Excellently groomed but soft and thus slower. The portion of the first loop I skated was firmer than the second but inexplicably slower. (I had taken off my skis to get over the gate preventing snowmobiles from going on the trail. Did that pause slow me down until skis had "warmed up" again?) It was 18 degrees and sunny. I used FastWax Blue LF. Groomers had just completed when I arrived at noon. I was probably the third skater on the trail. Perfect classic track on two main loops. I didn't have time or probably the stamina to do the western loop. Tram was ungroomed. The southern leg of the first loop had been clear cut so you can see the really hilly terrain you cover on that portion of the trail. I know some may not like that timber harvest is done on this county owned property (I didn't when I first experienced it several years ago on the entry spur and. later on the northeast part of the 2nd loop) but you have to give the county credit for all the users it serves - skiers, fat tire bikers, snowmobilers and loggers.

(Keith Carlson)

Trails were in great shape with at least an inch of fresh ungroomed snow. The deck was a bit hard towards the beginning (had some pole slips), but was much better the further I got from the trailhead. What a fantastic set of trails!

(Holly LaVesser)

If you're looking for some 'real' snow, Hickory has it. The grooming was fantastic, it was nice to have some actual powder versus the icy, hard conditions. Skate deck was firm, trail was packed and tracked. Classic tracks set and looked firm as well. I think there was one very small section on an uphill that was kinda icy, but there was enough to get an edge on it and it was just fine; had plenty of control on the downhills and the climbs. Again, kudos to the crew that groomed out there!

(Tiffany Miller)

Ski Trail - All skate lanes were groomed with two implements this morning. Skiers were saying the trail was skiing very good. Tracks are hard and icy. Plan to groom again tomorrow morning. Enjoy!

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(Kevin Roytek)

I am a classic skier. The tracks were icy, skied most of the uphills and downhills in the skate lane. Groomers were out grooming when I was there. Hoping for some more snow to upgrade the classic tracks.

(Jim Thomas)

Ski Trail - Word on the trail is that our grooming efforts last night and this morning are paying off. The trail is getting better and better each time it gets groomed. There is a stick here and there so that's why I posted "B Skis" but I'm guessing most are using their good skis. It is fast but from what I'm hearing is that there is good edge control. We expect to see some Strava PR's this weekend. Grooming plans: We will be back grooming the skate lane again tomorrow morning. We can't do anything with the tracks until we get more snow. Fatbike Trail - Nothing new to report - Get out and ride. Enjoy.

(Kevin Roytek)

Skate deck was ginzu groomed Thursday night and Friday morning, we were able to get an edge all around the course, down hills were fast but manageable. Track was icy and fast.

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(Dale Shipman)

Ski Trail - We started the process tonight of grinding up the crusty hard snow. The trail made it through the rain quite well actually. There's a hard crust but no glare ice anywhere. I made two skate lane passes on everything tonight and we are sending out a crew tomorrow morning to groom the skate lane again. I think by tomorrow afternoon the trail will be fast but you will be able to get a good edge. As for the tracks. They are like cement. We are going to leave them as they are but they will be icy. As hard as the base is, I'm not sure if we could even cut new tracks right now. Fatbike Trail - Rider report from today: "Fatbike trail is in great shape". When conditions are like this I'm always going to say studs required and leave it up to others to report if they really are needed. It sounds like the trail is mostly " crunchy" snow with an icy patch here and there. We will not be grooming the Fatbike trail, it doesn't need it. Note: The parking lot is extremely icy. Extreme caution when walking to and from the ski and bike trails.

(Kevin Roytek)

Observed ski trail to be very firm grooming. Fat bike riding was excellent, studs worked great. Regular tires would work but use caution.

(Dale Shipman)

Skate skied later morning today North Loop. Fastest conditions so far this season. There were plenty of stretches where the skate deck was glazed making it a bit hard to get an edge. I would say roughly 25% give/take was like that. The worst is the main connector trail from the south trail head because that gets the most grooming action. The rest had the grooming in tact from yesterday. Just not much can be done with the bright sunshine and warm temps. The spring skiing-like feel was to be expected. If you're a seasoned skier should be fine. If you're a bit newer to skating please ski with caution. If you can get in later morning tomorrow when glaze just starts to soften its skiable.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)