Skied the west side. Gorgeous frost on trees and amazing series of beaver ponds. Well marked ;-) Not enough snow yet for classic tracks though hope it will be soon.

(John Waldron)

With 1" of new snow, the Eastside trails had fresh grooming Friday -- packed powder, good edge control, skating conditions ranged from fair to excellent. Ungroomed trails had 1" of granular powder that skied nicely. There's a decent classic track on the Eastside 12k core loop, it was set about 10 days ago. The base is about 2" thick, in many areas quite smooth despite limited snowfall. Despite occasional dirt spots, rocks and tufts of grass, you can probably use good skis. Grooming of the Westside trails is anticipated Saturday (Dec. 30). Check website for helpful info.

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(Tom Paulsen, Blue Hills Trail Association)

Good skiing! A brief cloudburst Christmas Eve afternoon created a nice creamy surface. The base is hard packed powder, edge control is pretty good, 90% of the trails are open - including all of the Westside, most of the Eastside. Despite a thin base, skating conditions range from fair to very good. The Eastside core loop (12 km) has fairly decent classic track, but in some areas it's shallow and dirty.
The base is about 2" thick. In some areas it's quite smooth for so early in the season. There are occasional dirt spots, rocks and tufts of grass -- mostly easy to avoid. If you want to use your your good skis, ski the core loop in a counter-clockwise direction. Bring rock skis as a backup -- you decide. Where there's been less traffic, conditions are better (i.e., the entire Westside, and trails branching off the Eastside core loop).

Photos:

(Thomas Paulsen, Blue Hills Trail Association)

Early season skating conditions that range from fair to good to very good on trails groomed daily since December 11 (visit the website for lots more info). There's a nice classic track that runs about 2 km from 1-22-33-21 and beyond. The trails need another 4" of snow before extending the classic track. The 2" thick base is firm and mostly surprisingly smooth. You'll find occasional dirt spots, rocks and tufts of grass. Bring rock skis as well as a pair of good skis -- you decide. Carry a small pruning shears or folding saw if you'd like to help fine tune the trails. Photos range from Dec 11 to 15.

Photos:

(Tom Paulsen, Blue Hills Trail Association)