Trail Detail

Park Rapids, MN
45K
Skating/Classic
No
No
218-699-7251
[ NWS ]
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Notes

Here you will find the Headwaters to the Mississippi amongst towering pines. Trails are easy to difficult.
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Trail Reports

2025-2026 season
Reports 1 to 8 of 8    Month: Feb | Jan
Monday, February 9, 2026
Morning
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
I skated S Entrance Road, excellent skate lane and nice, smooth grooming on a good base. Some sun-exposed areas were a little glazed after recent temp changes, but the surface felt soft and had a good grip. Classic track was fresh and solid, but recent winds have blown some fine needles and a little debris into the tracks, so felt a little sticky to glide downhill.
Photos:
(Deane Johnson)
Friday, February 6, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Conditions are very good. Thursday temperatures in the high 30s and colder temperatures on Friday caused the trail to be firm to the point of hard and extremely fast! Good snow coverage throughout. Two spots exposed to the sun were icy. We skied the bike trail to the headwaters in the morning that was great. We did the Ozawindib trail and the south entrance road in the afternoon. I would not recommend Ozawindib trail unless you are an expert skier. It is super fast and hard with steep uphills and downhills. I've been skiing for many years, and I had to walk down two of the steeper sections. It's just too hard to control your speed on the hard snow. You can really cruise on the south entrance road. Overall a great day.
Photos:
(Greg Nohner)
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Morning
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
Pristine conditions, thanks to the recent grooming. Plenty of sunshine, then overcast by noon. I did the South Entrance Road, then the DeSoto and Deer Park trails: 20 K. Tracks set quite well and firm.Around 1 pm, the trails became a bit slower. Enjoy your weekend on the trails!
(István Gombocz)
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
Top conditions, to say the least. Rolled, then new tracks set in the entire system. I did DeSoto and Deer Creek Trails in the morning, then Headwater in the afternoon. Total of 33 K of challenge, recreation, and fun.
(István Gombocz)
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
Classic track was set on Ozawindib trail, Deer park Trail, headwaters Bike Trail and others. Good ski conditions.
(Jen Cannell)
Saturday, January 17, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Partial, Good skis ]
The grooming was beautiful where it had been done, but not all trails were open. We took the Ozawindib Trail south from the Douglas Lodge, thinking we'd loop around to the west and back on the DeSoto Trail. But the grooming ended at the Red Pine trail, which cuts east to the South Entrance, which we had been told was not tracked for classic (or if it was, tracks were likely blown in). So we back tracked to the Oross Over trail and returned on the Deer Park Trail. The Cross Over Trail was perfect, but the Deer Park trail had not been regroomed since the most recent snow, so we had to cut our own tracks. That was a good way to see and appreciate an abundance of animal tracks though! The wildlife seems to prefer packed trails too! I had wanted to take the Ozawindib Trail because I hadn't done it since I was a mere beginner, when I had thought it was too difficult, and wanted to see if my opinion of it had changed now that I'm a better skier. It hasn't. I wish I had stuck to the bike trail north from the visitor center, where I can ski with more confidence.
(Lois Braun)
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Pristine conditions (freshly groomed ) on the Southern Entrance Trail. Good to excellent conditions on the Headwaters Trail. Afton Heights Trail in the woods is definitely worth a try. Use extreme caution on the Ozawindib Trail. Enjoy!
(István Gombocz)
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Evening
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
Headlamp evening ski in tracks, under a starlight sky. Classic tracks are firm, and double tracks are set. Embracing Minnesota winters and people.
(Lisa Martin)