most trails. Spur from upper parking lot to bridge getting icy, but then trails are actually pretty fair.
  (Tom Stoa)
• Mar 6 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Groomed skate trails except upper trails around ball fields on Saturday morning.
  (John Keane)
• Mar 5 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Conditions: Very soft, no bare spots.
  Mid-afternoon the tracks and trail was very soft. Since there were no skiers, I reset all classic tracks. The tracks should be excellent Saturday morning. We are planning to groom the skate lanes between 8-9AM on Saturday morning. Skiing will be fast but outstanding...don't miss it.
  (Bruce Johnson)
• Mar 5 - Great River Bluffs State Park (Winona):
  Conditions: Very good spring conditions.
  Trails were groomed Wednesday. Solid base with virtually no thin spots, hard ice or debris. Very good spring conditions (somewhat icy in the early morning, very soft in late afternoon, with a few hours just perfect in between.) Classic only.
  (Tom Stoa)
• Mar 4 - Saint Mary's University (Winona):
  Conditions: Good base, no bare spots or solid ice.
  I groomed all trails this morning. I am able to scratch out old ski marks and get a fair amount of loose snow on a very hard base. The classic track is very hard and about week old, but skiable. The skate lanes are is very good condition despite the warm up. The best time to ski is mid-afternoon when the snow has softened.
  (Bruce Johnson)
• Mar 1 - Mississippi National Ski Trails (Red Wing):
  Conditions: Still good, but . . .
  On the upper part of the Golf Course, a paved golf cart trail has been plowed across the tracks at one point near the clubhouse, and it looks like the tractor that plowed the path came back down and drove on the skating lane, ruining it. The lower part of the golf course is still fine with good coverage, but with some debris on the trail.
  (Donald Mitchell)

• Mar 6 - Cannon Valley Trail (Welch):
  Conditions: Predictably wet and slow. 37 degrees and sunny. Trail groomed for skating - which I did - with skier-laid track for classic, which washed out in sunnier areas. Used Fastwax Yellow LF.
  Decided to to complete the Cannon Falls to Welch circuit I started yesterday before the rain. The trail is less shaded here then the other end coming out of Cannon Falls so that seemed to slow things considerably. But still some really pretty sections right along the river. I did 10 miles in I think about an hour and 40 minutes but it was a real struggle for much of the trip. I met three classic skiers close to Welch and one trail runner.
  (Keith Carlson)
• Mar 5 - Cannon Valley Trail (Cannon Falls):
  Conditions: Excellent for this time of year. 42 degrees and sunny. Trail appeared to be groomed for skating - which I did - with skier-laid track for classic. Some walker damage within first mile of ball park trail access. And soft/slightly rutted around 3 mile marker. Used Fastwax Yellow LF.
  There's still great skiing out there. Nearly three months into the season, I'm wondering after today's ski what's going to give out first - the snow or my knees. I'm going to have to ice them tonight. But it was worth it. There's a great base here and practically nobody skates it. Mine were the only tracks after the 3.5 mile mark. The scenery and peace and quiet is great and with the Fastwax Yellow LF I moved surprisngly well. I did 5.5 to 6.5 miles in an hour and 20 minutes with 2 stops for pics and 3 to answer work-related phone calls. (Bluffs didn't quite block out these little summons "back to reality.") Things were so nice I didn't even mind the face-plant when I caught a tip in the soft snow on the edge of the trail. Great afternoon.
  Photos:  
  (Keith Carlson)

Wisconsin Northwest

• Mar 8 - Telemark Resort Trails (Cable):
  Conditions: Very good/excellent.
  Plenty of snow in woods, groomed Sunday night. Birkie loops in great shape for skate and classic.
  (Larry Myhra)
• Mar 7 - Telemark Resort Trails (Cable):
  Conditions: Lots of snow beautifully groomed.
  Perfect klister skiing Sunday on the North End single track trail and skate skiing Monday on Telemark & Kortie trails.
  (Tom Dunaway)
• Mar 7 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Very good. Skied from the Brook past Hatchery to Hwy 77. The only places showing deterioration was a couple of places under some heavily pined areas.
  Fabulous day for some spring skiing.
  (Marian Hedman)
• Mar 6 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: 46F and fabulous at 2:00PM! Lavishly covered and recently groomed from the North End to Lindskoog.
  Seems everyone's 'skied out' for some of the best skiing of the year! The trail's never been better and it's impossible to imagine 8000 skiers on this trail just last weekend. I left the 6th pair of tracks and saw just 5 other skiers in 90 minutes of blissful sunshine! Shadows were cold, frozen and crusty, while the sun exposed areas were soft and slow (pink fastwax). No need for rock skis here!
  Photos:  
  (Randy Zarecki)
• Mar 6 - Heartwood Ski Trails (Trego):
  Conditions: Fair to good skate.
  Still holding up for skating but deteriorating fast. Classic tracks nearly gone.
  (Dave McAlpine)
• Mar 4 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Excellent spring skiing!
  Skate skied from the Powerline to 9K and back on the Birkie and Korte trails after work. The Birkie trail was groomed and track set last night. The skiing was great. Easy to get an edge and fast. The tracks are glazed and very firm. Korte trail did not appear to have been groomed since the Birkie, but was easy to skate and the tracks looked good. I had wondered what the trail would be like after the warm weather this week. I found that the race could easily be held this weekend as conditions should remain excellent. The Birkie Trail has been groomed and track set from the Powerline to Mosquito Brook. The Classic Trail has been groomed and a track set from OO north to Boedecker. The Classic trail is fine except some of the downhill corners are still washed out, but the trail should still be fun for striding. The trail will again be groomed Saturday night.
  (Ned Zuelsdorff, American Birkebeiner)
• Mar 3 - Flambeau Hills Ski Trail (Winter):
  Conditions: Good as it gets! Fast but not icy, no bare spots and little debris.
  Great skiing this morning. Trail was in great shape and still holding up nicely when I had to leave at 11:30. Thanks again to the DNR for maintaining this trail so nicely!
  (Wendy Rebne)
• Mar 2 - Flambeau Hills Ski Trail (Winter):
  Conditions: Skate trail is in very good to excellent condition. Classic track is good to very good condition.
  Trail was groomed and tracked today. Classic track will become icy with thawing/freezing conditions. Best skiing before noon.
  (David Schultz)
• Feb 28 - Mukwonago Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent throughout!
  Not quite as good shape as existed day after the Pre-Birkie but darn close. Classic track was still very fun and holding up well; a little icy in a few spots. Skating looked really fine yet too. Forest Service does a nice job maintaining these fun trails.
  (Jim Bolton)
• Feb 28 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Packed and tracked powder. 27F Lots of smiling skiers.
  At 5:00pm after the Birkie the PB rolled out of OO re-grooming a trail that was in pretty good shape. The tracks were still 90% perfect! Today the trail was well used and even faster than yesterday. What a great job the ABSF did on this weekend.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Ernst)
• Feb 27 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Wow.
  Not much to say other than the fact that the Birkie Trail was in terrific shape; fast (course record), firm and gorgeous. Kudos to everyone involved in the trail and the race. I'm sure some of the hills are trashed, and I'm just as sure the Birkie Trail folks will be out to rectify that and return everything to superb shape.
  (Ari Ofsevit)
• Feb 27 - Birkie Trail (Hayward):
  Conditions: Beautiful.
  Classic tracks hard packed but not icy through the first wave.
  (Sue Palmatier)

• Mar 6 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Excellent! Tons of snow!
  The groomers and race organizers did an excellent job of getting the course ready for the race today! The skate and classic were both in excellent shape. During the race portions in the sun warmed up and got soft and "stoppy" and those under the trees stayed nice and fast. Its most definitely worth the drive from anywhere to ski at After Hours!
  (Eve Stein)
• Mar 5 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  The Riverview Loppet will be going on at the Afterhours Trails on Saturday morning beginning at 10:00 a.m. The trails are to be groomed later this afternoon.
  (Catherine Khalar, Wisconsin DNR)
• Mar 5 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Trail is in very good condition and the DNR has been grooming in the early morning hours to prepare for the River View Loppet race, which is tomorrow (Sat) morning. It is expected to be 20 degrees at 6am and 27 degrees at 9am. At noon, 40 degrees and party cloudy. Race starts at 10am. Snow has been running colder than you might think, so it will be fast and fun!
  (Borg Isaksen)
• Mar 3 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Very good.
  The skate deck is fast and has good coverage. Doesn't really seem to be getting slushy.
  (Borg Isaksen)
• Mar 3 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  Skated around the outer loops twice this morning, and the trail is in fantastic shape. The state forest crew was just finishing their grooming which began at 4 am this morning. The trails are free of debris and appear to have a solid base. The sun drenched areas were getting sticky.
  (Joe Menkol)
• Mar 3 - After Hours Ski Trail (Brule):
  Conditions: Very good to excellent.
  The trails for the River View Loppet were reworked early this morning. The trails are looking good with a 12 inch base.
  Keep in mind that there are a couple of snowshoe trails out at the Afterhours now (.8 mile and 2.2 mile trails). Trail maps are in the warming house.
  (Catherine Khalar, Wisconsin DNR)
• Mar 1 - Superior Municipal Forest (Superior):
  Conditions: Beautiful!
  Freshly groomed when we arrived at 1pm. Temps just above freezing. A few softer places but plenty of coverage on the trails we skated (green, some of the yellow).
  (Jane Worley)
• Feb 27 - Superior Municipal Forest (Superior):
  Conditions: Warm, sunny day. Bluebird sky. Skied the red, green, blue, yellow and purple trails.
  Trails recently groomed and in excellent shape for skating or classic, although there are a few slushy spots and a few bare spots under some big pine trees on the red loop. However, mostly wonderful skiing.
  (Mike Cochran)

