Another bitterly disappointing afternoon wasted at what used to be one of the finest parks to ski in Southern Wisconsin. I found rock hard trails with a shallow track that I slipped out of to a hard base on even the slightest of turns. Much of Lost Canyon appeared to be "groomed" with a snowmobile pass. Hills were unmanageable as were turns. The trails were covered with boot prints. Even though there was ample room to walk on the sides of the trail people chose to walk in the tracks as well as plant some type of pole in them. I saw two other skiers and many more hikers all coming the wrong way. As I left two people got out of a car with snowshoes and a dog and proceeded up the trail. There is no reason to drive from Madison to try skiing here anymore.

Photos:

(Robert Abendroth)

I called the park this morning. Staff said that trails had not been groomed yet, but they'd probably roll it tomorrow. They do not plan to set tracks quite yet. Staff also told me that while they do groom occasionally, they do not do it as frequently as other state parks in the area like Blue Mound.

(Kyle Richard)