I skied the section from Welsh Village east towards Red Wing until Hwy 61. The groomer had been out and set classic tracks, they were a bit soft yet, and I was the first over them for most of the way. The first mile near Welsh had a lot of sticks and some bare spots down to the asphalt, but beyond that it was really good. It was a beautiful day and a nice ski through the woods.

(Ben Mouw)

Classic track was set today. Skate lane is a bit soft, but should firm up overnight. We are still dealing with low snow conditions.

Photos:

(Dan Forsythe)

Conditions were decent for skate skiing on my rock skis. Snow coverage on the trail was okay, although there were spots where the asphalt was showing through and uneven spots up and down the first 2 miles of the trail from the trailhead in CF. Better than expected for the snow we've gotten!

(Anna Schumacher)

Welch to Cannon Falls was groomed this morning. Not enough snow to set a classic track. Conditions are fair to poor. Grooming plans: Red Wing end will be groomed by the weekend. The trumpeter swans are back in large numbers and are hanging around the 4 mile marker.

(Dan Forsythe)

Skied from the Cannon Falls Ball Fields to just short of the Anderson Rest Stop. I think about 7 miles over an hour and 20 minutes. The west-facing uphill grade was in good to fair condition because it had melted down to the pavement in the more sun-exposed spots. The eastern facing downhill grade beyond the driveway was in very good to excellent condition, the only issue being the track getting perilously close to the bluff's drop off into the the river nin spots. I used a wide temperature range- 32 to 40 degrees - Swix Violet Klister. After striding off the clumping loose snow, it worked great on the initial 1 mile uphill grade. However, once I reached the flat leading to the downhill grade, the track washed out for a while and the snow softened and started clumping up on my skis again. It could not be removed by just striding. So after unsuccessfully trying to scrape the skis clean on the wooden fence rails at the high point overlooking over the river, the snow reclumped up immediately on my skis. I had inadvertently removed my scraper from my butt pack before leaving my home so I ended up using my Three Rivers Season Pass to scrape off the snow instead. Thank God it worked. Only problem I ran into on the return is I ran into just a spot of soft snow on the downhill return to the ball field trail head and it took me down.

Photos:

(Keith Carlson)

We are groomed and open. A very thin base, won't last long in warmer weather.

Photos:

(Dan Forsythe)