• Mar 8 - Montreal Trails (Montreal):
  Currently with temps in the 50s during the day, the track is melting. There is snow on the trail, it is icy in the mornings because temps are colders at night. Please use caution while out there.
  (Jessica Bolich)
• Mar 5 - Montreal Trails (Montreal):
  Montreal Trails have been groomed weekly all season. Reported to be in good condition. Enjoy the weekend.
  (Jessica Bolich)
• Mar 2 - Mt. Ashwabay Ski Trails (Bayfield):
  Conditions: Good to very good.
  Doc regroomed the Sugarbush classic trail to the tin shed this morning. I regroomed the skate lanes of Seagull, Anchor, Rollercoaster, and Telford loop.
  (Scott Nesvold)
• Mar 2 - Montreal Trails (Montreal):
  Trails are reported to be in good condition and have been groomed weekly. Temperatures are warming up but holding steady at night nice and cold.
  (Jessica Bolich)
• Mar 1 - Mt. Ashwabay Ski Trails (Bayfield):
  Conditions: Good to very good.
  Paul L and I went out tonight and regroomed the Jolly connector to the trailhead, including Meadow Loop and Upper Birch. Of course along the way we regroomed Sugarbush skate trail.
  (Scott Nesvold)
• Mar 1 - Montreal Trails (Montreal):
  Conditions are reported to be Very Good. Trails are groomed. Snow depth is 21 inches, 167 inches of snow to date.
  (Jessica Bolich)

• Mar 6 - Balsam Branch Trails (Amery):
  Conditions: Pretty darn good.
  I skied the classic track and it was fun spring skiing. I started about noon and things were just losing their glaze. A couple of thin spots but no problems avoiding the grass. I was clocked on my nose as I was not paying attn to the trail- I was watching my skis and whacko! A small tree had fallen and it was leaning over the trail about 5 feet up. Made for a quick wake up call.
  (Dan Murphy)
• Mar 5 - Balsam Branch Trails (Amery):
  Conditions: Spring skiing.
  The trails are good until you come to the segments that have been driven on by an ATV. The syrup makers are putting out pails along the trail. Even on the ATV rutted trail, I managed to stay upright. Skied this afternoon around 4PM. The trails are soft, but no bare spots and the track remains intact. If conditions get worse, there are always the new snowshoe trails to hike.
  (Michelle Stone)
• Mar 3 - Rice Lake Nordic Association Trails (Rice Lake):
  Conditions: Melting down, but 100% snow covered and skiable. Classic tracks were mostly washed out.
  I skied around the trails once classic and once skating. The trails are all in an open field without shade, so the sun is hurting more than a wooded trail. About 3K of beginner level trails in the city of Rice Lake.
  (Louis Muench)
• Mar 2 - Timberland Hills (Cumberland):
  Conditions: Good spring conditions.
  Trails were last groomed on Monday. The sun is having an effect, especially on south-facing hills, but there is a lot of snow left. Enjoy the snow while it lasts!
  (Louis Muench)
• Mar 2 - Blue Hills Trail (Bruce):
  Morning touch-up grooming removed many chevrons and created great skating on 1/4-1/2-inch of creamy corn-snow corduroy. Temps started in the low teens and rose quickly under clear blue skies. Any icy areas began yielding to ski edges by 9:30. Areas with fresh corduroy offered fast, controllable, nearly effortless skating. Sunny areas started to become a little sticky about 10:15, while shaded trails remained blazing fast in the late morning as air temps climbed above freezing. The classic track was set about 2 weeks ago, and has held up quite well - but expect the track to be glazed each morning before snow temps rise above freezing.
  (Joshua Paulsen)

• Mar 6 - Tower Ridge Ski Area (Eau Claire):
  Conditions: Good remaining snow cover.
  If you time it right there is very good skiing still to be had. Snow cover is good with only widely scattered bare spots and slush ice. Trails are holding up well under the warm temperatures.
  (Bob Schwartz)
• Feb 28 - Hickory Ridge Trail (Bloomer):
  Conditions: Skating: fair to very good.
  Those sun drenched spots in Libby's report from yesterday are starting to be glazed, especially on south and west facing slopes. The remainder still has some of that good snow cover remaining. The Tram Lake Loop is still in very good shape.
  Photos:  
  (Christian Franken)
• Feb 28 - Hickory Ridge Trail (Bloomer):
  Conditions: Fast, icy, but fun! Yesterday's warmer temps made the glide easy for the classic trails.
  Came from Southern Minnesota and skied Flambeau Hills on Thursday, Timm's Hill on Friday, Blue Ridge on Saturday and today the Hickory. Fifty miles of fabulous trails. Thanks to all the great clubs that maintain these trails. Hopefully next winter will treat us with lots of snow again!
  (Dianne Smasal)
• Feb 27 - Hickory Ridge Trail (Bloomer):
  Conditions: Good to very good. Plenty of snow.
  On Friday there had been 1/2-1" of new snow on the trail which made for really excellent classic skiing. This morning there was a little of that good snow left in the tracks, with some hard pack showing through in spots. Started our ski at 10:00 which was about an hour too late. The sun came out and the temps started to climb and the last 3K were a little difficult only because of the temperature -- combination of slippery tracks and soft, sticky skate lane whenever the sun was hitting the snow. Could be good again tomorrow morning before it warms up.
  (Libby Stupak)

• Mar 7 - Camp Forest Springs (Westboro):
  Conditions: Very good in the morning; becoming too soft and slow in the afternoon. Tracks becoming indistinct and soft in the sunny areas, glazed over in shady areas.
  I think we're done grooming for the season. Probably done skiing here except for crust skiing in the surrounding fields!
  (Scott Everson)
• Mar 2 - Camp Forest Springs (Westboro):
  Excellent! I skied Tuesday afternoon and the (skate) skiing was fast but very much under control. Beautiful day; can't ask for more!
  (Scott Everson)
• Mar 1 - Camp Forest Springs (Westboro):
  Tracks are still good, skate lanes very good to excellent. We still have a 6-10" packed base that is holding up well but perhaps not for long!
  (Scott Everson)

• Mar 6 - Troll Hollow (Dresser):
  Conditions: Holding up nicely.
  Although I could have found some skiing closer to home, I feel somewhat obligated to get out to Troll Hollow because they always make an effort to provide skiing when others can't. The conditions were fast and firm. I was the only cross country skier on the trails. The atmosphere is always great at Trollhaugen. Lots of boarders performing tricks; and lots of little kids taking lessons while out on skis for the first time. And then there's Rollie! Great fun!
  (Mike Jorgensen)
• Mar 5 - Willow River State Park (Hudson):
  Conditions: Surprisingly good and clean skate track. Some easily avoidable burn-throughs in the classic track.
  Went out for an early lunch ski around 11:15 (air temp around 36F) and found that the crust had nicely thawed on the skate track. The snow started to soften and slow by the time I stopped an hour later. I didn't ski all of the trails but talked with someone who had skied the parts that I hadn't and he reported the same conditions.
  (Burt Levy)
• Mar 4 - Willow River State Park (Hudson):
  Conditions: Campground loop had a little debris, otherwise in pretty good shape.
  I went around 4pm today. Best time to go. The snow starts to harden up and there is just enough grip and glide. It was great!
  (Ginny Ballantine)
• Mar 3 - Willow River State Park (Hudson):
  Conditions: Well skied-in since last grooming of skate lane only on Saturday night. Good, firm and fast skating conditions this morning, with just a hint of iciness when I finished at 11:00 AM and temperature had risen to 31 degrees. Still a good snow pack which I guess will last until the weekend, i.e. no bare spots observed on the Purple, Green, Blue and Grey trails. (I did not ski any of the trails at higher elevation.).
  Classic track is still passable though getting rather wide and shallow, with occasional patches of dirt showing through, especially on the Purple trail. Also note the road down to the Nature Center is getting a bit slippery but has been sanded.
  (Wayne Federer)
• Mar 1 - Troll Hollow (Dresser):
  Conditions: Great snow and nicely groomed lots of base (3 foot in most places) to last through the warm weather.
  I skied tracks with some kick wax and it was very nice.
  (Rollie Westman)
• Feb 27 - Willow River State Park (Hudson):
  Conditions: Spring skiing; fast and icy early softening as the day warms up.
  All of the skate lanes were groomed with the Ginzu Saturday night and are holding up well. The classic track can't be reset until there is more snow. It varies from good to poor with hard ice early in the day giving way to soft wet snow later, especially in the sunny spots; a kick waxing nightmare. There are a few patches of grass starting to appear.
  (David Thofern)

