Except for a few sections of ice and one break that I walked across with skis on, trail was in very good condition. Recently groomed with just the right amount of loose snow for decent bite. Unfortunately, I had to tell six dog walkers that they were not supposed to be walking on the ski trail as it was posted at the trailhead. It was about 40 degrees and sunny at my 12:55 start. I missed the window by half an hour to an hour but still moved at a better than 6.5 mph pace, which is a reasonably fast for me. I used FastWax Yellow LF.

(Keith Carlson)

Groomer was out and scraped up enough to get edge 100-150m , then double pole ice 20-40. Not rutty at least. Even going walking speed at 1k curves, I could barely hang on to trail. Also had to remove skis just after where ironwood and lakeside come together. I still love the peaceful woods. And enjoyed the 100m good intervals. Thanks groomers for scraping something up. But tomorrow I'll go to Hyland.

(Gregory Yetzer)

Skated--or skidded--the outer loop several times, until 12:15 pm and 27 degrees. Very skiable where the little bit of fresh snow covered the deck, though my skis left some nasty ruts, except for the very few stretches that had been groomed. Skirted around the icy bad stretches where the fresh snow didn't cover the often trail-wide frozen slush. Noted very little of the outer loop had tracks set. So parts of the trail are "gone", and all of it needs a fresh dump of snow.

(Richard Swenson)

Very skiable. So glad I came. Three big icy spots. First at curves 1k in (slow down). Next spots thin and icy, may not last long: where the upper/lower ironwood meet and Where ironwood and lakeside meet. A few other minor spots too.

(Gregory Yetzer)

Classic tracks well used. Skate deck roughed up for edging by grooming equipment. Tracks slippery, some icy spots with south exposure. Lower Ironwood open but no tracks set and you will need to take skis off to get through at end of cattails. Trails softening up as I was leaving before noon.

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(Ken Kuznia)

Excellent coverage and grooming for the most part. And a lovely day to go with it. However, there are enough oak leaves scattered here and there in the tracks to give you a bit of a jolt if you aren't paying attention. And the downhill on the Lower Ironwood Trail takes you across some cattails that aren't well snow-covered. Be very careful if you have fast skis.

(Curt Hillstrom)

Did the outer loop at Cleary. Very good conditions. A bit slow. Track a bit shallow near the Visitor's Center, gets better on the outer loop. Very little debris.

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(Dave Gardner)

Excellent snow and trail conditions at Cleary Lake. Enjoyed skiing the trails in the sunshine! Could feel ice under new snow in a few spots, but it didn't affect my kick.

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(Anne Kuznia)

Best conditions of the season! Groomed for skate and deep tracks for classic. Deck is still soft following yesterday's snowfall. No debris on the trails. Next few days should be ideal for either type of skiing. Golf course trail groomed but saw walkers on it since it's an all purpose trail.

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(Eric Spieler)

Quiet except me during true Blizzard. 4" new dry snow on firm base. Classic tracks currently nonexistent, WeeHaw! Very nice Scott County Deputy got out of vehicle to push my car over berm on way out. Fantastic.

(David Pramann)