Nice snow on the Pike Island loop and the two bisecting trails, with basically no ice or bare spots. However, watch out for frequent twigs and bark in the groomed tracks and, of course, scat as well. Saw many deer and a few birds. Tracks unimpacted by hiker boots.

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(Cory Quirk)

Decent if not ideal conditions this afternoon. Tracks are largely hard and fast, but no bare ground and minimal debris (which is easily avoided). Had a great ski session today (spotted lots of deer, as usual).

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(Julio Ojeda-Zapata)

Skied the Pike Island loop. Good snow coverage, no bare spots. Hard and fast but no significant ice. Some tree debris.

(Dan Breitkopf)

Lots of folks out enjoying the trails today! Nice double track on Pike Island - but also got a bit more off the beaten path on the multi use around Snelling Lake - where there's a nice single classic track! A few rocks in the usual spot under the Mendota bridge and thin conditions over some of the pavement but overall great conditions for the snow we have on hand!

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(Sara Brokaw)

But for Skinnyski I would have skipped today assuming the trails were icy and beaten down. How wrong I was. The tracks are shallow and there is a bit of tree debris but the track is fast and no ground shows. It was great. If you have two pairs of skis (I don't) I'd use the B, but I would definitely get out before warm weather louses things up. Thanks to Thomas and Lacey for their reports!

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(David Glaser)

Pike Island appears to have been newly groomed this morning and is in great shape! Tracks are a bit shallow due to sparse snow, but the tree debris and scat from earlier in the week are gone.

(Thomas Blackstock)

Groomer was out while I skiied--new tracks are a bit shallow, but the fresh groom and bit of new snow helped a lot to cover the tree litter. B skis if you have them, but pretty safe for you good skis if you don't.

(Lacey Hartman)

Fun ski around Pike island this evening. Tracks were well defined, but lots of tree litter puts this clearly in the B ski category. A bit icy at times but overall good conditions.

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(Matt Sargent)

Tracks holding up well on Pike Island, and surprisingly fast despite the cold temps early this morning. Lots of sticks, bark, and leaf litter breaking up your stride from time to time though. No ice even on the sunny south side where it typically forms.

(Lacey Hartman)

Skied the Pike Island perimeter trail mid-day, 4 degrees and sunshine. I found two well-set tracks throughout with just one or two worn spots and a minimal amount of bark etc, otherwise excellent condition and a wonderful experience. I am grateful for an actual winter this year. Of note is the fact I saw no boot prints on the Pike Island ski trail: the directive to visitors is to not walk on the ski track (see photo).

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(Jim Patterson)