Skied the north loop from 4:30-5:30pm. Still plenty of corduroy from the last grooming which I believe was Monday. Fast and firm. Can still get an edge easily but please be careful on downhill. In my opinion it's starting to feel like spring like freeze/thaw. The typical areas which first start to see grass are not yet showing it so still plenty of base. Official recommendation is B skis because of all the little debris. One spot where a big branch must have fallen left behind almost unavoidable debris. For the record, I used good skis and didn't see any new scratches, unlike Sunday when I had a minor one. Good skis still fine just note the "risk" to your base.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

The trail was in very good condition. Only downside was it was soft, especially on the front loop return when you reconnected with it from the back loop. The worse was in the recently logged area at the beginning of front loop return where it was very open. The classic track seemed consistent. It was the deepest track I have seen all winter. It was 23 to 24 degrees adjusting for my car thermometer's inaccuracies and overcast. The snow was dry. Base seems plenty thick at this point. Two skaters met me as I was starting, I passed three older classic skiers that were probably younger than me and one classic skier at the top of the last big climb on the entry/exit trail. Otherwise I had the 7 miles all to myself for my 1 1/2 hour tour. After the past two snowless winters, this was my first time here in three years to one of my favorite trails. I prepared extensively bringing food, H2O, other beverages for the 1 1/2 hour drive from the Cities, multiple gloves or mits, alternative waxes, boots and skis for both classic and skate and a change of clothes, spare glasses and an external battery for my cell. Forgot my socks! Thank God I found 2 pairs of wicking crew athletic socks at the Bloomer Dollar Tree that I doubled up. They kept my feet just warm enough. I took it easy, herringboning most of the longer climbs and skipping the side loops. That worked out perfect for me. I was not tired at the end and got home in time for the Super Bowl.

Photos:

(Keith Carlson)

North Loop of Hickory Ridge was amazing. Well-groomed and not overly-skied (we saw three other people). First time skiing this trail: amazed by the lack of flat sections. Warming hut had a raging fire in the stove. Well-worth the extra 20 minutes it takes to drive to the north trailhead. Note: there are no signs for the north trailhead parking lot. If you get to the trail crossing on the road, you've overshot the turn.

(Andy Freeburg)

Ski Trail: The grooming crew groomed the skate lane today. Tracks were left alone. agrooming plans: We will groom again later in the week and the plan will be to reset the tracks before the weekend. Fatbike Trail: Rode it yesterday and it is riding great. Grooming is not needed at this time. Enjoy.

Photos:

(Kevin Roytek)

Sounds like the trail was hit pretty hard today. The guys groomed up the skate lane tonight. Classic tracks were left alone.

(Kevin Roytek)

Better than average cold weather glide. It was just above zero according to my vehicle thermometer when I clipped in about 3 PM. The trail looks like a picture perfect January ski day in the woods. Not sure when it was last groomed, but could've fooled me and that it was groomed earlier on Sunday as a lot of corduroy and not a lot of skate traffic.My official recommendation is good skis. I would like folks to be aware there are a couple areas where there is debris from what appears to be a small tree branch that fell down here there which I presume the groomers had to move (?). 99.5% of the trail is twig free.l flick a sticker too if you're out. The timing the guys do when they groom is just absolutely perfect on this trail system.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

Skied between the 12pm-2pm hour. Earlier Sunday morning more grooming had occurred. It was both faster but a bit more controllable than Saturday. Lots of fun. There was considerable more leaf and twig litter today than the day before; because of this B skies are highly recommended. I talked to one of the groomers, sounds like it was really windy as to why so much debris. It is new debris, not debris dug up from grooming. Spots that were not in the heavy woods did not have debris but thats roughly 10% of the trail system.
Anyway if you have time get out and ski prior to any warm up it will likely remain delightful.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

I skate skied from 9:00-10:00 am today. The grooming team was out. With the dusting of snow to work on, I thought the scratched up surface was really great. Was able to get an edge. Pretty stable. On downhills I did use the classic tracks around the corners. Those felt really nice. I used my best skis with no damage. However with a bit of trail debris, B skis need to be skied if to be extra cautious. Be careful on the downhills. Go Packers!

Photos:

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

Just absolutely beautiful. Skate skied from about 3:30-4:30pm. The guys were out grooming during this time, grooming in the latest light snowfall over the last day. Yes somewhat soft on the skate deck but I do think it will firm up quickly. From the south trailhead lots of cool trees overhanging but the further out not much. Best conditions in years. Classic track is set.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

Ski Trail - Skate lane was groomed and set a new track today. Sounds like there may have been plenty of traffic the last two days. Fatbike Trail - Fatbike trail looked good and was also getting some good traffic on it. Enjoy.

Photos:

(Kevin Roytek)