Wisconsin Northeast

• Mar 7 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Day after the races and still plenty of snow. Some regrooming and all in great shape for both classic and skating.
  Even late in the day (when the chalet thermometer read a sunny 55 degrees) the trails in the woods were firm and fairly fast. Of course, those on the treeless sunny trails were wet and slower. There was full coverage except very, very few tiny melted spots you could easily step around.
  (Don Fariss)
• Mar 6 - Northwood Golf Course (Rhinelander):
  Conditions: Very nice spring skiing for skate. Old glazed track.
  Groomed this morning and plan is to groom again on Sunday morning. Excellent spring skiing for skate. Softened up by about 11:00.
  (Ruth Jaeger)
• Mar 6 - Anvil National Recreation Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Very nice.
  Skied the Butternut, Nine Mile, Lake Loop, and Devils Run at the peak of the heat of the day at 2 PM and the trail was holding up well. Some grooming had been done last week and the tracks were firm and not sticky.
  (Dan Hinch)
• Mar 4 - Washburn Lake Ski Trails (Woodboro):
  Conditions: Great!
  Hard and fast for skating, a few patches of icy snow from the melt yesterday. Groomed Wednesday. Lots of snow left up north.
  (Judy Archibald)
• Mar 3 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Excellent! Snow depth 20".
  Snowboarding Olympian Nick Baumgartner stopped in today. Yeah snowboarders like skinny skis too. Also a picture of a Bobcat track on the trail is included. Trails have been groomed 64 times this season. Cabin rentals have been great this year. My obsessive and unmatched grooming has made me miss every snowboarding event my sons have entered so far this season. Russia 2014! Our last day we will be open this season will be Mar 6th. Now I can be father again. Thanks for skiing Afterglow.
  Photos:  
  (Pete Moline, Afterglow Lake Resort)
• Mar 3 - Three Eagle Trail (Eagle River):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Fabulous spring skiing! The primarily east-west alignment through dense forest has sustained high quality snow despite warm, sunny days. Classic tracks are crisp and fresh except for a few sun-exposed areas where some glazing has occurred.
  Photos:  
  (Tom Rulseh)
• Mar 3 - Cassian Two-Way Ski Trail (Rhinelander):
  Conditions: We skied the upper portion of the Cassian Trail (Sheep Ranch Road to the shelter and back) this morning and the conditions, overall, were very good. With temps reaching into the high 30's, mornings or late afternoon is the only time the skis work for us. Aesthetically, the trail isn't as nice as it used to be as the county clearcut a large amount of acreage in the central part of the trail. In the clearcut the track was icy and in the forested part the track was great!
  This trail system is 15 miles (two way) of classical skiing only and is purely backcountry with a lot of wonderful silence!
  Photos:  
  (Gary Garton)
• Mar 2 - Minocqua Winter Park Nordic Center (Minocqua):
  Conditions: Very good. We skate skied there today. The morning was excellent, nice firm base, but by afternoon it began to soften up. We just had to try and stay on the trails that had less sun.
  It was a beautiful day to be out and everything was in great shape. Good spring skiing.
  (Laurie Fabrizius)
• Mar 2 - Afterglow Lake Resort (Phelps):
  Conditions: Superb skate and classic skiing. Tons of snow, groomed to perfection on one of the nicest designed trail systems that I've skied on.
  Just spent 4 days at Afterglow. I've been skiing a long time and I've never enjoyed my time on skis as much as I did the last 4 days. With the amount of snow they have, there should be several weeks more skiing left. Our group really enjoyed our stay in the cabins. Awesome ski destination.
  (Gary Machlett)
• Mar 2 - McNaughton Lake Trail (Lake Tomahawk):
  Skaters loop groomed. All other loops cut and tracked. Good conditions.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Mar 1 - Madeline Lake Trail (Arbor Vitae):
  All loops cut and tracked. Good conditions.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Mar 1 - Raven Trails (Woodruff):
  All loops cut and tracked. Very good conditions.
  (Tony Martinez, Wisconsin DNR)
• Feb 28 - Escanaba Trail (Boulder Junction):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Receiving 2-3 inches of new powder today. Have been skiing Escanaba all weekend and it has been beautiful. Trails are in very good condition with the expected occasional oak leaf and pine cone.
  (Mike Peters)
• Feb 27 - Northwood Golf Course (Rhinelander):
  Conditions: Pretty great.
  Freshly groomed, all trails were in near perfect shape for both skating and striding. Kudos to the groomers!
  (Dave Bressler)

• Mar 8 - Nine Mile Forest (Wausau):
  Conditions: Melted.
  Monday notice posted, closed for the season.
  (Yang Vang)
• Mar 7 - Underdown Recreation Area (Irma):
  Conditions: Poor to pretty darn good.
  Scary fast and icy before the trails softened later in the morning. Lots of snow on Loop Road. Should be good for a while yet. Regular classic trails had few bare patches on south facing slopes mixed with fairly good tracks in other places. Rode Rossa klister over bare bases worked o.k. but was abraded off in short order. Rex Grip Tape with a thin layer of Swix Universal klister though worked fantastic and lasted for the whole 10k ski on my youngest son's skis.
  Photos:  
  (George Cleveland)
• Mar 6 - Standing Rocks Park (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Still skiable.
  Trails have not been regroomed since last weekend. Lodge closed. It looks pretty bad by the parking lot, ice and bare ground, but some good skiing can still be had, especially beyond Tower Road. Bare spots still avoidable, but rock skis advisable. Classic tracks look okay for the most part. Watch out for the nasty sheet of ice at the bottom of a downhill near Northwest Passage. It can be avoided by cutting over to the inner loops. Get out early, beat the slush!
  (Mindy Borchardt)
• Mar 5 - Nine Mile Forest (Wausau):
  Conditions: Excellent skating, not so good for striding.
  Went out before the thaw this morning, fantastic! Trails were newly lightly tilled,saving the icy base but making it fast and safe. The tracks looked not so good, not reset, dirty snow and some bare spots. I used my good skis without fear, just taking them off to cross the road on Leo's Loop and taking the bypass at the one steep south-facing climb, which was almost bare.
  (Mindy Borchardt)
• Mar 4 - Nine Mile Forest (Wausau):
  Conditions: Very good spring conditions.
  I arrived late afternoon and thought I had missed the peak time of day. Boy I had an excellent 20k loop. There was a firm, fast base under some loose groomed snow, very controllable on the downhills (mornings may be different). A few slushier areas on the sunbaked exposed sections, some slightly icier in the densely forested stretches. Overall excellent. They will be grooming through the weekend.
  (Randy Ruege)
• Mar 3 - Standing Rocks Park (Stevens Point):
  Conditions: Fair.
  Multiple bare spots. Still very ski-able. Best in morning between slush and ice. Deep classic tracks, firm, flat skating lane. Lodge closed.
  (Shane Mooney)
• Mar 2 - Iola Winter Sports Club Trails (Iola):
  Conditions: Very good yet.
  Phil groomed up the trails early Tuesday morning for races last night, trails are in great shape. He plans to groom early on Saturday morning for the Greg Marr ski backwards memorial with pot luck lunch.
  (Tracy Piontkonzski)

