The trails at Pine Valley were not groomed when we did the All City Meet today and had 6 inches of fresh snow. This was the first time we have participated in this event which is geared for toddlers to the elderly and I highly recommend it! This event included ski jumping for all abilities kids ski races and an adult 5.5 k race. Very worth driving to from anywhere!

(Eve Graves)

Really nice skiing at Pine Valley right now, solid classic tracks and a firm skate lane. Very light skier traffic, no tree debris noticeable.

(Tom Urbanski)

Very nice fast snow conditions. 1/2 inch covering on the skate lane. Sadly someone hiked on the trail in snow boots in the middle of the skate lane. Could use a fresh groom.

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(Peter Jelinek)

Excellent skiing on the lighted loop tonight, easily the best conditions of the season at Pine Valley. Skate lane is groomed flat and wide, firm base with the perfect amount of loose snow on the surface. There is a full depth classic track throughout that's not washed out. Solid pole plants everywhere with no punching through. Trail was groomed on Monday, skier traffic appears to be light to moderate since then, light snow coming down when I was skiing.

(Tom Urbanski)

Trails were groomed on Wednesday afternoon after the recent snowfall and skiing was very enjoyable in the evening. The skate lane was flat and wide, excellent overall although still a bit soft. The classic track is variable, ranging from full depth/very good to shallow/fair because of a few icy spots where the old crusty base re-appeared near the surface.

(Tom Urbanski)

A layer of loose sugary snow on top of a hard packed base made for good skating on Saturday afternoon. Once you get beyond the first section that has a lot of pine needles (the usual location), the snow is much cleaner and skis well. A shallow classic track meanders into the skate lane in places. Skating is the better option right now. There are a few small icy spots but nothing scary. No exposed dirt and plenty of snow coverage, but the tree debris at the start and finish sections might be enough to keep your best skis in the bag. The outer 2K loop is in better condition than the lighted loop. The grooming crew did a good job reviving the trail after the thaw and rain earlier in the week.

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(Tom Urbanski)

First, I want to apologize as I'll be the first to say our response to the recent snowfalls has not been up to our previous standards. Unfortunately, due to some staff turnover and a short-handed crew we have struggled to keep up over past two weeks. That said, we are committed to get back on a regular three times per week grooming schedule moving forward. I know everyone is excited to get out and enjoy the snow and we want to continue to provide an enjoyable experience for our residents.
Thanks to the efforts of some local volunteers, I'm happy to report Pine Valley West has been cleared of brush and was packed earlier today in preparation for normal grooming. My staff will attempt to groom the 2.5k loop yet this afternoon if the number of users allow. Otherwise, the groomer will be out tomorrow morning to work on the entire Pine Valley System. I'd ask everyone to bear with us as we work thru training some new and inexperienced staff. We recognize the importance of this activity to the community and I'm confident we are moving in the right direction.

(Caleb Peterson)

The 2.5k portion is basically groomed though a little slow but could use another pass. The first half of the 3.5k section is skateable as it looks like the groomer made one pass a while ago and 2 snowmobile passes, but the 2nd half towards Gap hill is not very good though you can make it. The 5.5k loop is very soft and rough -- it's so soft I had to turn around after 1/4k. I looked at the 4k White Pine loop and at the beginning by Spring Lake Road it looked fairly packed by snowmobile and smooth though somewhat narrow and no track is seen. I'm going to try and skate it tomorrow though it may worsen when it forks off as the entrance trail gets double traffic.

(Shammah Parks)

It's a classic-skiing winter wonderland! The trail is not groomed, so leave your skate skis at home. But thanks to people who have skied in a classic track, it's a great opportunity to go classic skiing! The front half of the trail is skied in, and someone attempted to ski in the second half but turned around and gave up after about 200 m because the snow is really deep!

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(Kari Hedin)

While the ski trail has not been machine groomed, there is a very nice set of skier-made classic tracks around the main loop. It's "old school" style skiing this weekend. The City of Cloquet grooming crew is planning to pack and groom the ski trail on Monday. Snowshoeing on the new singletrack trail is in prime condition.

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(Tom Urbanski)