Outstanding conditions. Excellent grooming - thanks, Brule River State Forest staff. Quite a few skiers, but there's plenty of room for more to ski safely.

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(Peter Nordgren)

After receiving about 6" of fluff, all trails have been groomed and tracked except Classic Trail, which we plan to groom on Thursday morning. Trails may set up nicely overnight, making for very good to excellent skiing over the holiday weekend. Happy New Year!

(Kurt Janko)

DNR groomers appeared to have spent much of the day today rolling and grooming trails. There was still no tracks set for classic. Despite getting at least 12 inches of snow this past week some areas are still thin and groomers unfortunately dug up dirt and debris in places, and other places are a bit bumpy or uneven. If caution is used, the debris is avoidable, but I’d use B skis for skating or classic. Overall, I’d rate the conditions as only “fair”. Hopefully tracks will be set today if the base is deep enough.

(Cordell Manz)

It looks like it will be a White Christmas! Afterhours received about 8" of snow through Wednesday night. Entry and Exit trails have been rolled, as have Maple, Oak, Spruce, River, Aspen, and the Loop trails. No tracks have been set. The warming hut remains closed because of state Covid restrictions. Grooming plans: Due to Christmas, the holiday weekend, and limited grooming staff, grooming will resume Monday morning, Dec 28th. Have a safe and merry Christmas!

(Kurt Janko)

Trails have been rolled. No tracks set. Good to fair coverage in most places. Thinner under heavy thick tree coverage. It is skiable though!

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(Beth Manz)

So, there is some skiing available at Afterhours still, but it is pretty poor. Trails held up to varying degrees through the warm weather after they had been rolled before deer season. There is a very thin base and bare spots in places. Some areas are better than others (some I’d avoid completely) if you want to use rock skis and stick to the best areas.

(Cordell Manz)

I skated Maple, North Loop, Spruce, Balsam, Oak, Aspen and River today. The earlier rolling appears to have paid off since there is a decent base on portions of the trail. Unfortunately sections of the trail that are under large pine trees are thin or bare as well as sections subject to direct sunshine are in poor shape too. I would recommend using Easy Entry to get to Maple to avoid a big bare spot and also avoid River since there are multiple bare spots. If you venture onto Oak I would also recommend using the Spruce Shortcut and avoid the bottom section of Oak. Expect bare spots, ice patches, uneven but firm skate deck and some sticks. Wear bright colors if not blaze orange since it is still deer season.

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(Jon Jurek)

All trails have been rolled this week and cleared of downed trees and large branches. However, with temps in the 40's for the last few days we are rapidly losing snow cover. There are large stretches of bare areas appearing on White Pine where the snow was thin to begin with, and wet seepage areas throughout the trail system. Apparently this was a pre-season tease by Mother Nature! Tracks of bear, wolf, bobcat, turkey, and of course deer have been observed while working on the trails this week. Gates remain up on the trails due to deer hunting season opening Saturday November 21st. Be safe!

(Kurt Janko)

Very good early season conditions. Some big patches of ice, but large sections of good snow. Kudos to the groomers for their hard work to get the trails ready for the season.

(Frank Kaszuba)

After an 8” snowfall on Sunday, around 12k has been rolled. Expect a soft skate deck, occasional ice patches, some thin spots and a few sticks. No tracks have been set. With Deer season opening on Saturday morning the gates are still up but can be easily skied around or under. Wear bright colors for safety if skiing Saturday Nov 21 thru Sunday Nov 29. Enjoy.

Photos:

(Jon Jurek)