Excellent skating both north and south from the north trailhead this afternoon. Fresh grooming left a nice cord. The trails are still fully covered with snow. I didn't see any bare spots. No tracks set.

Photos:

(Mark Blaskey)

Trail open, a few of the outer loops are not. The parts that we skied were south loop and north loop and the trail to dog island. A bit icy, good coverage with some small sticks you can avoid on A skis. The groomer was just going out again when we were coming in and that snow was really nice so it will be even better now!

(Anna DeMers)

Just got word from the groomer that the trail groomed up really nice this afternoon. Look at these pics! We plan to groom again tomorrow afternoon. Most likely that will be our final groom.

Photos:

(Kevin Roytek)

Skied the north loop during the 5pm hour. Skate deck was scratched up from the groomer, and I was lucky to be the first to ski on it. Still pretty hard and this fast. Was able to get an edge. It can be dangerous this time of year. If you're new to skiing, be extremely cautious on the downhills. Heck everyone please be cautious on the downhills. The south loop section has foot divots. No bare spots yet anywhere on the trail. A few twigs and leaves but I was expecting more. I actually used my A skis coming away without a scratch this time, but my recommendation is Bs or rocks just in case. It's abrasive snow that could harm the base on a snowplow, but also it's a bit hard to snowplow. I do plan to ski more of the trail Friday expecting the same conditions. Tracks are pretty much gone I noticed.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

Stopped by Hickory Ridge to assess it, since I was curious about snow levels in Bloomer. Not need to have been concerned, there was plenty of snow. Tracks and a skate deck had been groomed, but there were no notes about how recently. A finger in the classic tracks indicated they were pretty icy, but had I had the time, I would have loved to have explored this place. There are restrooms, but no warming hut, plenty of hills. One of these days, look forward to giving it a try.

(Madeline Uraneck)

The north and south loops were in very good condition. About an inch of powder on top of previously groomed base. It was being groomed as I returned to the trailhead on the two-way trail. Inexplicably the southern loop was softer than the north. I broke through several times on it. It was between 20 degrees and 17 degrees in my estimate and sunny. I used FastWax Blue LF which was slow as was I, still not fully recovered from my cold and maybe feeling my 69 years. Still a fantastic place to ski, I passed two classic skiers, and one returning skater on my way out. Once I reached the north loop, one other skater and I were the only ones who had skied it until he turned off on the Highland Lowland Lake Loop. I then had virgin snow to myself until I reached the south loop that had been skied by classic skiers but not skaters. Unfortunately, my car phone charger was not fully plugged in and my external battery did not have a cable with the right interface with my phone. ( I thought I was uncharacteristically prepared this time. ) So the phone died just as I took it out to take a few pics and I couldn't document my pace. One of the volunteer groomers was in the shed when I got back. I thanked him for the great job they're doing.

(Keith Carlson)

Trails groomed up real nice after the squall. Debris pretty minimal. But I think HR is better for skate skiing—pole plants not the best on the outside and quite a few pole-grabbers hanging over the tracks. But very good skiing overall.

(Ryan Urban)

Skate skied just after lunchtime today. Sun was out so that was really nice. Everything freshly groomed. You're not going to believe this, but that snow is still super cold... and thus it was actually pretty firm, a bit more than I expected. There is a bit more debris than I expected, but it's rather small so anyone would be fine with good skis. I only saw about 3 skate tracks so still plenty of cord while it lasts. FatBike trail is groomed, but nobody has rode it yet. I'm guessing all skiers and bikers are awaiting for the one day only heat wave. Everything should set up great overnight.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

Great ski this morning! Trails were cleaned up and groomed nicely after yesterday's wind. Thanks to those who removed all the debris - fantastic conditons!

(Kevin Barnett)

Had an awesome ski today. Skate deck was firm and in great shape. Only complaint was seeing just a few skiers -- get out and enjoy the trails! Only week and a half until Birkie!

(Jeff Kirschling)