• Mar 9 - Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 31F, remnant tracks, ice, bare sections.
  The end has come quickly for these trail. There is still snow under my Clandestine Snow Stick but bare spots are forming fast. 91 skiable days on these trails. Bye Bye Barkhausen.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Ernst)
• Mar 8 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: Icy and soft.
  Probably the last day of classic skiing for me at the camp unless we get another big snowfall. Tracks were getting bare although still pretty good in some places. Icy at 9am but by 11am it was getting mushy. More dirt and bare spots too.
  (Paul Jaffe)
• Mar 8 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: Skate skied from 4:30 to 6. Trail was covered so you could ski a full loop but the usual places were starting to open up.
  About 5:15 the base started to crust up a bit and it got to be perfect, fast, good edge. My guess is tomorrow from 8am to about 11 and then about 5 to 7 should be great again.
  (Scott Putman)
• Mar 6 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 32F and going up up up. Groomed skate lanes and twin tracked on all the classic trails. Icy tranforming to slush.
  Beautiful day! Sun, calm and warm. The Bay Nordic Youth Leauge has their season finale ski and cookout. Lots of skiers, good skiing. Snow is amazing. 10" left in the woods means we still have a while to go.
  (Mark Ernst)
• Mar 6 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 30 degrees warming to 40. Generally good to very good with some "fair" spots.
  Skate skied the Maple loop from 9:45 to 11:30 by the second lap things were getting soft and slow. Some icy/slushy areas developing but still very skiable. Probably my last report for this year, time to get on the bike!
  (Andy Maracini)
• Mar 5 - Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 27F Icy sun eroded tracks. Crust skiing stellar.
  Crust Deux, The tracks are pretty marginal (until it softens) but the crust is just fabs. Ponds are in good shape with minimal snow loss yet. Early or late the crust is great.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Ernst)
• Mar 4 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: Very good spring skiing. 36F at the start, just at freezing at the end. Skate skied 4 to 6. Skate lane flat, quite consistent and fast. New tracks set all around today. Other side of skate trail combed out with the G2.
  Several grey spots but limited base loss so far. I have a pair of klistered up skis for those new tracks tomorrow!
  (Scott Putman)
• Mar 4 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  Fresh grooming and careful timing made for an enjoyable ski. Snow coverage remains mostly good. The hillside where Maples rejoins Birches near the house will soon be problematic. Tracks are holding up well.
  (Erick Wikum)
• Mar 4 - Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 24-32F sun icy rutted tracks. Wunderbar crust.
  At last Crust Season has arrived. Barkhausen has dozens of small lakes and ponds with superbulous crust skiing, just don't go too late. By 10:00am it was softening fast. Fun in the sun.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Ernst)
• Mar 2 - Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 24F Icy tracks with heavy glazing at 9:00am.
  Tracks are showing the freeze/thaw cycling we have been going through. Wet in afternoon, freeze at night. It is all about timing. Too early means ice, too late means slush. The joys of spring skiing.
  Photos:  
  (Mark Ernst)
• Mar 1 - Reforestation Camp (Green Bay):
  Conditions: 34f, skied 4-5:30 sunny, variable. Some groomed warm snow, some ice crud.
  Trail was dragged nicely in the morning and was pretty firm. South/e/w trails got melted and refroze to fast. The shady sections got softish and slow. Transitions between rocket snow and slow snow are interesting to say the least.
  (Scott Putman)

• Mar 6 - Cherry Hills Nordic Center (Sturgeon Bay):
  Conditions: Very good spring skating! Trails were groomed at 2 am (yes- while you were sleeping). I skied at 9:45am trails were fast, but slowed down considerably by 11:30am.
  Those that skated before me had it at its best. I will definitely ski earlier tomorrow. It's amazing that the trails are holding up so well... warm temps and no new snow since I can't remember when.
  Photos:  
  (Chesla Seely-Anschutz)
• Mar 5 - Peninsula State Park (Fish Creek):
  Conditions: Poor to fair. Extremely icy in the mornings, better skiing at mid-day.
  Many bare spots, but still skiable - probably time for the rock skis. The conditions are better than expected for the weather we have had recently.
  (Casey St. Henry)
• Mar 5 - Potawatomi State Park (Sturgeon Bay):
  Conditions: Fair for striding and good for skating. Last groomed Tuesday night March 2nd.
  Coverage is still 100% and you can use good skis. Striding track is icy so bring klister. Skate lane is flat, fast and fun.
  (Karl Schroeder)
• Mar 5 - Peninsula State Park (Fish Creek):
  Conditions: Crust skiing - excellent.
  The crust skiing season has arrived! Skied from 9:00-10:30 this morning on the upper golf course off Highland Rd. Plenty of snow with only a few bare spots. Thanks to Mother Nature, her thermal grooming is at it's best. Temps in upper 30's to lower 40's during the day with plenty of sunshine, followed by temps in mid to lower 20's at night. Don't miss this last of the season opportunity. Checked out Middle Road - plenty of snow and a number of ski tracks, but it is so unfortunate that they couldn't be groomed this winter.
  (Rich Dirks)
• Mar 4 - Cherry Hills Nordic Center (Sturgeon Bay):
  Conditions: Excellent Skate Skiing. Freshly groomed trail. Great coverage. No bare spots in sight.
  Timing is everything. Was able to ski from 10:30-1:00. Track remained firm the entire time. Excellent crust skiing.
  (Gary Machlett)
• Mar 4 - Cherry Hills Nordic Center (Sturgeon Bay):
  Conditions: Flat, fast and hard during cold portion of the day (night). Full coverage yet.
  I had to get in a post Birkie ski early this morning (or should I call it late last night?). It was cold enough that everything was frozen pretty hard and not easy to get an edge but I suspect it has been a totally different scene during the warm temperatures of the day. Get out and enjoy the last of the trails while we still have them!
  (Janelle Peotter)

• Mar 9 - Governor Thompson State Park (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Poor.
  After several days above 50 degrees the trails are fading. I skied this morning and I had to walk in, as both entry trails had too many bare spots. The inside loop is also in rough shape with several icy patches. Trails are now open to hikers and dogs. Thanks for the great ski season!
  (Maggie Kailhofer)
• Mar 7 - Lauterman National Recreation Trail (Florence):
  Conditions: Very good.
  I wasn't expecting much today at 50 degrees but the deep woods of Lauterman did not disappoint. Nice glide, a few bare spots under the conifers but easy to ski around. Untouched since last grooming in mid-February. Track visible and deep in some areas. Get out there this week!
  (Dan Hinch)
• Mar 5 - Spring Rapids Trail (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Skating - good as long as you do it before noon. Classic tracks are melting fast.
  It looks like the grooming that was done on March 1st will be the last for the 2009-2010 season. Thanks to everyone who skied and donated their money to the Spring Rapids Trail this year. See you in 2010-2011.
  (Sara Pearson, Wisconsin DNR)
• Mar 4 - Lakewood XC Ski Trails (Lakewood):
  Conditions: The trail is still 100% snow covered.
  Lloyd went out Thursday night and groomed from the Golf Course to the new parking lot. It should be great for a couple of days. Come to our chili ski social Saturday, Mar 6th, from 11:00 to 2:00.
  (Fred Axelrod)
• Mar 4 - Governor Thompson State Park (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Fun!
  I state skied the whole system this today. The skate lane is holding up very well to the warm weather. There are thin spots on the entries, a little but narrow spot by the equipment shed and its getting a little thin on top of the hilly trail-however I was still on my good skis and I did not have to take them off at all. The track is still good too.
  (Maggie Kailhofer)
• Mar 1 - Governor Thompson State Park (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Great!
  We had a 2-3 inches of new snow yesterday and all the trails were groomed and tracked today. Today the trails are fabulous.
  Photos:  
  (Maggie Kailhofer)
• Mar 1 - Spring Rapids Trail (Crivitz):
  Conditions: Skating - good, classic - fair with some icy portions.
  I touched up the skate lanes on all the trails today, but I did not reset any of the classic tracks. They are still quite firm, but icy in many spots. There has been some melting on the trail, and we should expect more this week with the forecasted mild temperatures. Unless it gets cold and we get a good snowfall, this was probably my last grooming of the season.
  (Sara Pearson, Wisconsin DNR)

Wisconsin Southwest

• Mar 4 - Justin Trails Resort (Sparta):
  Don groomed valley trails last night. Base is good. Depending on time of day skiing, the trails can be hard or soft depending on the temperature. Blue sky skiing is awesome in March.
  (Donna Justin)

• Mar 2 - Wildcat Mountain State Park (Ontario):
  Spring skiing conditions. Icy in the mornings and soft in the afternoon. Classic tracks have held up well. Used waxless ski's in the afternoon and had a good ski. Some areas the tracks were glazed and other areas were soft. There is plenty of snow 6 to 10 inch base with over a foot on the north side of the hills. Conditions are changing daily this time of year.
  (Ron Campbell)

