Groomed all skate and track lanes yesterday. Trails looked good but I'm sure they are a little soft with all the snow received. Needs to be skied in. Will groom again soon.

(Greg Hoelscher)

The trails had not been groomed but there was an excellent track all the way around....a previously groomed track was nicely skied in. Skating would be a chore, I think, because the skate deck was soft. The snow is beautiful. I skied from 11:15 until 1:15 and as I was finishing the groomer was starting to pack the trails (wiping out the classic track). The skiing was excellent.

(Ralph Schwartz)

At 6 pm, about 4" of fresh un-groomed powder on the trails. Several skiers had already been out in the new snow and created a classical track that looked very soft. Skate lane had been skied on but the amount of un-groomed snow was at about the upper limit of what is is skate-able without technique suffering. Nice to see the trails finally getting enough snow to get out on. Several of the lighting system lights are not working so if you've never been to Balsam before it might be worth bringing a headlamp to help navigate the un-lit sections if you go after sunset. Don't forget to leave a trail donation at the parking lot to help maintain this gem of a trail system.

(Jim Kelley)

After 6 inches of snow yesterday, all trails were tracked and groomed today. It should set up nicely and should be a great weekend for skiing.

(Craig Johnson, Balsam Branch Partnership)

Stopped by at 3:00 pm to check the trails at trailhead and Craig Johnson is grooming the trails as we speak. He has about 3hrs left to get them all groomed and track set. He said they plan on grooming the skate deck again tomorrow afternoon. Should be good skiing tomorrow. They hadn't groomed yet because of the ice underneath the snow but are grooming all as I type this.

(Todd Mott)

Looking for a quick noon workout I drove by today. Still not groomed but the parking lot is plowed.

(Mark Carey)

I stopped by about 3:00 pm. Trail was packed down with snowmobile only, no tracks or grooming. I tried the 3k loop anyways and it was soft and mostly not fun. I saw the groomer out but no where near the trailhead or 3k lighted loop. Trail should be really nice once they get it groomed.

(Mark Carey)

Stopped by at 2:30pm today and looked at the trails by parking lot. Not rolled, but I saw snowmobile tracks on both edges of skate deck but no grooming has occurred that I could see from trailhead.

Photos:

(Todd Mott)

Groomed the skate lane today. There is no track. There are ruts, occasional exposed rock, and dirt; generally poor conditions.

(Craig Johnson, Balsam Branch Partnership)

Not ski-able trails, but grab some Yak Traks, and poles, and do some very fun trail running-bounding. Double pole up the hills for a nice workout. The snow shoe trails are icy, but it's fine to run on the ski trails with a firm deck and a fine layer of snow on top. Almost bare ground in some spots, so you get to crunch through some snow and leaves.

(Steve McCormack)