We classic skied the Knob and Kettle Trails. Some segments had been groomed either this morning or yesterday. Classic tracks were set in about 75% of the segments we skied. The others were just rolled for skating. Temperature was about 35F and climbing when we were out. The steeper hills are starting to get a bit scraped and icy. Still skiable today if using caution, but if the temp drops below freezing without more snow, they'll start to get kind of treacherous. No bare spots yet, though there are a few visible rocks poking through the skate deck, and a few erosion gullies. There are some leaves/sticks/bark, but not too bad. Swix V-60 gave just enough kick to get up the hills with a lot of herringboning.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Good conditions at Murphy. Coverage is good on all trails, just a couple places that are easy to avoid. Needs a grooming to clear out some shallow ski ruts. Fast downhills were not icy. Hopefully Three Rivers Parks can find some funds to do some erosion control on these trails in the future. Take a moment of silence for the rabbit who met its demise on trail.

(Adrian Swanson)

We classic skied the Kettle and Knob trails during the light snowfall in the late afternoon. Less than an inch of new snow fell, so it didn't interfere with classic skiing. Set tracks were generally in very good shape. Swix V-10 worked surprisingly well. Skate deck was in good shape except for a couple of spots with eroded ruts in the middle of the trail. Didn't see another skier after we left the parking lot.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Classic skied the outer loop, a combination of Razorback and Kettle trails. Classic tracks are shallow but were there through except on the steep hills. Trail debris and a few rocks needed to be dodged but oak leaves were not a problem in the cold. Fun to do this challenging trail and wish I had time for 2 loops.

(Tim Nelson)

If you are looking for adrenaline and endless endorphins, it's hard to beat doing three laps of the outer Razorback trail at Murphy Hanrehan, especially on a sunny day like today! One loop is 10K and is guaranteed to keep you warm and your blood pumping. No wind whatsoever thanks to the heavy woods. Classic tracks are present throughout the Razorback trail - and in most places the classic tracks are faster than the skate deck. Skate deck is in good shape too, with no new grooming since Thursday's light snowfall - which was fine by me to keep the downhills somewhat manageable at speed. There are a few rocks near the end, and forest debris, so maybe not ideal for race skis, although doable. Parking lot was the most full I have ever seen - although we only ran into one other skier on the outer Razorback trail. Get out and enjoy it while it lasts!

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

We skied Kettle and Knob trails this morning on our classic skis. Not enough time to ski Razorback today. Conditions were excellent, once again. The northern portions of the trails appear to have been groomed again yesterday or maybe even this morning. If you're looking for a place away from the crowds, this is it. We didn't see another car in the lot or another person on the trail between 10:30 and 11:45. These have been my favorite trails in the metro area since I started skiing them 40+ years ago. In the early days, some of the steep downhills ended with sharp turns in front of big trees, and the park rangers put hay bales in front of them to protect people. Thankfully, those trails have been fixed, but there are still some exciting hills/turns!

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Skied mid-afternoon, temps in the single digits below zero. If you desire smooth, flat immaculately groomed skate decks and rock hard classic tracks, if you don't want to see any bark, twigs, or leaves, then Murphy isn't for you. It's old school -- an extremely challenging trail over natural terrain, mostly in the woods, and you'll find uneven surfaces, bark and leaves, and sections sometimes so narrow you'll be forced to skate over parts of the classic track. But... it's still one of the best trails in the metro! The flow, the beautiful rolling hills, and the very challenging hills, both up and especially down, are totally worth all the warts. Today the coverage was very good by Murphy standards: nice classic tracks in most places, and a firm, fast skate deck. Even with the cold weather it was very fast (scary fast at times), and unfortunately there are a few rocks exposed that could be a real hazard. And all the hills and woods kept the cold temps away. One of the best ski outings I've had this season!

Photos:

(Bruce Adelsman)

Trails still excellent for classic. We skied the Knob and Kettle trails and saw 9 other skiers. Skate deck seems good for most of its length. Fair to poor for a few short stretches.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Snow and grooming were perfect for classic this afternoon. Skied the outermost loop, Knob-Kettle-Razorback. Swix V-10 kick wax worked well on the wood skis. Leaves weren't too bad, for the most part. There was a little bit of drifting into the tracks near Hanrehan Lake, but not on most of the rest of the trail. Didn't see any exposed rocks. Skate deck appeared better than a week ago, but still some troughs in a few places. Very few people skiing. Only saw two others while I was out on most of the trail, till I saw a high school team at the end, near the parking lot. I was happy to see the park put up a new sign to make it more clear that walking, biking, and snowshoeing aren't allowed on the ski trails. There was much less foot traffic than I saw a week ago.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

First long section of Razorback is closed. Everything else is open. Mostly good, but some rocks and some gullies as noted. This is the best terrain in the metro. It would be great to see it groomed more frequently and erosion and rocks addressed.

(Jess Holle)