Trail Detail

Rochester, MN
12K
Skating/Classic
No
Yes
1 Primary 1 45th St Lot
(507) 328-2525
[ NWS ]
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Notes

Trails mostly through fairly open terrain, with both flat and challenging areas. There is a 3.7K man-made snow loop, groomed and track by a PistenBully, and a large parking lot, but no chalet. There is a second lot off 45th St.
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Trail Reports

Reports 1 to 10 of 36    Month: Jan | Dec
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Morning
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: Partial, B skis ]
Fresh snow on top of previous grooming made for mixed conditions, with some fast flats, deeper snow on curves, and boilerplate at the base of the sledding hill. The wind was fierce this morning, and only picking up, but that didn't seem to affect the trails too much. Uphill on the sledding hill was pretty good, without too much sugar buildup yet. Looking forward to some remaining loop connections. All told, a chilly but worthwhile exploration today.
Photos:
(Pieter DeHart)
Friday, January 10, 2025
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: Partial, B skis ]
Best ski trails in town! Well covered trails for skating from the lower section to the top of the hill. The classic tracks appear well set even with the thin layer of new snow. Thanks to groomers and park & rec! The mixed use and intertwined areas with sledders and even snowboarders could be a bit worrisome for potential collision. Sledders had a hard time stopping before heading past into the grass area. The Nordic trails cross over the main maintenance road four times I believe, and some hikers walk across the snow bridges probably because there's no other obvious way around. Hopefully the trails can be fine tuned in the following years.
Photos:
(Ian Chang)
Friday, January 10, 2025
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
It's so great to have some connected loops now! With a light snow falling at midday, a few folks were in the classic tracks meandering around on the fantastic base. While there is still some connectivity needed/yet to happen, one can get in plenty of either skate or classic without worrying about your skis on most of the trail. I say B skis mainly because of the narrower passage from the bottom of the sledding hill to the lower loop/closest to the lower road, as well as the snow at the top of the hill is getting a bit gritty. All told, though, there's lots of snow, wide lanes, and now some creative ways one can work on their technique and get in quite a few miles. Huge thanks to the snowmakers and groomers - what an asset!
Photos:
(Pieter DeHart)
Friday, January 10, 2025
Morning
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
The trails were groomed and a classic track was set this morning. There were additional trail segments open. Just one word for the trail conditions: Fantastic! Many thanks to the groomer (John) and to Rochester Park and Rec.
(David Greymont)
Thursday, January 9, 2025
Morning
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
The snowmakers are closing up the loops! Really nice to get some speed up and do multiple variations of a figure 8 around the trail. Great snow conditions. Freshly groomed this morning. Thank you, snowmakers and RASC!
Photos:
(Melissa Broski)
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Evening
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Partial, B skis ]
Great for having no natural snow! It is so nice to have this option in Rochester— big thank you to everyone who worked to make the snow happen! I used good skis but there were some thinner areas at the road. Classic tracks were present essentially throughout the groomed areas. Good number of people out today. Connections will make it even better!
(Jennifer Dens Higano)
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: Partial, Good skis ]
Trail conditions continue to be quite good, with a very nice base of snow and classic tracks set. No snowmaking today, but they were pushing the existing snow around, looks like the loops will be connected soon. Definitely the best skiing in the area! :-P.
(Amy Hocraffer)
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Morning
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Good skis ]
Conditions are excellent at Gamehaven, thanks to our fantastic groomers and many others who have helped to make this XC skiing park a reality! I classic skied laps on the 0.75 km cross-country loop today. The skate deck also appeared to be in excellent condition. The section that I skied is amenable to your best skis, as long as you stay in the human-made tracks.
(James Martenson)
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Morning
Firsthand: Both 
[ Trails Open: Partial, Good skis ]
Machine made trail is now an honest 2km, but the footprint is not what the final trail will be. Classic track was only on about 1/2 Km today. Tilled and groomed. Excellent skiing. Grooming plans: The snow guns will be pulled out on Wednesday morning. Once the equipment is out the road crossings will be groomed and we should almost immediately have more trail open, and there will be loops instead of just out and back. After that the crews will work on the snowy mountains to the south. Thank you for your patience. The best thing you could do to support this project is get out and ski. Second best is give feedback to City Park and Rec, who have spent a lot of time and money to make this happen. We need continued support to make this work.
(Jim Bennett)
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: Partial, B skis ]
Very nice trails with great grooming and well set classic tracks! They were making snow while I was out today and have almost connected the loop. Right now there are two segments, each shaped like an "e" so you only have to do a turn around once per lap, which is a nice improvement. You can ski across the road that separates the two segments, but it's just a small bridge of snow and they are driving equipment across it throughout the day, hence why I recommend B skis (everything else is beautiful). If you park at the lower parking lot, you can avoid the giant hill, though that hill is also groomed and looks quite nice now that kids are back in school again and not sledding on it all day.
Photos:
(Amy Hocraffer)

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