Trail Detail

Carlton, MN
51K
Classic Only
No
No
218-384-4610
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Easy to difficult trails. The farther you get from the park office, the more difficult the trail.
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Trail Reports

Reports 1 to 10 of 19    Month: Feb | Jan | Dec
Friday, February 27, 2026
Morning
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Skied the Thompson, White Pine and CC Trails. Only Thompson and CC were recently groomed. Slushy and lots of sinking, but very little debris from the high winds thus far. Heard a loud crack and turned to see a huge branch break off a white pine about 20 yards from me. Hills on the White Pine Trail were challenging with the risk of sudden sinking and so needed to be taken slow.
Photos:
(Rick Vatsaas)
Friday, February 27, 2026
Morning
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Good skis ]
We were excited to ski at Jay Cook today just as it was thawing out because we heard it was groomed yesterday, but when we got there it was disappointing. Aesthetically it looked great, functionally it was not good. Someone who skis it regularly and was there yesterday said it seemed like it was tracked but not packed and that was how it was today after at least the second grooming since the storm. Pole plants were soft and deep, throwing us off balance even with big baskets. Tracks were sinky and a mix of deep and shallow, often catching skis on the sides and causing us to "stumble". Debris was minimal. We did the Thompson loop flat side then left, none of us wanted to attempt the hills with these conditions.
Photos:
(Eve Graves)
Sunday, February 22, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
Conditions are just about as perfect as can be! Tracks might be a little soft in places and some pole plants might seem headed to the center of the earth, but the skiing between about 10:30 and 3:30 on Sunday was truly a delight. My kiddo and I did everything north of the river and it's all open and magnificent. True there's that one spot where the trail got road-plowed and also the thin area across the Forebay dam, but hard to complain too much. In particular, if you can make it out to the Oak Loop... you might be hard pressed to find a better ski all year [mwah!]. Enjoy!
Photos:
(Adam Arvidson)
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Partial, Good skis ]
Great conditions and minimal debris. Tracks are soft and shallow in spots here and there and there is one spot where the trail goes by a road on White Pine where most of the trail has been plowed. Attached is a photo of the current groomed trails (highlighted in pink and green by the ranger).
Photos:
(Rachelle Walker)
Friday, February 20, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic Secondhand 
[ Trails Open: Partial, Good skis ]
Pristine would be a good description! Tracks were soft. Some of the north side of the river trails groomed classic: Thomson loop, part of CCC, and River trail. White Pine has been rolled. The Park phone message said they're going to keep grooming.
Photos:
(Ann Gustafson)
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Skied the West Ridge trail. Snow depth was good, no bare spots. Tracks were a little icy in spots, but did not negatively impact skiing. Tracks were plenty deep enough to keep skis in tracks. Nice cloudy day, good afternoon for a ski.
(Nickoel Anderson)
Monday, February 2, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
Skied White Pine, Greeley Creek, and the beginning of Triangle up to the loop. Generally, conditions were very good to excellent, with Triangle appearing to have had a little less traffic. It looked like the last grooming occurred before Sunday's one inch of snowfall, but everything I encountered had been skied in by at least one skier. Not as much track washout as usual on the popular trails, and track integrity is fully maintained on Greeley where it runs along the edge of the Munger Trail. If you use good skis (or maybe even B skis) on Greeley Creek, take them off when you get to the gravel road at the top of the hill leading to the dam by Jay Cooke Road. Roughly an inch of snow covering the gravel, and you will definitely gouge the bases here if you're not careful. Crossing Jay Cooke Road to continue on Greeley would actually be less damaging to ski bases if you don't take them off for the crossing. Also, there is one spot to watch for on the return of the White Pine: the open area with the posts that drifts heavily since the big flood/washout of 2012. There is some rough surface here, possibly some gravel, in the open area before you turn back into the woods.
(Joel Rosen)
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Good skis ]
Skied Oak Trail and the groomer came through halfway through my ski before he headed on to the rest of the Jay Cooke trails. Tracks were a bit soft, but the grooming was appreciated and the sunlight was dreamy.
Photos:
(Deanna Erickson)
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, B skis ]
CCC was well groomed for classic except at intersections. Small number of debris but nothing too bothersome. Skied a bit on Thompson Trail too and that was also fine. They could use a fresh coat of snow but all in all very surprised at how well the trails have held up.
(Heather Larson)
Friday, January 30, 2026
Morning
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
Skied CCC, Thompson and White Pine. Freshly groomed and a delight to explore a new trail system. Good skis would be fine on CCC and Thompson but we got some scratches from tree debris on White Pine. Full snow coverage and no ice.
(Anne Valaas-Turner)

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