After a rough starting section, skiing conditions at Wood Lake were fair-good. On the initial low-lying portion by the marsh, bare spots revealed vegetation. Your mileage may vary depending on your waxing prep, but the main risk to skis was having leaves, marsh grass and bits of wood stick to your skis, not scratches. Bring a scraper. After this, conditions were much better, with occasional leaf and twig litter. The tracks on the short loop were rather shallow. On the long loop the tracks were in good shape. FYI: They have reduced the length of the short loop. As a result the trail departs from the low-lying / marsh portion sooner and heads towards the western edge of the preserve. Then the long loop heads south on what used to be northbound on the short loop.

(Tom Pitchford)