The lighted trails are groomed for classical; all but the long black loop are groomed for skating. Thank you, groomers!

(Bonnie Corcoran)

Packed and groomed skate lane and classic track. Get out and enjoy before we get more snow. Enjoy the snow shoe trails also.

(Greg Hoelscher)

Skated the outside (unlit) loop with headlamp. Skate lane had been skied in quite a bit which made for fairly solid skating without slabs of snow breaking off underneath you like earlier in the week after the fresh snow. Race baskets were still punching through quite a bit while poling, especially on the sides of the trail that hadn't been skied on much. All in all, excellent conditions.

(Jim Kelley)

Tracks were in great condition a little rough around some turns but all in all fantastic skiing. I skied the lighted trail section the tracks were fast and the skate looked to be in good condition.

(Meghan Devine)

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)