Wildlife Rd. Entrance Despite very mixed conditions, a very pleasant ski depending on how much you were willing to jump in and out of the track or walk through debris in your boots. B skis at best; if you're extra careful with B skis, plan on rock skis. A broad halo of needles and twigs under every pine above and beyond normal thanks to the storm, but some kind folks have already moved the worst of it. Some areas relatively soft in the sun, but not slushy; some areas with a lot of sprinkled icicle chips but you may be able to spare your skis stepping out of the grooves into the softer snow for short stretches; some areas of the southern 2.8 k stretch and spots like the Q/R loop are wildly abrasive; thankfully no bare ice — the most slippery spot was climbing from the turnaround to R. The one little pothole of a dip between the parking lot and K is frozen slush worth getting around gingerly. Do be careful of one birch tree arced completely over the trail in the southern third of K/J — trunk above head height but the spindly branches are right where they could swat you if you don't duck; one trunk broken at 90° above head height north of the parking lot shortly after the gate. The ski was worth all that; a tiny bit of klister went a long way to keep up with the variable snow.

Photos:

(Chris Hagen)

Skied the Wildlife Rd entrance out to "k" and around the lake. Played pick up sticks but overall no large limbs or trees down where I skied. Many small and medium sticks to pick up. Not groomed since the last snow but could follow the track that was already set. With ice still on the trees and mild temps, it was beautiful!

(Sarah Hamilton)

Tracks are firm and fast with a small amount of debris down. Conditions were great for an afternoon ski. Get out and enjoy!

(Sarah Hamilton)

I'd rate it C+/B-. Groomed in past 48 hours, with very little ski traffic since. ( Classic only.) At least one snow-shoer and a couple of dogs (dogs are allowed) and a pair(?) of skiers. Soft pole plants due to last weeks snow dump, warming weather and single snowmobile grooming pass. Pretty, rolling, touring terrain.

Photos:

(Tony Hartmann)

Wow, what a day to be on the trails here. Perfectly still, lots of sun, and pristine snow and tracks. We went out from the SE corner, and did the loop B to C, counter clockwise. If the conditions had been icy at all, the hill coming down to C would have been unmanageable (adult length skis could not negotiate the turns). However, the snow was soft so it was fun. And doing it clockwise would make it more doable in worse conditions. Coming back S across the bridge was also a spot to take a little carefully. We saw some animal tracks on the B to C loop as well.

Photos:

(Dan Boody)

I skied the trail and loops on the east side of Beaver Brook. Since the last grooming the trail has been skied some and the tracks are a little beat-up because the snow is soft. Still, it was a nice day out. I give it a 6.

(Don Quick)

After the Spooner area received about 4-6 inches of new snow yesterday, Kevin Myers set a new track out at Beaver Brook Wildlife Area. The trails have plenty of coverage and enough snow for good control on the corners and downhills. Bundle up and enjoy! Dogs are allowed on the trails as well.

Photos:

(David Martin)

For the East trail system: all trail open and the cut across and extra loops recently groomed. Full snow coverage with some scattered leaves and sticks that could be navigated around usually.

(Beth Emerson)

I did classical from the parking lot east to the road and back and it was really nice today. Very little debris on the trail and the tracks are very good too. You can run all the downhills in the tracks because the snow is soft and most up hills can be climbed with a good kicker wax in the tracks too.

(Daniel Fern)

I skied the trail on the west side of the brook, going south from Wild Life Road. There were a few leaves and the tracks were a little beat-up on the hills, but overall the trail was in very good condition and I would give it a 7.

(Don Quick)