Beautiful tracks away from trailheads, trail crossings, and other areas frequented by hikers and snowshoers. Ski trails easily accessed by hikers and snowshoers have a fair amount of foot traffic. But, everything was skiable and fun with good skis. Note that the groomer doesn't pull the track, even on one hairpin on a 2-way trail going up and down into the coulee and I saw several places where folks before me went into the deep. Also, I encountered several off-leash dogs, including one growling with hackles up, and no owner nearby.

Photos:

(Sue Schroeder)

The groomer was tracking mid afternoon. The set track was a little soft but overall trails are in great shape. The north river loop is not groomed, and is designated for snowshoers, so return to the north prairie is possible only via the homestead meadow trail or just north near the bridge.

(Sam Seltz)

Great classic skiing today at Afton. Nice to finally have enough snow on the ground so you can make pole plants without hitting ice. The deep snow is making it hard on the deer, though. We saw two groups of three, just 20 yards off the trail, and most of them were laying in the snow and watching us, to conserve energy, rather than running away. There were more snowshoers than skiers on the trail today. Many of the trails at Afton are open to both skiers and snowshoers.

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Skied every possible skiable corner of Afton today. Nice tracks with plenty of coverage throughout. Tracks at prairie loop were soft today compared with the lower portions of the park, but I'm not complaining! Lots of wildlife out and about, including deer, rabbits, a big pileated woodpecker, and female pheasant.

(Emmerson Ward)

Most of the prairie up top had tracks set and just a couple bare spots. The 1 mile downhill was extremely slow which is rare! Wasn't a bad thing - just wasn't expecting it to be slow. Once we got done and took the old railroad path north there were no tracks and it wasn't flattened. No good way to get back up so took our skis off and hiked back up to the prairie on the edge of Afton. Up top we had about a 1/2 mile before we got back to the groomed paths. Still a fun day. I recommend just staying on the prairie. Didn't make it to the beginner loop since we started up at prairie.

Photos:

(Nathan Coffman)

There is plenty of snow at Afton State Park. The last snow dropped significantly more snow here than just a few miles north. However, there is no grooming so my skis were occasionally slicing through the soft snow to the gravel. It would be great if the groomers could just roll the trails to help firm up the snow. These are great trails in a beautiful setting.

(Ray Johnston)