John C. groomed in the 2" of snow over the entire system, setting new classic track. There is still a deep base and probably 20" of snow in the woods. Skins worked well as temps warmed during the day. Skate lanes were solid and should be very good tomorrow morning with skaters today not leaving much of a mark.

Photos:

(John Gierke)

John C groomed yesterday morning and again this morning with several inches of fresh snow overnight. He was able to use deep track setter so tracks are great. People were heading for G and the big hills as things have slowed down. A great base yet so we will be skiing well through next week.

Photos:

(John H Gierke)

Strong NW winds all night and today brought several inches of new snow. John C did a great job last night and this morning mixing in the fresh snow with frozen surface we had. Lake effect snow continues through the day. Skating was very good and the 10am Ladies Group said the new classic tracks were also very good. A great Spring skiing bonus.

Photos:

(John Gierke)

Valley Spur still has a good base. Look for the Goldilocks hour for best skating. Full sun this morning so started to soften by 11am up on W and Y. Classic tracks were still firm. A good crowd coming out at that time, mostly from the upper parking lot.

(John Gierke)

One of the best conditions I remember there in the second half of March. It would be nice for the Valley facility to have a heavy piece of equipment to pack the snow better.

(Jacek Witkos)

For a few years we have been saying we needed to try Valley Spur, wow, we were awed by trail system. We skated Friday afternoon, the groomer had loosened the skate deck just enough for edging while being icy fast. Favorite trail was B and H. Saturday they picked up a few inches and we Classic skied. Tracks had been reset with new snow. Hiawatha national forest is a true gem. Sunday morning they picked up couple more inches, groomer was busy. Skate lanes were firm. Little slow with cold fresh snow. They will be skiing here for quite a while with the base they have. Valley spur has it all. The trails Y and W are on top and relatively flat, dive into the system closer to chalet and you can take some hair raising hills if you choose. Stairway to heaven is as fun of a climb and climbing can we. We also were impressed by hospitality in Munising.

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(Tracy Piontkowski)

Valley Spur has one of the nicest trail systems in the upper midwest. The trails just flow so nicely! Wooded, hilly, excellently groomed with Track Trucks--converted Jeep Cherokees! We skied two days after a bit of freezing rain and mixed precipitation so we skied on two types of trails: The ones that had been groomed that morning had a firm skate deck with powder and a bit of crust mixed in, but it was slow going; other trails we skied had not been groomed since the mixed precip, and they were tricky to ski because while skating we sunk through the light crust by half and inch and then pulled the skis out at every skate. The deep and firm classic tracks had not been reset since the mixed precip and were filled with powder snow, so great kick and glide was significantly slower than on skate deck. These trails are maintained by The Friends of Valley Spur, please donate generously.

(Mark Plane)

Another lake affect snow event has dropped about 8 inches on the area the last few days. The Valley Spur groomer was on it with much of the system done late morning. I skied B, C, Y, parts of H, and probably other stuff but I get kind of lost out there. The track was good, the skate deck was expectedly a little soft. Great ski outing.

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(Michael McFadzen)

We woke up to two inches of fresh powder and that was a welcome surprise. We classic skied and the fresh snow was wonderful, especially on the hills. As has happened in the past, we always forget how beautiful the trails are at Valley Spur.

Photos:

(Kevin Hillegas)

1-2" of fresh snow over groomed deck. Temps were a bit warmer than yesterday so glide was somewhat improved, which was good with the fatigued legs from yesterday's low-glide skating of the challenging climbs here. Another beautiful day on these beautiful, snow-rich trails... Repeated B and C loops, and did hilly G, and flatter Y and W.

(Sue Schroeder)