Skated most of the "outer" loops starting at 1:00 PM, except Roger's Ridge and Elders. Vasa Hills had been recently groomed for the meet tomorrow and was a little soft, with some grass, needles, leaves, and a little dirt here and there. The rest was firm and fast but occasional debris, the most dirt was on the South Oaks loop, but easily avoidable. Track looked good, a little shallow in some spots. So happy to have the Nordic Center open again to change gear, and the groomers and snow "farmers" always do a fantastic job!

(Bryan Lueth)

The new snow helped out a lot in the area! After some rain and heavy, wet snow, the trails were slick and rock hard today. Groomed and packed down well from plenty of people out skiing. B skis were fine.

(Kayla Bozovsky)

I love the Vasaloppet trails. They could use some more snow (farmed or natural) though. You can definitely ski everywhere (except South Oaks I think?). But there are quite a few thin spots and dirt and debris. There were enough of those places that I didn't want to call it B skis. It was beautiful though and a three hour solo ski absolutely flew by.

(Ben Mullin)

We classic skied from about 11 to 2pm. They were moving fresh "farmed" snow along the Berm so we had to access the Vasaloppet hills (Dalahorse) trails differently. Main trails were mostly tracked for classic (possibly recently as not all were firmly set) and outlying trails (e. g. Rogers Ridge) were not. Still, it was a beautiful and fun ski through the hoarfrost and uncrowded. Some areas with grass and small twigs popping up in the tracks but I skied on my good skis with no issues. Bring a picnic (we brought thermoses of soup and hot chocolate) and it was well worth the drive from the Cities. NOTE: there are no warming facilities or bathrooms or PortaPotties available.

Photos:

(Bonnie Carlson-Green)

Skied at night under new high lights (awesome) and with the moon went for a very quiet ski in the woods and around the lakes. Few rough spots scattered around but overall trails were great with lots of Ks open and plenty of routes to choose from.

(Joe Mulford)

With the fresh snow on Wednesday, the trail is looking pretty good. In addition to the 800 meters of farm fresh snow, much of the rest of our trails were groomed with our Yellowstone and the result is some very nice conditions. Some spots, where the wind was strong, are only worthy of rock skis. For a majority of trail the skate deck is hard and flat with useable classic tracks set to the side. The Nordic Center remains closed due to the pandemic, but the new lights are on from dusk to 10:00pm. Attached is a map of the current trail system.

Photos:

(Jon Larson)

Snowmaking is underway at the Nordic Center and a short loop around the Nordic Center is now open for both skate and classical skiing. The Vasaloppet Snow Farmers in upcoming days and weeks will continue to expand the trail. Colder temperatures forecast will also greatly increase the production of snow.

(Wade Weber, Vasaloppet USA)

I skied the groomed trails. Hunting is underway so I did not venture off the groomed portions of the trail. There were 6-10 people out skiing at day break. There was nice snow to be found but many parts of the trail that had ice or frozen mud sections you had to ski around. If you skied further away from the trail head you were rewarded with nice snow for early winter conditions. It was rock skiing at its best:-) I did two laps classic and two skating. It was worth the drive up from the cities (at least for me).

(Ray Johnston)