Most trails were groomed and tracked today. White pine, little joe, spruce, and the last part of oak do not have track set but are accessible. The skate deck is still soft and uneven but the groomer has smoothed over a lot of the humps. The tracks are soft but were worked in by skiers today and may set up overnight. Grooming will continue on Tuesday the 1st.

(Matthew Leischer, Wisconsin DNR)

I'd estimate we had 10-12 inches of snow in the Brule area, with the first 3-4" being about as heavy of snow you can ever see. It's a white winter world with trees hanging and bent over from snow as others have mentioned. The DNR staff have been out grooming and removing downed trees and branches (skiers have been helping with this too). Overall, conditions are pretty soft and a little uneven, but that should improve day-by-day this week as more grooming passes are made. They have done some grooming on all skating trails so far, but haven't set tracks as yet. The Classic Only trail is the only trail they haven't been able to get to at all to this point. This could take longer to get ready considering it's narrower and probably has trees & brush bent over on a consistent enough basis that could need some clearing first before groomers can do the job the job to set tracks. With the new snow, I'd expect good conditions for the River View Loppet next Saturday once branches and overhanging limbs have been cleared.

(Cordell Manz)

Continued to clear and pack the trail today. All trails except Classic trail are passable with one skate lane rolled with corduroy. The trail is semi set and still uneven with a base of 5 inches. Expect trails to have some trees leaning toward the center along with branches amongst the trail. Interior trails that are cleared to full width will be groomed and tracked tomorrow. Further clearing and grooming will resume on January 1st 2019. Thank you for coming out and enjoying the fresh snow!

(Matthew Leischer, Wisconsin DNR)

With approximately 10 inches of new heavy snow overnight, there is now about 4-5 inches of base. Most of the trails have been rolled, but not tracked. Expect many overhanging branches and some sticks and branches on the trails as the heavy snow downed many small trees. White Pine and Little Joe trails have not been rolled yet. Rolling and grooming will continue on Saturday and Tuesday.

Photos:

(Diane Gobin)

Truly magical skiing. Staff was in the midst of grooming and clearing debris from the storm. Trails that weren't yet groomed had soft powder on top, still very skiable (and we were skating). Definitely worth watching out for a few twigs to enjoy the amazing scenery: inches of snow stuck to every branch. Check out the enchanted forest before it's all blown off.

Photos:

(Mitchell Campbell)

I skated most of the trails today with the exception of Sally's Classic. Some good and some bad. White Pine and River have multiple bare spots where I had to remove my skis and walk but I was able to ski all the other trails without removing my skis. Expect thin, wavy, and stubblly sections. The 1/2" of wet heavy snow yesterday helped the remaining base which is very firm after the recent thaw. Be careful if you go. Think snow!

(Jon Jurek)

Skied late morning on Sunday into lunchtime. Warm weather adversely impacted trail conditions, but you could still go to Afterhours to ski yet. I'd recommend rock skis however, and avoid White Pine Loop, as several areas opened up on it where you'd have to walk across without snow cover. The east and south side of Loop is like skiing on a road. River Loop is very poor in several spots, but I made it through without removing skis. Other areas have more sticks or rocks exposed than before.

(Cordell Manz)

Trails are in fair condition overall. I skied Wednesday evening using my "rock" skis but you can get away with "B" skis, as long as you keep your eyes open. The trails are a bit dirty, uneven and bumpy still in areas. Two areas on White Pine loop have a fair about of stubble poking through to trip you up and there is a couple icy spots on River Loop. Not enough snow base for setting classic tracks as yet, either. The trails are getting a lot of use by skiers. With this weekend's warm weather forecasted, I'd recommend (ask) skiers to consider skiing in the early morning so that we don't do as much damage to our limited amount of snow base before the heat arrives later in afternoon.

(Cordell Manz)

I skated all trails except a few sections of Loop and the Sally's Classic. Everything was groomed and when I spoke with the groomer he was hoping to pack Sally's yet today. Expect thin spots and trail stubble in places but much of the trail is good. Cold temperatures tonight may firm up the base and would make for nice early December skiing.

Photos:

(Jon Jurek)

The trails are being rolled and are in fair to good condition with a 1.5" base. There is a good amount of stubble and grass poking through in spots. There's not enough snow to set track, but about 4" on the ground.

(Diane Gobin)