Trail Detail

Balsam Branch Trails
Amery, WI
12k
Skating/Classic
Yes
No
1 Main Lot 1 Kennedy Park
[ NWS ]
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Notes

The Balsam Branch trails are open to the public for no charge. When there is snow, tracks are set by Polk County Park and volunteers. The trailhead parking area is always well plowed. Toilet facilities are available at the nearby Kennedy Environmental center but no coffee shop or warming facility. Roughly 4K of lighted trails added in 2010.
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Trail Reports

2021-2022 season
Reports 2 to 11 of 34    Month: Mar | Feb | Jan | Dec
Monday, March 14, 2022
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
With three inches of snow falling early this morning the coverage on the trails was good. Skate deck wasn't groomed and the classic tracks were covered in places but still visible and easy to go on. No wet spots, no icy patches either. With temps in the upper 30s and a calm wind it was a great day to ski. Hope to get out tomorrow one more time before it starts getting warmer.
Photos:
(David Wilford)
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
Went out with temps in the upper 30s to soften the snow up, and there was only a little ice in places and the tracks were still in good shape. Only one bare spot.
Photos:
(David Wilford)
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
Went out late this afternoon and the classic tracks were decent, with the warm temperature softening things but not making it slushy so had a decent kick. No bare or wet spots, and skate deck looked good too.
Photos:
(David Wilford)
Monday, March 7, 2022
Afternoon
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
The easier and intermediate trails have been groomed after our ice and snowstorm. The outer black loop is not groomed. There are a few sticks, and the trail gets soft in the sun, but the track is firm and the skate deck is quite firm. Get out early before it warms up and conditions should be good! The trees were delightful today, with the sun shining through the icy sparkling branches.
Photos:
(Barry Tulkki)
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Trails groomed since last snow. In good shape, but skate deck a little chewed up from all the skiers. Classic track on some hills wiped out by herringboning.. A few notes to those who have skied here in the past: The parking lot has been tripled in size since last year, so parking is easy. There is now a new trail for beginners. Flat, and a few K in length.
(Ralph Schwartz)
Friday, February 25, 2022
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Good skis ]
Tracks are in pretty decent shape for classic. Looking forward to the next time its groomed. Really enjoyed this system of trails.
Photos:
(Virginia Ballantine)
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Ended 1 PM. Perfectly formed tracks and beautiful corduroy, hardly used since most recent grooming. Skate deck feels a bit soft despite cold weather, so perhaps it was regroomed this morning. However my pole plants on the outer side of the track lane often found impenetrable ice just below the corduroy surface, and in places there was ice starting to poke through the bottom of the track. Hopefully more snow and grooming will further improve the classic experience!
(Wayne Federer)
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Morning
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
All trails tracked and groomed this morning after our fresh snow from yesterday. They should be set up by later in the afternoon. All the debris from earlier in the week is covered over.
(Barry Tulkki)
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Morning
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Classic tracks were in great shape this morning. There is some debris on the tracks but not a significant amount. No bare spots. When I left at about 11am the warm weather started affecting the tracks. The areas in the sun were getting soft and sticky due to the warm weather.
(Michelle McArdle)
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
The inner trails were in excellent conditions - firm, recently groomed and minimal twig and bark litter. The outer trail on the south end had not been groomed since the last snowfall; so it had an inch of powder on top of a firm, previously groomed base. Snow was unfortunately cold and slow. Air temp was between 13 degrees and 15 degrees according to my smartphone. Really cold wind where I was exposed to it. I used FastWax Blue LF on my 1st ski of the perimeter. After a breather and a warmup, I used other skis waxed with SWIX CH3 Powder to do a run on the new beginner loop to see if it performed any better. Felt better on the flats; no better on the uphills. Between my loss of conditioning over a cold-induced, 18 day layoff from skate skiing and still not having shaken all that cold's symptoms, it was slow going on the cold, slow snow. Just averaged 5.0 mph. Still a nice, albeit cold day on a beautiful trail with great conditions. Kudos to the groomers.
Photos:
(Keith Carlson)

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