We skied these trails (20K) for the first time and barely reviewed the map ahead of time and didn't have an issue finding our way around.
I skied the 'Long Rider' & 'Bruces Roundabout' to get in a nice 13K ski with a nice mixture of flats and hills.
My husband did 'Mary's Frolic', 'Roller Coaster' and 'Wills Crossing' covering nearly all of the skate trails.
Much of the trails were off-camber for lack of snow with sporadic debris of sticks and leaves but no rocks.
Classic tracks were set and saw people enjoying classic skiing as well. Snow seems more plentiful in Vilas County as compared to Oneida County so it was worth the drive for us. Were very impressed with their ice skating rink and snowshoe trails as well. The facility runs on donation only with a full heated warming shelter with water and indoor bathrooms. Many people were heating up there lunch after there ski. We will be back to either ski or mountain bike. Trails are open for mountain biking as well.

Photos:

(Cheryl Corbeille)

What a pleasant surprise classic ski conditions were here. I usually skate ski the trails here and find them to be a great workout. However, today I decided to classic ski here for only the second time. I skied the entire Lions Pride loop and it was absolutely beautiful! Classic conditions were very good to excellent. There were no frozen slush sections like I have encountered everywhere else I have skied the last few days. I used my Fischer Crown Classic No-wax skis and they worked great. I had to break trail on the outermost part of Lions Pride but that was fun too.
I talked to someone who had skate skied here today and he reported less favorable skate conditions. He said the skate deck was icy and control was sketchy.

Photos:

(Jim Gantz)

Classic skied Oak Ridge this afternoon. Fast tracks with some slick spots, but for the most part fairly good considering the amount of snow we have. There is a fair amount of wind blown litter building up on the trail, but skiing with VR40 I had no problem with skis sticking anywhere. Tracks are actually holding up well despite the numbers of skiers using them the past few days.

(Will Maines)

Skate skied mostly the Long Rider Loop. Skate deck was uneven in some areas and a little stubble showing through. Firm conditions. With only a few inches of snow cover conditions were very good --firm and flat. Most of the interior loops looked soft. Only tried Mary's frolic, it was soft but enjoyed the beauty of the area and just took it easy. Did not hit any rocks anywhere on any segments of the trails.

(Mark Timken)

Groomed Ridge Trail, Bruce's Roundabout and Long Rider on the skate side this morning, along with Oak Ridge and Hair Raiser on the classic side. All other loops except classic loop Lions Pride were groomed yesterday afternoon. That will be groomed tomorrow morning. Loops groomed yesterday have about 1/2-inch light powder on top which isn't affecting skiing at all. Overall I would rate all loops good to very good, with just a few scattered short stretches still showing a little mowing stubble. What a difference four inches of snow has made. Warming building is always open. Snowshoe trails have been stomped. New trail maps are in the warming building, and they now show the snowshoe trails as well as the ski loops.

(Will Maines)

Went out this afternoon and panned Roller Coaster and Will's Crossing on the skate side, along with Shortcut and Doug's Folly on the classic side. Set a very shallow track on the classic loops. With rock hard base underneath 1-1/2-inches of powder snow, tracks don't amount to much. Skate trails are good in some stretches, but still some mowing stubble showing through in others. Will pan remaining loops on both sides tomorrow and Wednesday. Will probably not do Long Rider and Bruce's Roundabout because there are three or four hills that could be somewhat dangerous without more snow. If you ski them go easy and slow on those hills. New Ginzu drag has arrived. Just waiting for enough snow to use it. Still using ancient Tidd Tech for now.

(Will Maines)

Put a lot of hours in this week with our new John Deere 835 Gator. Most of the loops have been packed. Finished up quite a bit of brushing I couldn't get finished earlier this fall. Packed trails are skiable but some stretches have significant mowing stubble sticking through. Because spring mudders with oversize tires and high-powered 4-wheel-drive trucks and SUVs like to make deep ruts on some of our trails while the frost is still coming out of the ground, I cannot set the mower depth as low as I would like for fall mowing, so, in places we'll have to live with stubble until we get another 4-6 inches of snow. For now, bring rock skis and perhaps lower your expectations.

(Will Maines)