• Mar 7 - Levis/Trow Mound Trail (Neillsville):
  Conditions: Fun fast spring skiing.
  Hit the trails at 7:30 a.m. to catch the window of great skiing. Skied yesterday with groomer Dean who had groomed Friday night for three hours to make for a great weekend of skiing both skate and classic. Would like to thank all are volunteer groomers for making this a special ski season. The old lady is singing louder as several holes are opening and getting bigger with some exposed rocks. Rock skis advised or be careful. Thanks again!
  (Mark Sproul)
• Mar 5 - Levis/Trow Mound Trail (Neillsville):
  Conditions: Still great!
  Hard to believe great skiing with the temps so warm, waxless classic skiing as been great and the skate deck is in really good shape with only a few open holes. Recently groomed with new cord.
  (Mark Sproul)
• Mar 3 - Levis/Trow Mound Trail (Neillsville):
  Conditions: A hard packed skating trail that was wicked fast. 25-30 degrees and beautiful blue skies, glistening snow, lots of squirrels busy in the snow and trees.
  I got an 8:30 start as the temperature was forecast to be 40 F today. The skate trails are still snow covered and just a couple spots of sun burn-through. Looked as if the last groom was several days ago but thankfully some corduroy remained where I could catch an edge. There are good tracks throughout the system but it is klister or waxless ski conditions. I could hear the fat lady singing softly in the woods today. Spring is on its way north.
  (Steve Beezley)
• Mar 2 - Levis/Trow Mound Trail (Neillsville):
  Conditions: Really good, variable classic track glazed and fast!
  I was really surprised how good the skiing was. Classic skied with my waxless vasa crowns and these conditions were great for waxless. The skate lane had very little traffic and was pretty firm where protected a little soft where sun exposed. Catch that magic window and skating will be fun fast with some good crust skiing to be had!
  (Mark Sproul)

Wisconsin Southeast

• Mar 8 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Soft and slow at 11 AM at near 50 degrees.
  Skated red loop, and, according to another skier just leaving, it was better earlier in the morning. Still no bare spots and very little debris. Fun but slow and pretty arduous up the hills.
  Photos:  
  (Mike O'Brien)
• Mar 7 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Soft and slow.
  Skated red trail about 1:30 in 42 sunny degrees. No bare spots or debris, and classic tracks looked decent. Fun but slow going on soft snow, particularly uphill.
  (Mike O'Brien)
• Mar 6 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Great skiing at Greenbush this morning. The groomer had been out and the skate track was solid with a bit of loose snow on top. Toward the end of our ski the sun exposed areas were getting soft. The down hills were fast and the down hill turns had a little chatter to them. My wife used the classic track and it was in generally good condition. The snow was hard on her wax and she did need to re-wax. All areas had complete coverage with no exposed dirt.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Mar 6 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Tracks holding up, degrading in the open though. Skate deck scraped by skis on the downhills but doable. Recent grooming has helped a lot.
  Nordic heaven in March! Got off the snow about 10:40 and it was getting soft already. Klister worked it's magic. Even chatted with a skater on half of the purple loop.
  (Mike Rhoades)
• Mar 6 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Icy but very nice.
  Skated purple loop about 10 AM, sunny and near 40 degrees. Trail was well groomed with no debris or bare spots, but the snow was icy on the downhills and in the sunny areas. Classic track looked good.
  (Mike O'Brien)
• Mar 6 - Evergreen/Maywood (Sheboygan):
  Skate track has been freshly groomed.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Mar 5 - Zillmer Ski Trails (Campbellsport):
  Conditions: Start temp 15F at 8:20, end temp 32F at 10:00. No wind. Icy track, only a few ice rinks near the pines. Frozen skater scars on the deck made downhills a challenge.
  Awesome! Rainbowed Zillmer for the first time this season. Used waxless, but will kick some klister tommorrow!
  (Mike Rhoades)
• Mar 5 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Spring skiing at it's best! Morning grooming made for great skating conditions.
  Thanks Jeff & Terry for all the grooming this week!
  (Kathy Janikowski)
• Mar 5 - Evergreen/Maywood (Sheboygan):
  Conditions: All areas exposed to the sun yesterday were hard and crusty this morning. The wooded areas still have soft snow. I did not ski the Maywood side because it gets a lot of sun exposure and tends to get icy. There was still complete coverage on the Evergreen side, however there is a large patch of dirt in the trail as you make the turn on the northeast corner. Also, just past the bridge, as you head toward the Maywood cut-off, there is just a narrow ribbon of snow. Crust skiing in the field by the parking lot was fantastic!
  Today set a personal record in number of skis for a season; 46, with more to come this weekend. Not bad for a working stiff living in an urban area during an El Nino year.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Mar 4 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Awesome! Went from 8-9:30 this morning. Little icy, but very good skiing! Lots of snow still left there! Groomer was just going through as I was leaving.
  (Leah Rebne)
• Mar 4 - Evergreen/Maywood (Sheboygan):
  Conditions: Spring skiing can be some of the best and this morning was one of those great spring ski days. The skate track had been groomed late last night or very early this morning and was a thing of beauty again. With the 1/4 inch of churned up snow over a solid base the trail feels like it pulls you along. There is still complete coverage though the northeast corner is showing dirt and along the new condos on the south section of the trail there is bare ground encroaching on the trail.
  Thanks to the groomers for doing such a great job.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Mar 3 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Skating trail was well groomed and flattened down with no more loose snow, but the snow itself was warm (about 35 degrees at 1 PM) and sticky.
  Skated the red trail, and it was faster in the shaded woods than in the sunny areas. Still lots of snow on the trail as well as in the forest, and no ice or bare areas.
  (Mike O'Brien)
• Mar 3 - Evergreen/Maywood (Sheboygan):
  Conditions: Cold temperatures last night (it was 20 degrees when I went out this morning) solidified the track. Still complete coverage on the skate track. Solid but almost no ice in areas exposed to the sun. The wooded areas were softer and easier to ski, but for the debris on the trail. The northeast corner is showing more dirt, so use caution when making the turn. The classic track is still skiable in most spots.
  The best time to ski is as the temperature transitions from freezing to thawing or immediately after grooming.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Mar 2 - Zillmer Ski Trails (Campbellsport):
  Conditions: Very nice!
  Was able to get in a skate ski early this afternoon and found excellent spring conditions - a little crusty in some spots, a little soft in sunny areas - but overall very good. Looks like there is enough snow so that the trail system should endure several more days of warming temps. Get out and enjoy!
  (Steven Latham)
• Mar 2 - Evergreen/Maywood (Sheboygan):
  She was a thing of beauty this morning. The trails had been groomed either very late last night or very early this morning. Beautiful corduroy and a newly set classic track.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Mar 1 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: Very nicely groomed, but the snow is a bit sticky (at 32 degrees).
  The grooming is excellent and appears to have been done after this morning's half inch as you can see corduroy throughout the purple loop. Now the backside by the marsh is well packed and no longer soft.
  Photos:  
  (Mike O'Brien)
• Mar 1 - Evergreen/Maywood (Sheboygan):
  Conditions: With a bright, full moon setting in the west and the sun rising in the east, you couldn't ask for a prettier celestial setting this morning. The track froze-up over night; making for hard pack. There was a dusting of new snow over the top that the skis just glided over. Still plenty of coverage.
  There aren't too many years when you can ski the entire Evergreen/Maywood course in March. What a great year, with more to come!
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Feb 28 - Evergreen/Maywood (Sheboygan):
  Fast conditions this morning. Still complete coverage but thinning around the edges in spots. Lots of debris on the trail. Some dirt showing at the northeast corner. A great day for skiing on this last day of February.
  (Jim Van Akkeren)
• Feb 27 - Zillmer Ski Trails (Campbellsport):
  Conditions: Great base, slow skating.
  1.5-2" squeaky moist snow on top of a great base. Skating conditions slowed as the afternoon warmed. Striding would have been a better choice today. I don't want to complain, slow snow is better than no snow!
  (Jimi Gee)
• Feb 27 - Greenbush Ski Trails (Greenbush):
  Conditions: The fresh, soft snow we recently received was groomed into beautiful corduroy this morning. The track was soft and slow but it was a wonderful morning for a ski.
  There was almost no one on the trails this morning; you all must be up skiing the Birkie. Congratulations to all of you!
  (Jim Van Akkeren)

