Trails certainly looked good. Unfortunately, looks aren't everything. PistenBully groomed two days ago and after two very cold nights and very little skier traffic, both the skate lanes and classic tracks were frustratingly soft. The smooth corduroy was actually a very fragile crust above an extremely soft mid-layer. Nearly every pole plant, regardless of where on the trail, punched in 4 to 6 inches. Random places in the tracks or skate deck would punch down without warning. I had to be careful to distribute my weight equally while gliding down hills for fear that I'd otherwise break through and face-plant. Certainly would benefit from more grooming passes/more compactive effort. Warm temps might make things more difficult, especially for those over 140 pounds.

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(Todd Campbell)

Awesome day for classic skiing at Magney! Tracks were fairly good throughout, though strong winds at the end of last week did lead to some debris and drifting. However it is minimal and only causes a slow down or a hop out of tracks a couple times through the entire loop. A couple of the corners saw the outside track getting a little washed out, but otherwise I was impressed with how intact the tracks still are. Skate deck looked good and firm for the most part, though it was also affected by drifted snow in a couple spots.

(Ketzel Levens)

Arrived mid morning to freshly groomed and tracked trails. As first time visitors from Madison, we were very impressed with this beautiful trail system on the west side of Duluth, and greatly enjoyed our experience. Excellent conditions.

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(Darren Blankenship)

Magney was freshly groomed and pretty nice to ski! The classic track were pretty good (although a little shallow at times). There were a few dirt spots in the middle of the trail (use B skis). There was a half eaten dead animal in the middle of the trail on one of the downhills (after the second snowmobile crossing). Makes you feel like you're in the wilderness!

(Elaine Nelson)

Trails just groomed Saturday we heard. Wonderful blue wax skiing. 15 degrees and fast on the downhills. Watch for dirt spots here and there in the skate lane and tracks dug up by the groomer. Wonderful terrain and ski.

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(Diane Pattridge)

Very recently groomed. Tracks firm and deep, skate deck firm. The only bummer is many small dirty patches. It was snowing hard when we left at 1:30 so maybe that will help.

(Catherine Winter)

Yesterday’s grooming left the skate deck even, firm, and wide—much improved from earlier in the season! It also left significant patches of snirt (snow+dirt), hence my B skis recommendation. By the time I finished my ski, though, there was a velvety layer of new snow covering most of the problem areas. Very nice!

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(Betsy Tabor)

Several inches of fresh snow last night nicely covered debris, but the skate deck looks pretty soft (it was not groomed today). I was classic skiing and the trails were skied in and fairly good.

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(Steve Squillace)

Skated the whole system. Coverage was good with debris groomed into the deck in several spots. Mostly this lovely trail needs to be groomed more. The skate deck is uneven/undulating in about half of the trail. The other problem is people have been skiing it right after grooming (before it sets up) leaving large grooves in many parts of the skate deck. I'm guessing that's an issue re timing of grooming. I've skied it many times when it's been in awesome shape so I know yesterday was not normal or at it's wonderful potential. Plenty of snow, but more grooming needed. Tracks looked generally solid throughout and not a lot of debris in the tracks.

(Jim Carlen)

Skied Magney this morning on freshly groomed trails. Followed the groomer on one of the laps and the conditions were great. Used my good skis. Beautiful days.

(Jonathan Rova)