I skate skied Soaring Eagle right before dark and a little after on Friday evening and again today. On Friday it was freshly groomed and excellent. Today there were two to three inches of light fluffy snow on top, but it hadn't been regroomed. My companion said it was excellent for skating again, though a little slow. As for me, apparently I goofed on the wax and had hardly any glide, so I had to work hard even on the flats. Darn, such good conditions are so hard to come by that I was bummed to miss the opportunity. Ah well, live and learn. At least Troll wasn't scary under those conditions! Classic was likewise excellent but slow. Tracks were filled in and thus a lot of work when we first arrived, but the more we skied the easier they got.

(Lois Braun)

After 6 hours of grooming 3" of ice Lillie's and Eagle are groomed and retracted. They are very good now. Lake and Troll are still not groomed and are considered unskiable. Grooming plans: Plan to groom Lake and Troll on Friday.

(Neil King)

Excellent conditions with a few thin spots, groomed Friday. Skate lane is just right, with 4" base. Classic tracks look good. There was a nice group of snowshoers out also. Open House Sunday 1-3, with equipment available.

Photos:

(Deane Johnson)

All trails are now groomed as of today. Lillies, Eagle, and Lake have track set. Troll is groomed for skate only as of now. Snow coverage is very good with only a very few spots of leaves or dirt showing.

(Neil King)

Excellent conditions with a few scratchy spots. Base 4", snow depth 10", 0 new. Skate and classic tracks are fast and firm, with enough snow for a good grip.

Photos:

(Deane Johnson)

All trails are groomed and tracks set on Lillie's, Lake, and Eagle. Troll was groomed but not tracked. Skiing is in excellent with 4" of base and 2.5" of new snow. Leaves and pine cones are at a minimum.

(Neil King)

All trails are open and groomed. The track was not reset as there is not enough base to grind up and reset. Lillie's, Lake, Troll, and Eagle are all in very good condition.

Photos:

(Neil King)

Excellent conditions again! New snow 3.5" groomed into a hard 3" base. The fresh inch on top made for luxurious skating. Classic track has been moved away from the edge— much better. All trails have a classic track except troll (advanced). Open house Sunday afternoons beginning January 11.

Photos:

(Deane Johnson)

We received 1" of new snow Yesterday. All trails are now groomed. Lillie's, Eagle, Lake are also tracked, Troll is groomed only. Grooming plans: We are hoping for another few inches of snow and we will groom again on Friday in anticipation of the holiday weekend.

(Neil King)

This is a gem of a trail that you must stop at if you're in the Park Rapids area or on your way to Itasca St. Park. Log cabin warming house and ample parking. The trails have very good coverage and the skate deck is well groomed. It also is very well laid out with green, blue and black level loops and mapped good easy orienteering. The one thing that could be better is to have the classic tracks a bit further from the edge so that skiers don't have to fight the bushes and trees. I also found the track set is uneven level with one track higher than the other.

(Greg Klave)