Went for a classic ski around 10am. The trails appeared to be freshly packed, and I found it easier to ski outside of the classic tracks that were set...as those were fairly icy. The groomer passed me towards the end of my ski so I had a chance to ski in the freshly set tracks --- not much better. That being said, it was beautiful, peaceful, and all and all worth the trip and time spent skiing. I'll probably be back tomorrow.

(Liz Ferron)

Had a window to ski at French this morning and took advantage of it. Arrived to an empty parking lot and fresh corduroy everywhere. Yesterday's snow was enough to cover any bare ground and/or ice left over from the weekend meltdown; there were only a few places (such as the entry to the Lagoon Trail) that were showing some thin spots. A few twigs and leaves scattered here and there but nothing I couldn't' ski over or around. I did notice on subsequent laps a few places where my strides had cut in close to dirt so I was glad I was on B-skis. The groomer attempted to set classic tracks while I was there with variable success. I could see it was thin in places and hitting ground in others.

(Leif Irgens)

Still really good. A few icy patches in low lying areas but manageable. Some sticks and leaves as well but easy to work around. Perfect firm deck. Skied around 8:30am and only saw two other skiers.

(Bob Wilson)

The skate deck was in great condition and the classic tracks were average. Fun to get out and ski on some natural snow.

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(Tom Ajax)

Groomers did a great job preserving the trail. A few thin/dirty spots on the skyline trail, but the hills were in great shape. Ski your B skis and you can avoid the bad spots. Otherwise play it safe with rock skis.

Photos:

(Kristin Lindquist)

Skating was really nice this morning, classic tracks had not been re-tracked when I left at 8am. There were a few icy places with thin snow so don't use your best skis, but otherwise the skiing was great! Funny note, I accidentally grabbed my rollerski poles and the base was so hardpack that I didn't notice until most of the way around the loop.

(David Nelson, Skinnyski.com Race Team)

I don't know how, but French survived. The tree cover and the shade undoubtedly helped matters. Conditions were worse in the full sun areas, but even those held up well. I skied about 7K of the standard loops, expecting to battle bald spots and bad conditions, and was very surprised to find it in good shape. Additional snow will definitely help. Tomorrow might be a little slippery as some of the melt freezes but I'm hopeful the groomers can work their magic again.

(Paul Larson)

Awesome, freshly groomed trails. Near pristine. Maybe 3-4 spots total that were a little thin, but otherwise good with minimal debris. Based was thin though - so even a one day warmup may put it at risk.

(John Leaf)

Good to very good. We skied all of the open trails on our classic skis and then I skied a couple laps on all of the lighted trails on my skate skis. Conditions were much better than the fair rating on the board at the park. A small amount of leaves and bark here and there on the skate deck, but not enough to have any effect. Almost no debris in any of the classic tracks. No exposed dirt or pavement, except one little 3-inch patch of dirt in one track. No ice anywhere. The only trail that was closed was the first half of Challenge Hill. Conditions are the best I've seen in the past 3 years at French Regional Park. Get out and enjoy it while it lasts!

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Official condition report says fair. They are better than that. I rate them good. Very good by 2018 standards.

(Craig Thielke)