• Mar 9 - Elver Park (Madison):
  Conditions: Good for skating at 6am, 36F.
  Surprisingly very skiable and no need for rock skis as yet. I skied the north end only this morning - firm base still but warm enough to get great edges and surprisingly fast. Had too much fun here did not get over to the south side. Only a couple of bare spots but easy to go around.
  (Dan Dudley)
• Mar 7 - Lake Kegonsa State Park (Stoughton):
  Conditions: Fair classic and skate.
  Got there mid-morning as things were softening up. Skate lane pretty smooth, tracks fairly deep. Pretty good spring conditions, but you've got to catch it right-- soft enough to edge, firm enough to not rut it up.
  (Pete Anderson)
• Mar 6 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Good spring conditions classic and skate.
  You can have great crust skiing on Mirror Lake until it starts to soften in the sun, then go out on the trails. Conditions icy and a little rutted, but pretty good for 45 degree days. Classic track still in pretty good shape, as is skate lane. Klister for sure.
  (Pete Anderson)
• Mar 5 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Had the good fortune of getting out at 10am. The temps were just starting to soften up the track. They had groomed the skate lanes at Hastings, Fern Dell, and Turtleville and the skiing was fantastic. Went over to Ishnalla which was not groomed, but it did not matter because the footing was just as good. We have over 12" of total ground cover, and a 6" to 8" base. The only place that was bare was the bottom of the hill out on the Ishnalla loop that faces directly south full sun. The tracks all looked good, very little debris. A lot of great skiing left.
  (Dave Statz)
• Mar 5 - Maple Bluff Golf Course (Maple Bluff):
  Conditions: Good for crust.
  Crust skiing mighty fine this morning, just go wide of the originally groomed area (avoiding sand traps and any other roped off areas of course).
  (Jim Bolton)
• Mar 3 - Odana Hills Golf Course (Madison):
  City of Madison Parks groomed the skating trails at 10 am today leaving a firm surface just soft enough for great skating. Crust cruising is also very good on most of the golf course, especially during the morning as the snow surface warms and softens a bit. The heavily shaded areas are still too soft, but should firm up over the next few days.
  (Brock Woods)
• Mar 3 - Governor Nelson State Park (Waunakee):
  Conditions: Fair to good.
  The skiing only trails here do have evidence of a walker or jogger now but it was still very skiable; fast downhills with some ruts to negotiate. Morningside (shared use trail) has footprints of course but it too was very skiable and fun.
  Photos:  
  (Jim Bolton)
• Mar 2 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Excellent spring conditions for skating.
  Fern Dell and Turtleville had been groomed and were in great condition. Skied at dusk and the trails were lightening fast. Classic tracks looked icy. This season's grooming was the best ever. Great work guys.
  (Wayne Maffei)
• Mar 2 - Monona Golf Course (Madison):
  Conditions: Fair classic and skate.
  Very icy tracks and skate lane with lots of ruts, but continuous coverage and quite skiable. Really fast. Please don't go when it's soft-- if we don't rut it up, it'll last longer.
  (Pete Anderson)
• Mar 2 - Odana Hills Golf Course (Madison):
  Conditions: AAA crust.
  Beautiful crust at Odana, everyone's a hero, super fast, if for some reason you don't like the crust (?) you could double pole the tracks like the Autobahn (!). Ski early, go to work late...
  (Valerie Stromquist)
• Mar 1 - Governor Nelson State Park (Waunakee):
  Conditions: Very good spring conditions.
  Skied the Morningside trail this morning. Groomer was out grooming the skating lanes after a very busy weekend the way it looked. The skate lanes groomed up well as they started hard and softened up late morning. The grooming helped a lot. Thanks for today's effort. Get out and enjoy while it lasts. Track was not touched, softer in most areas late am and not bare spots. Thanks Rene and Bob for your efforts this year, best conditions in many many years. A lot of people talking how great the skiing was this year. Thanks so much again.
  (Karen Englebretson)
• Feb 28 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Excellent for skating.
  Joanie and I skated all the trails on the south side from 6:30 to 8:30 am-wanted to be beat the warmup. Groomer had just finished, so skating lanes were in great condition with just a few icy spots. Tracks were not reset and looked icy in spots.
  (Darren Blankenship)
• Feb 27 - Mirror Lake State Park (Baraboo):
  Conditions: Fair.
  Would have been excellent if not for the 37 degree temperature. The tracks and trail looked good but were very soft and slushy in parts. A pair of skaters on Ishnala were moving well and there were portions of Hastings and Fern Dell that were actually quite firm.
  (Robert Abendroth)

• Mar 8 - Scuppernong (Eagle):
  Conditions: Good double-track classic skiing.
  Still good skiing. Tracks quite solid and firm despite mid-40s. Near complete cover (Red Tr), just a couple of easily avoided small bare patches on the Observation Loop. Very little debris.
  (Phil Van Valkenberg)
• Mar 7 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Great on the manmade loops (1-3 foot base), getting fair-poor elsewhere (1-4") with many bare spots emerging. Upper loops are better than lower non-manmade loop.
  The manmade loops should be fine for a while, but the other trails days are numbered. Unfortunately due to the high traffic of skiers and somewhat lesser snow than everywhere else this winter, Lapham will be the first to go. I would used rock skis at this point.
  (Matthew Stanke)
• Mar 7 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Spring conditions. 90% excellent, 9% good, 1% icy with a few bare spots. 2-6" base, more in a few spots.
  The meltdown is in full swing now, but good skiing can be had in the late afternoons after 4 p.m. I would used rock skis now. Watch out for the first south facing hill on the blue (rocks) and scattered spots on the white and south hilly blue (very icy and tricky).
  (Matthew Stanke)
• Mar 7 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Still good – but starting to deteriorate.
  Skated from about 8:30 to 10:00 this morning. The skate lanes were in good shape but the classic track looked icy. Some additional bare and thin patches were beginning to show since yesterday and there was sporadic ice as well. But the majority of the trail system was in good shape. Downhills, including the Big Slide, were wicked fast!
  (Steven Latham)
• Mar 6 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Excellent (mostly).
  Pictures from today say it all. Awesome job again by DNR groomers! Thank you.
  Photos:  
  (Jim Bolton)
• Mar 6 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Exciting skating and striding.
  Should have gotten out earlier. Had to deal with the hair raising transitions from light to shade. Trails were well groomed with good cover and control everywhere. Control was key with constant transit from killer fast in shadows to draggy in the sun. Great to be skiing in March.
  (Phil Van Valkenberg)
• Mar 6 - McMiller (Eagle):
  Conditions: Fantastic. Very fast; enlarging icy patches. Started to soften around 10 am.
  Fields were solid and fast too.
  Photos:  
  (John Pehoski)
• Mar 6 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Very nice - especially early in the morning.
  Arrived at Lapham about 7:30am to find the trails well groomed and in excellent condition. There were just a couple of bare spots starting to show in South Field and up top on the blue trail – easily avoidable. Otherwise, coverage seemed very good. By around 10:30am the south facing hills were beginning to get quite soft.
  (Steven Latham)
• Mar 6 - McMiller (Eagle):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Skated the green loop twice. It was very good at 10am. Just a few icy spots. Getting slushy closer to noon. Groomers have done a great job considering the warm temps this week Great job.
  (Steve Kelley)
• Mar 6 - Lac Lawrann Conservancy (West Bend):
  Good in shady areas and in woodlands; thin base and icy in open areas. Groomed early this morning for one more weekend of skiing?
  (Bob Broman)
• Mar 5 - Nashotah Park (Nashotah):
  Conditions: Excellent!
  I skied at Nashotah the past two afternoons. Rode the MTB from the park for 45 mins then skied for 45 mins. Classic tracks are 99% intact. Skate lane has 3+ inches of firm base with a soft surface. OMG, it's like floating on a cloud! If this is Heaven, then I'm ready. Don't stow those boards away yet!
  (John Wilke)
• Mar 4 - McMiller (Eagle):
  Very good, fast. A few patches of ice.
  Photos:  
  (John Pehoski)
• Mar 4 - UW-Parkside Ski Trail (Kenosha):
  Conditions: Still well covered with snow.
  Just get there early to mid afternoon as the temps rise and the conditions soften up.
  (Charlie Shahbazian)
• Mar 3 - Lapham Peak (Delafield):
  Conditions: Skied Lighted Loop and the Glacier (Snowmaking Loop)in the evening, 30 degrees, with grooming in progress - Skating was great.
  The lighted loop is holding up well, as it continues to get below freezing early in the evening. I left the big city with 38 degrees at 5:30, and it was 30 degrees when I pulled into the parking lot. Skate lane was very skiable - not icy, and grooming was just starting. A couple of passes with the Ginsu, and the skiing was fantastic. Only one small burn-out so far on the lighted loop - in the South Field area, on the tracked side. Thank the DNR and any guest groomers whenever you get a chance.
  (John McCarthy)
• Mar 3 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Very nice!
  Regular grooming and the micro climate at Fox Hill are making for some fantastic late season conditions. Skate skied around mid-day and found the trails in great shape. Great coverage and only a few soft spots in sunny locations. Get out and enjoy while the snow is still here!
  (Steven Latham)
• Mar 3 - McMiller (Eagle):
  Conditions: Hard packed but well covered and very skiable.
  Skied the green trail and biathlon loop this morning. Skiing was good. The warm mid day temps and freeze at night have made for a hard surface but the groomers have roughed up the top. There was a groomer out this morning working the trails. The biathlon loop is in better shape due to less traffic. Still covered even to the firing line. We have great groomers, thanks guys.
  (Tom Davenport)
• Mar 3 - McMiller (Eagle):
  Conditions: Very good.
  Classical tracks deep and well formed with some glazing. Skating lane glazed and icy in spots; very fast but rough. The groomer was working on the skating lane when I left around 9 am.
  The real treat was skating the dozens of acres of adjacent fields which the recent thaw/freezes left firm with a thin layer of frost-- a great way to investigate some of this glacial landscape off the beaten path.
  Photos:  
  (John Pehoski)
• Mar 2 - UW-Parkside Ski Trail (Kenosha):
  Conditions: Plenty of snow, Monday grooming refrozen and icy, both skate lane and classical track.
  Overcast day on Tuesday, icy snow never softened. So rutted skate lane remained hard, fast and a bit treacherous (first picture). Best snow was inside pine plantation at SW corner (second picture) where snow remained fresher and never softened in sun. Charlie S. was Monday's volunteer groomer (fourth picture) and came back Tuesday to check his handiwork.
  Photos:  
  (Clark Maxfield)
• Mar 2 - Scuppernong (Eagle):
  Conditions: Very good double track classic skiing.
  Sunny sky, temps above freezing, a little purple spray klister over the grip tape and another perfect day at the Scup. Tracks a bit glazed, but holding up very well. Hardly and debris.
  (Phil Van Valkenberg)
• Mar 1 - Lac Lawrann Conservancy (West Bend):
  Conditions: Still OK.
  Snow wet and slushy after days in the 30's, but still enough snow if waxed right. Better in the woods than in the prairie. Some foot traffic, but mostly off the track. Not all trails on the map were groomed.
  (David Henning)
• Mar 1 - Fox Hill Nordic (West Bend):
  Conditions: Good.
  Out for the first post-birkie ski of the season this early this morning. Conditions were fast albeit a bit crusty. No grooming since yesterday's freeze/thaw cycle. Early mornings now have some sun and warmer temps. Spring skiing in the Fox Hill microclimate.
  (Russ Sobotta)
• Feb 28 - Nordic Ski Trail (La Grange):
  Conditions: Slow but enjoyable.
  Skate skied on orange and green loops and it was slow going but enjoyable and good work out. Classic skied the blue loop; by the end of the day tracks were getting slushy.
  (Seth Howard)
• Feb 28 - McMiller (Eagle):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  All loops well packed and freshly groomed this morning.
  Photos:  
  (John Pehoski)
• Feb 27 - Scuppernong (Eagle):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  Light drizzle mid-morning changed to flurries to complement the perfectly groomed tracks on a quiet day in the beautiful woods.
  (John Pehoski)

