I was able to bust down the drifts on the Orchard Loop and the Warm Up loops tonight. I set a new skate deck and classic track on those trails as well as freshened up the skate deck at the North Loop. The Hilltop has some drifts so ski with caution,the skate and classic tracks are good, have an inch of snow on them. All the trails are in the best shape in years so get your Great MN Ski Pass and get out on our trails that are maintained by volunteers of the Nordic ski club of Central MN.

Photos:

(Kyia Anderson)

Orchard loop and warm-up loop. About 1" of snow on the trails. Beautiful conditions. No debris on the trail and classic track was set.

(Angela Olson)

The north loop had about 1" of snow over the trails. Very nice conditions for skating. Classic tracks were set.

(Angela Olson)

North Loop, Orchard, Warm-Up and Hill Top freshly groomed. No classic track on Hill-Top yet. Baltos is heavily drifted, right now our equipment cannot work through the drifts. Hope to open Baltos up later when the snow is more firm. Otherwise the trails are in great shape. Thanks to the hard work of the groomers!

(Bruce Busta)

Another fresh inch of snow groomed in nicely. Skate and Classic tracks were set on the North Loop, Hilltop, Warm Up Loop and the Orchard loop. Thanks Lyle for keeping the trails in great shape!

Photos:

(Kyia Anderson)

Great conditions and the trails are perfectly groomed for classic and skating. Basically no debris on the trail!

(Angela Olson)

An inch of new snow groomed in nicely. All trails have new classic tracks set and skate lanes freshened up on the south trails. Balto’s is open and has a very nice skate deck. Lyle is working on the North Loop as I type this.

Photos:

(Kyia Anderson)

I skated a few laps on the Warm-Up, Orchard and Hilltop trails this afternoon. Single-digit temps made for some squeaky snow, which still felt fairly fast under my "cold" skis. Grooming was excellent, with a hard skate deck and boilerplate classical tracks. I did use caution on the downhills just to be on the safe side. Other than a couple of the steeper uphill sections, there was little or no leaf debris. I used good skis with no problem. Kudos to the grooming crew!

Photos:

(Mike Maiers)

New skate and classic tracks were set on the Warm Up Loop and the Orchard Loop as well as a fresh skate deck on the North Loop. Everything groomed up nicely. The North Loop has a lot of red oak leaves and sticks so use caution when skiing.

Photos:

(Kyia Anderson)

Had a great afternoon of skiing on the recently-groomed Graystone trails. Skated Orchard, Hilltop, Warm-Up and Balto's. Ideal conditions. Many thanks to the volunteer groomers!

(John Harlander)