Trails are all freshly groomed as of this morning. '
NOTICE: Governor Evers has declared a State of Emergency for WI due to extremely cold temperatures. DNR Secretary Cole has asked that state employees refrain from any outside work until conditions are safe. Grooming operations at the Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit and Lapham Peak will be suspended for the next 2 days (thru Thursday). We will update this page when we are able to resume our work. Please stay safe if you choose to venture outside the next few days!

(Anne Korman, Wisconsin DNR)

Lots of new snow, and the DNR grooming team is working hard to keep up with it. Late afternoon into this evening saw hundreds of skiers on the trails - middle school and high school team practices, and Peak Nordic Kids this evening. Trails are soft and loose for skate, and tracks for striding are a work in progress - new tracks being set as I finished. It was a lot of work skiing today, but soon, it's going to be fantastic. Be sure to dress warm.

(John McCarthy)

Good striding conditions on the manmade snow loops this afternoon, but the track is getting a bit worn and needs to be reset. Skate lanes looked great but may ski a little slow.

(John McCarthy)

The lighted loop was ok for skating but on the non manmade sections it had ground areas to avoid especially on the climbs. The newly extended 1.7 Manmade trail was very good for skating considering the cold temperatures. The new 4" of snow was groomed so it was firm with still enough for good edging. Very enjoyable skiing into the woods protected from the wind on the new extended manmade section.

(Don Howell)

The new snow from Tuesday/Wednesday has been groomed and had a chance to firm up a bit. Most of the parts of the system that I skied are in good condition, with a few trouble spots in the track and the skate lane. I wouldn't use my best skis, except on the manmade snow loops, where the solid base has lead to excellent conditions for skate and stride.

(John McCarthy)

Excellent conditions on the manmade snow loops. Firm, flat, snowy surface on a solid base -- doesn't get any better. Solid tracks throughout the manmade loops. The manmade snow covers a total of about 2.4 kilometers of trail, plus the instructional area. Elevation change from the trailhead up to the highest point (on the Green Cutoff) is about 75 feet. Trails in the woods are great! Flick a stick or pine cone when you see one! Thank You, volunteer snowmakers and snow spreaders, and the DNR trail grooming team, for a fantastic XC Ski venue!

(John McCarthy)

I skied the outer black loop since it appeared that many people had been there skiing on those trails. The uphills had a few sections with exposed rocks and erosion control beams. The downhills were much better with only a few dirty areas or exposed tree roots. There was enough snow to control your descents on the hills. A little more snow and the outer black loop would be in great shape. The snowmaking loops are in excellent condition and you could use your best skis if you stuck to those trails.

(Daniel Henning)

Skiing was great on the manmade loops on Friday morning, although ongoing snowmaking operations were impacting some sections. The skate deck was well groomed, firm, flat, and fun. A double set of tracks was set around the core loop, with a single track on other segments. The snow on the two out-n-back segments has firmed up nicely, making for great skiing. Snowguns were going strong at the ends of the out-n-back segments to fill in the gaps and create a full loop around the Green Cut-off and Magic Carpet, once it gets a chance to cure and be spread by the snowcat.

Photos:

(John McCarthy)

Clipped out of work a little early to ski at Lapham on the man made snow loop. Boy was it worth it! Great coverage, well groomed and they have opened up a new section. It runs out and back from the top of Summer Stage hill to the base of Two Tier using the "Fright Hike" cut off. It will eventually connect as a loop to Magic Carpet. The new section is a little sugary but nothing worse than anything after wave two of the Birkie. Very well done staff and volunteers! The tracks looked very good as well. Many classic skiers out today. With that new section a loop is over 2K if you take all the trails (up the shot hill and up and down on Magic Carpet).

Photos:

(Tom Davenport)

Excellent conditions on the expanded manmade snow loops. The core loops, with the solid base created in December and the new manmade snow over the last several weeks, skied beautifully. Skate lanes have a loose, fine layer of powdery snow on a firm base. A double classic track is set throughout the core trails. The new 'south out-n-back' has a very loose surface in the center skate lane with tracks set on both side. The 'out-n-back' up Magic Carpet has a firmer surface, is narrower, and does not have classic tracks. Should be great for the Lapham Loppet on Saturday.

(John McCarthy)