Michigan Upper Peninsula

• Mar 8 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Super Spring skiing. We have warm temps during the day and freezing temps at night (no rain). The skiing has been spring skiing with the snow converted to corn snow. This makes classic skiing with klister and waxless skis fun. Skating is fun too at the right time of the day. We have been grooming about 25-35 km daily, some at night and some in the morning. If you like it hard and fast, 9 AM works well. If you like it slower come a bit later. Ask at the trailhead for conditions before heading out. Since the trails get groomed almost daily the base is packed hard and only softens an inch or so in the warm afternoon sun.
  Spring Sale is on with discounts on season passes and ski shop equipment!
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Lodging)
• Mar 7 - ABR (Ironwood):
  I know the Birkie is over but now is the time for some excellent Spring skiing. The conditions at ABR are awesome. Plenty of snow, continued excellent grooming, and lots of fun. Don't put those skis away during the best month to ski. Get up there and go for it! Plus they have a fantastic sale going in the ski shop.
  Photos:  
  (Rich Scott)
• Mar 7 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Great.
  When we arrived Saturday the car thermometer said 50! So skiing was somewhat slow but it needed to be anyway because we stopped at the food stands. Then, later in the afternoon, it started to freeze up again and became very fast in places. A bit rutty too. I took my one and only "Lindsey Vonn like" face plant for the season on a steep downhill and continued from there a bit shaky but still in one piece.
  Sunday morning it was superfast on the trails that had been rolled and a bit slower on those that had been groomed with the Pisten Bully. Overall, a great weekend. Thanks to everyone at ABR for making it all happen.
  Photos:  
  (Jenneke Oosterhoff)
• Mar 6 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Spring skiing conditions for the Taste of the Trails today. the Pisten Bully smoothed out the trails for the morning skiers, the trail softened for the recreational skier in the afternoon but remained very skiable. The base remains at about 1-2 feet.
  The Taste of the Trails had a super day, participation was very good and the food was excellent!
  Photos:  
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Lodging)
• Mar 4 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Nice Spring conditions with dry, cold powder for the majority of the trails. The groomers are just coming in and what we saw groomed very nice. The old snow powertilled into a very nice surface for skiing with fresh cold dry powder tracks.
  Taste of the Trails this Saturday! Ski along the ABR Ski Trails and sample our local cuisine and specialties of our local restaurants. Six restaurants will have tables set up from the trailhead along a designated route on the River Trail. You can ski or snowshoe on the River Trail to the food booths. It is a 1-2 mile route. The restaurants will be set up from 11 AM - 2PM. Photos from last year's Taste of Trails.
  Photos:  
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Lodging)
• Mar 2 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Skate deck groomed, classic track was not new but holding up very well on a Tuesday. The sun was out, maybe 20 degrees, and no wind. I was on the way home from the Keweenaw and could not pass up ABR on such a day.
  I skied late morning with a rather stiff set of no wax classic skis. The softer rock skis might have been a better choice since the classic trails skied a bit faster than I wanted.
  The route: Hemlock, Jack Pine, White Pine, Jack Pine, River to Bachelor's, Bachelor's, River to Sulo's, Sulo's to Sunrise to Hautenen to Wolf Tracks for a short look see and then back to the start via Sunrise, Sulo's and River. I was out around two hours.
  The classic trails had some wear but they were good overall. I was in no hurry and the weighted ski had to be just right to bite, where the rock skis have some room for error. The stiff skis hurried things along a bit. The sun had put some glaze on the trails.
  The shared skate-classic trails were the treat for a classic skier today. The groomer had cut a new skate deck. The classic track had just enough snow blown into it to make the stiff no waxers bite like mad. Yes, it was warming up too and south facing uphills were getting soft in a blazing sun. I had run the Peak downhill out of track and the skate deck was great.
  (Jeff Bolte)
• Mar 1 - ABR (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Perfect mid winter conditions. The temps have been in teh single digits at night and upper 20's daytime. Striding on Blue wax in March! Daily grooming has been keeping the trails in tip top shape.
  The season pass sale started today. Buy your discounted pass for next season now at $110 ($140 next year) and ski the rest of this season free and all of next season. Seniors and Jr $95 and Family pass $300.
  Photos:  
  (Eric Anderson, ABR Lodging)
• Feb 28 - Wolverine Ski Trail (Ironwood):
  Conditions: Packed powder, deep and professionally groomed.
  Deep, hard-set classic tracks firm enough to hold you in the downhill turns for 20+K of the best skiing anywhere. Perfectly groomed, unparalleled snow conditions.
  (Patrick Bryan)

• Mar 8 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: 40's, full sun.
  Lots of snow left, high temps this week have had little effect on the base. New classic tracks set on A, B, C, D, H, W and Y (see photos.) Yellowstone drag will groom skate lanes in morning. Skiing best mid morning and after 5pm.
  Photos:  
  (John Gierke)
• Mar 6 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: 24F at 8am; 40's by 2:30pm; Cloudy until noon, then full sun.
  Skate lanes were dragged in morning, no ice. Slowed by noon with sun. Classic tracks held well, afternoon waxless was best. Speed came back after 3:00 pm. Come in the morning, no ice, lots of snow left.
  Photos:  
  (John Gierke)
• Mar 5 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: 5F early a.m. mid 30's by afternoon; full sun.
  No ice, no dirt, no leaves and no pine needles. Entire system re-groomed starting at 6:00 a.m. this morning. Despite sun trails held up well. Milwaukee Nordic Ski Club gave it a thumbs up. Great skating and solid classic tracks. Not as cold tonight so the earlier you get there the better. Skate lanes will be cleaned up with steel drag early, so don't sleep in. Don't fly to Sun Valley, come to Valley Spur. Bring sunscreen.
  (John Gierke)
• Mar 4 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: 24F; Cloudy in morning, full sun in afternoon.
  Great skating up through noon. The sun came out around 12:30 and some of the trails in the sun slowed. Great spring skiing. George having great classic skiing with Universal Klister. Nowax best in afternoon. Taste and Glide this Saturday, a money raiser for grooming expenses. Three tables of catered food so come on up. Good snow coverage, no ice.
  Photos:  
  (John Gierke)
• Mar 3 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: 34F; full sun.
  Trails on top in full sun started to soften around noon. Used kick wax on lower trails, B,H, and Z. Someone using Start Universal Tape having good results. Good skating in morning and later in the day.
  Photos:  
  (John Gierke)
• Mar 2 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Trails are in excellent shape. Although temps near 32F to day, 8" of snow last week has not transformed and VR40-45 kick wax still works. Skating also excellent. No ice, no leaves, no pine needles no dirt. Do not even think of bringing your rock skis. Warm temps have little effect on snow as trails are on north facing slope which is heavily wooded. Do not miss some of the best skiing of the season.
  (John Gierke)
• Feb 28 - Valley Spur (Munising):
  Conditions: Plenty of snow in the UP and with freshly groomed tracks, we were able to enjoy another fantastic weekend of skiing. Thanks to all the work done by the grooming crew.
  The warmer temperatures and soft new snow made for slower conditions, but this allowed us to ski many of the expert trails that we would normally skip. Valley Spur is winter amusement park with plenty of roller coaster hills to provide grueling climbs followed by thrilling descents. What a great place to celebrate my birthday!
  Photos:  
  (John Schultz)
• Feb 27 - Maple Lane Ski Center (Skandia):
  Trails groomed today. conditions excellent.
  (Ron Stenfors)

