Skied classic on the man made loop mid morning. The classic tracks were perfect, other than at intersections where they had subsequently driven over them with grooming equipment. Tracks seemed a bit slow, as though my kick wax was dragging. Maybe it was. I had waxed with Start Green (10-20F) two days ago and just layered Swix VO5 (10 to -12 F) over it rather than rewax (although the VO5 is the coldest wax I have anyway). Kick was great though and the wax showed no signs of getting scrubbed off after 2 hours of skiing. The skate deck looked firm and slow although I didn't take a single stride on it to confirm. Northern Lights and the Meadow (?) trail showed fresh corduroy visible from the intersections with the man made loop but no classic tracks were visible. Weather was fine. I think the windchill was a bit misleading today as the winds were light and variable, barely noticeable even out in the open on the man made loop.

(Leif Irgens)

With the snow from overnight, all of the trails seem to be open, all of the skate trails anyways. Base was soft, but good coverage throughout. I used rock skis, but good skis could have been used with no problems. Classic tracks have been cut on the snowmaking loop (which is 100% open), but not on the natural surface trails - yet.

(Eric Nevalainen)

Northern Lights Loop is open. Fresh snow. No tracks set, but fluffy snow made for excellent skiing. Friday night ranked in one of my top 5 cross-country ski experiences.

(Shannon Loehrke)

The man-made loop from the donut to the lesson area is open and in good condition for both skating and classic with tracks set. The lesson area and a small section just South of the donut are slow with blowing snow from the snow guns. NL is open, no tracks, but I didn't try it. There were a number of other skiers on NL though.

(Brad Johnson)

Short loop is now open! Runs from practice area to the donut (by the alpine area). Distance is about 1.25K. They have guns operating on the rest of the loop, hopefully opening soon.

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(Mark Lahtinen)

In the absence of reports, I drove up to Elm to take a first hand look. The snow guns are on everywhere but the man-made loop is aggressively roped off and the trail is not such that one would want to ski on it anyway. I walked up to the trail head area from the parking lot to see that, while there appears to be ample snow on the ground, there is no sign of any ski-specific grooming (i.e. corduroy) although there are plenty of deep bulldozer type tracks indicating the grooming equipment has been driven around the area. The view of the lesson area from the road also shows substantial snow cover. With the man-made loop being closed, I took a look at the Northern Lights trail from the over-flow parking lot. I skated one lap and would describe it as thin, firm and rutted. Very few patches of ground showing through but a little too thin and uneven for my taste. I packed it in after one lap.

(Leif Irgens)

Main loop is still not groomed. Snow guns are blasting. Most of Nothern Lights loop is groomed! I looped around a few times and then veered off and was pleasantly surprised when I found I could ski the whole back outer loop!! Some areas I had to be light on my skis to make sure they wouldn't touch down on the gravel/rock through the soft snow, but other than that, fantastic!

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(Mollie Gillberg)

Northern lights trail loop coverage pretty good but soft. Very skiable if you don't edge too aggressively - some dirt exposed on climbs. Also skied northern portion of creek/lake trail (not officially open) - skiable, but more debris and grooming ridges than on northern lights trail. Should be great with a bit more snow and time to set up. No tracks set on any of the trails.

Photos:

(James Johnson)

Took a reconnaissance run on the Northern Lights trail on an old pair of waxless touring skis. Deemed it acceptable for skating. Trail had been rolled and the coverage was thin. Several small patches of grass (about the size of a ski binding), various vegetative debris, and very small divots of gravel were showing but it was easy to step around them. Pitched forward on debris a few times but overall, even by my conservative views, skiable with rock skis. I did see the big grooming equipment out on the man made loop as I drove out of the park after skiing.

(Leif Irgens)

The Northern Lights Loop has been packed and is in open for skiing. It is rated as poor, with thin, soft coverage. No tracks set. All other trails remain closed while the park continues to manufacture snow for the Valley Trail.

(Bruce Bolduan, Three Rivers Park District)