Skiing Excellent- Banadad Ski Trail System - all 41 Kilometers tracked. Snow on the Ground: 25 inches. Compacted Base on the Trail: 17". New Snow Past 24 Hours: 3-4 inches. New Snow Past 7 Days: 10 inches. Tracked Trail: 41 kilometers- all 41 kilometers of the Banadad Ski Trail System tracked and skiing is excellent. Additional Comment: The Banadad ski trails offers 41 kilometers of intimate classical groomed trails most going through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). The trail system is located in Northern Minnesota along the Gunflint Trail and 32 miles inland from the Lake Superior coastal town of Grand Marais.

(Ted Young)

Excellent skiing on the Banadad trail! Fairly flat and gentle rolling hills, surrounded by sheltering pines. Can't be beat.

(Sarah Kempainen)

Amazing conditions for classic skiing along the Banadad - went about 1.5 hours from Poplar Creek B&B and it was beautiful - great base, then another 6-8" got added during the ski. Not sure what the western end of the trail is like, but bet it is great. Can't imagine better conditions for classic skiing!

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(Kelly MacGregor)

The Banadad is gorgeous, perfect skiing. 12 inches of new snow and all trails (41K including Lace Lake) are groomed for classic. Use your best skis and ski until your heart is content. Banadad is relatively flat so easy to ski long distances.

(Flannery Delaney)

Great conditions on the trail, and despite chilly temps, it was an awesome day to ski the Banadad. Encountered other trail users, some who were skiing the whole 27k. Wolf tracks, sunshine, and plenty of snow!

(Barb Gecas)

Skied full 27k (16.9 miles) of Banadad Saturday from west to east end trailhead. Finished in 5 hours. A BWCA experience which means no cell phones, no rest areas, no shelters, no short cutoffs. Just plenty of wolf and moose tracks and us. Wore a necklace GPS tracker. This was our first time skiing Banadad and we highly recommend this assuming conditions are good.

(Terry Kerber)

Skiing excellent -- all trails tracked. Snow on the ground: 19 inches, compacted base on the trail: 15", new snow past 24 hours: 3-4 inches, new snow past 7 days: 4 inches. Tracked trail: all 41 kilometers of the Banadad ski trail system tracked and skiing is excellent.

(Ted Young)

Started on the west end of trail (which is right off the Gunflint Trail with its own parking lot) on Monday afternoon. Skied in about an hour and 10 minutes. Good snow and solid tracks. A few tree snakes in the trail along with tree remnants left from critters having a meal so you have to pay attention. Great fun to see moose, deer, wolf and critter tracks along and on the trail, a good reminder of where you are. About 16F degrees, overcast and mild wind. Totally enjoyable day. Highly recommend it to classic skiers who enjoy skiing on a serene trail in the wilderness. Many thanks to Ted Young and all the volunteers who make it possible.

(Ross Jacobsen)

Snow on the Ground: 19", Compacted Base on the Trail: 15", New Snow Past 24 Hours: 4", New Snow Past 7 Days: 8". Tracked Trail: 29.2 kilometers- Banadad Tracked east end to mid trail; Lace Lake, Tall Pines and Knapp trail tracked.

(Ted Young)

Skied from the east end (Ollie) trailhead to the west end (Upper Gunflint). The entire trail is groomed and tracked for classic. It has not been seeing much (human) use: since the last grooming (about a week ago?), there were few signs of any skier activity after the first 3km. There were, however, ample animal tracks (and the moose seemed to enjoy walking along the trail to find a tree for rubbing). Over the distance of the trail, I saw only one rock visible in the trail--on the west side of Beaver Dam Gully if I have the bearings correct. (Easily avoided for those travelling west, as it was on an uphill. Perhaps a bit more of a problem for eastbound traffic.) The only other real difficulty was an icy section after Dawkins Creek--again, for those heading west, it was perhaps less of an issue (as it was on an uphill). Those who are cautious could get by with their best skis.
Tracks were well-formed and easy to follow. In more open areas, there was some drifting from the wind.

(Erik Larson)