• Mar 9 - Maasto Hiihto Ski Trails (Hancock):
  Conditions: Good to excellent spring skiing. Same goes for Churning Rapids.
  We regroomed a few of the trails today and this is what it looked like. These were all taken in Churning Rapids or on trails heading to there. And one photo of my buddy in a tree right next to the trail. Hope you enjoy them.
  Photos:  
  (Arly Aronson)
• Feb 28 - Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Ontonagon):
  Conditions: Very good. According to the state park people, the trails were groomed on Feb 24-25. Since then the area has received 3-4" of nice powder. Overcast and lightly snowing all day.
  Skiing through the temple of giant hemlocks makes one feel downright soulful.
  (Linda Calhan)

• Mar 7 - The Listening Inn (Crystal Falls):
  Conditions: Excellent.
  The Listening Inn held their Great Sno Bear Biathlon this weekend. This is a Citzen 10 K Biathlon. 40 adults competed on Saturday from the West and Central UP, and Wisconsin. If you can shoot a .22 rifle and ski, you are can enter. Competitors ranged from complete novices to Gustavus Alumni Nordic Collegiate Race Team members Chandra Ziegler(Daw), Mich Tech ROTC members.
  Photos:  
  (Bill Ziegler)

Iowa

• Mar 6 - Big Creek State Park (Polk City):
  Conditions: Fast and a little crusty at 8:00 to a little soft and sucky at 11:30, very good in between. The classic track ranged from better than it was to good.
  The trail base is still in very good condition, last night's grooming left a nice top layer. Anyone who thought possible poor late season conditions might leave a sour taste to the ski season missed a very sweet dessert.
  (Kevin Moss)

• Feb 28 - Squaw Creek Park (Marion):
  Conditions: Sunny and 35 degrees in the mid-afternoon. Trail was soft in the sun.
  Other than a large horse dropping and a ice section (about ten feet) the trails are all skiable.
  (Dean Slyter)
• Feb 27 - Matsell Bridge Natural Area (Springville):
  Conditions: Fantastic! The trails were superb today. Fresh grooming & lots of virgin corduroy. Track was firm in most areas. Grass or dirt showing in a few places. Skate lane was sweet.
  Many more miles of trails are being groomed now. The network is growing and we love it! A few sections are "classic skis only." They need to be marked as such. Thanks to the Linn Co. Conservation grooming team. Matsell can become the premier trail network in eastern Iowa. It's on the way to becoming just that!
  (John Morris)
• Feb 27 - Wickiup Hill Trails (Toddville):
  Conditions: Temperature near 32 degrees and sunny. Trails were firm for skating with a little softening in the sun.
  There were several hikers walking the trails leaving footprints, but the prints were not deep so it did not impact the skating trail. There were a few small bare spots in the classic track.
  (Dean Slyter)

• Mar 1 - Waverly Golf Course (Waverly):
  Conditions: OK.
  Nighttime ski outing with clear skies and full moon. The sunny and warm days are starting to take a toll on tracks. Some sections very icy others a falling apart.
  (Tony Lutz)
• Feb 27 - Waverly Golf Course (Waverly):
  Conditions: Very Good. Firm and fast.
  North section skiing this morning was great. Working on making tracks around boot divots.
  (Tony Lutz)

• Mar 1 - Lime Creek Nature Center (Mason City):
  Conditions: The new grooming equipment has done its job. Base is firm and fast today and classic track was best of season!
  Its best to ski early as temps are on the rise. I'm going out at 8:30 or 9 am, hope to see you there!
  (Dwight Beavers)

Canada

• Mar 4 - Hardwood Hills (Barrie):
  Conditions: Initially hard packed and softened to silk under a blue sky.
  Almost as good as the Birkie conditions.
  (Ken Hundert)
• Mar 1 - Sovereign Lake (Vernon):
  Conditions: A bit icy early, softening up later. Very good.
  Warmer than usual, but still great skiing. Tons of snow. Spectacular mountain scenery.
  (Chip Treen)

North Dakota

• Mar 8 - Lindenwood Park Ski Trails (Fargo):
  Several days of mist, rain, and above freezing temperatures have left the ski trails very soft and icy. Sections of standing water on tracks. Tree trimming work is taking a toll on the skating lane base.
  (Gary Brekke)
• Mar 4 - Lindenwood Park Ski Trails (Fargo):
  Conditions: Very good skate conditions, classic tracks firm.
  Skied around noon, skate lane was soft but not slushy yet. Very fast, but noticed at end of ski that conditions were getting soft. Still plenty of base snow on both the skate lane and classic tracks.
  (Earl Stabenow)
• Mar 4 - Edgewood Golf Course Ski Trail (Fargo):
  Conditions: Trails have just been groomed and appear to all be in good condition. The skate trail snow is soft in this warm weather, but fun to ski on. Classic trails look great.
  Get out and enjoy the trails while we still can. The season is nearing the end. Thanks to the park district for grooming the trails.
  (Laura Sivertson)

United States

• Mar 8 - Nordic Heritage Center (Presque Isle, ME):
  Conditions: Holding up to warm weather.
  There is plenty of snow on the trails for the 2010 National Junior Olympics in Presque Isle, despite daily temps in the 40s. The afternoon sprint races were quite slushy on the turns and hills. The Midwest team is looking great and having a good time.
  (Mindy Benton)
• Mar 8 - Nordic Heritage Center (Presque Isle, ME):
  Conditions: 9-5:30; Quick/firm mush/shadowy sunset reset ice.
  The sprint course at JO's went through the usual sunny spring transition with the accompanying klister frenzy as the first day of racing got underway. In general, the 15-24" base held well and off the race course the trails were well groomed for the spectator/tourist skiers. A blend of technical racing pieces combined with a mellower profile for the rank and file make the ratio of steep and deep with birdwatching casual a proper mix to suit a variety of ski tastes. Tomorrow's mass start classic promised to be a thrill as the field drops away into a major downhill soon after the start. Ski neat and clean everyone.
  (Ken Schoville)
• Mar 6 - Laurel Ridge State Park (Rockwood, PA):
  Conditions: Bright sunny skis with temperatures ranging from 19F at 8:30 and 32F at 1:00PM.
  A base of almost 36 inches remains at this location no more than 17 miles from the Mason Dixon line in Southwestern Pa. However the snow grooming continues to be semi-satisfying. Trail width on only one trail is adequate for skating. Classical tracks were improved over last weekend but should be moved inward a few inches in an attempt to improve on the outside pole plant issues. This is just one of the three ski sites in Pennsylvania that offer trail width adequate for skating and classical skiing on the same trails.
  Photos:  
  (Bill Kircher)
• Feb 28 - Laurel Ridge State Park (Rockwood, PA):
  Conditions: 29 F with misty, foggy, overcast conditions and with light snow/ice pellets for short time intervals.
  This mountain top (2850 feet) location just received almost two more feet of snow this week bringing the monthly total to 100 inches. The average yearly total is around 125 inches-yes more than what your location may receive. Before any of you begin thinking of moving to the Keystone State for skiing, there is an issue at this location. Despite a 42 inch plus base, the trails were too narrow, soft and classical tracks poorly defined despite using a Tidd Tech G2. There has been a heck of a lot of snow this month but the general thought by some of the skiers felt additional trip(s) around the trails would have greatly improved conditions. More than one skier was disappointed by conditions.
  Photos:  
  (Bill Kircher)