In cooperation by Friends of Copper Falls and park staff, all trails were groomed/tracked today. The park received four inches of new snow over the weekend that freshened up the trails; overall base of 10-13" except two short sections on Pipeline Loop that previously had been logged are thin. Meadow: "Excellent" for skate and classic. Pipeline: "Excellent" for skate and classic; except some thin spots at 3km and 4km that were previously logged; walking or rock-skis suggested between groomed sections. Vahtera: both loops "Excellent" for classic. Takesson: both loops "Excellent" for classic; expect some sand lightly covering trail for 50ft adjacent to the big overlook due to eroding bluff below. Next year trail will come out just below this and avoid the sand blowback while retaining the awesome view. Red Granite (skate/snowshoe loop) in very good to excellent condition.

Photos:

(James Enigl)

Skated Meadow and Pipeline East afternoon Thursday. Classic tracks are in excellent shape: solid, no ice, no debris. Skating deck is generally good with some sections very good. The deck was drifted snow in some places and frozen-in skate depressions in others.

(Charlie Dee)

The Vahtera Short and Long loops (both classic) were freshly tracked today and in good to very good condition. Takesson (classic) won't be groomed until after the weekend or updated here. All skate/classic combination trails are in excellent condition with great skate decks and deep tracks, featuring a base of 8-11in except where sections had been closed for logging. Meadow, Pipeline West, and Pipeline East were groomed and tracked Monday. On Pipeline East be cautious of some thin spots at 3km and 4km that were previously logged; walking suggested between groomed sections. Some minor drifting may occur in open areas. Red Granite (skate/snowshoe loop) was groomed Monday and in very good condition. Grooming Plans: FOCF will groom all combination trails on Friday. Come to the park Saturday evening for a fun candlelight hike on the Red Granite Loop or candlelight ski on the Meadow Loop. Festivities start at 5:30pm and go until 8pm. The Friends of Copper Falls will have some goodies available as a fundraiser to purchase new winter trail grooming equipment.

Photos:

(James Enigl)

The Park received 3" of fluffy snow over the weekend. All skate/classic combination trails are in excellent condition with great skate decks and deep tracks, featuring a base of 8-11" except where sections had been closed for logging. Meadow, Pipeline West, and open sections of Pipeline East were freshly groomed and tracked today. Some pine needles in places due to recent high winds. Some drifting may occur in open areas. At this time the local's favorite, the Pipeline Loop, has two sections about 1000ft and 400ft each that are in poor conditions due to previous logging and will remain so until we get a decent snowfall. Removing skis is recommended when traversing between the groomed sections. As-is, the east and west trail sections make a fantastic two-way trail that goes double the distance with fun rolling scenic terrain on the west side great for the average skier and big hills on the east side for those looking to get some hill workouts. Red Granite (skate/snowshoe loop) was groomed today and in very good condition. Skiing on Takesson and Vahtera (both classic-only) is not advised, poor conditions exist due to excessive drifting. Our 20yo classic-only ginzu broke and repairs will occur this week. Until those repairs are completed we'll only be grooming the combination trails. Grooming Plans: FOCF will groom all combination trails on Friday. Come to the park Saturday evening for a fun candlelight hike on the Red Granite Loop or candlelight ski on the Meadow Loop. Festivities start at 5:30pm and go until 8pm. The Friends of Copper Falls will have some goodies available as a fundraiser to purchase new winter trail grooming equipment.

Photos:

(James Enigl)

All skate/classic combination trails are in good to excellent condition with firm skate decks and tracks, featuring a base of 7-10" except where sections had been closed for logging. Meadow, Pipeline West, and open sections of Pipeline East were freshly combed and tracked today. Some needle/cone debris in places due to recent high winds. Some drifting may occur in open areas. At this time the local's favorite, the Pipeline Loop, is not a completed loop due to logging that occurred by the Ballfield Lot. There's two sections of bare-ground conditions, about 1000ft and 400ft long each, that will remain until we get a decent snowfall. Removing skis is recommended when traversing between the groomed sections. As-is, the east and west trail sections make a fantastic two-way trail that goes double the distance with fun rolling scenic terrain on the west side great for the average skier and big hills on the east side for those looking to get some hill workouts. Red Granite (skate/snowshoe loop) was combed today and in very good condition. Skiing on Takesson and Vahtera (both classic-only) is not advised, poor conditions exist due to excessive drifting. Our 20 year old classic-only ginzu broke and repairs will need to occur next week. Tracking was inconsistent due to varying snow levels that could not be leveled out. Until those repairs are completed we'll only be grooming the combination trails.

Photos:

(James Enigl)

All skate/classic combination trails are in excellent condition with firm skate decks and tracks, featuring a base of 7-10" except where sections had been closed for logging. Meadow, Pipeline West, and open sections of Pipeline East were freshly combed and tracked today courtesy of the Friends of Copper Falls volunteer groomer team. At this time the local's favorite, the Pipeline Loop, is not a completed loop due to logging that occurred by the Ballfield Lot. There's two sections of bare-ground conditions, about 1000ft and 400ft long each, that will remain until we get a decent snowfall. Removing skis is recommended when traversing between the groomed sections. As-is, the east and west trail sections make a fantastic two-way trail that goes double the distance with fun rolling scenic terrain on the west side great for the average skier and big hills on the east side for those looking to get some hill workouts. Red Granite (skate/snowshoe loop) was combed today and in very good condition. Full Takesson Loops were tracked Sunday and the east-part of the Vahtera Loop on Friday. Grooming plans: Full grooming of all trails and new track is expected to be set on full Vahtera and Takesson come Friday.

(James Enigl)

Meadow and Pipeline East Trails are in great shape. Thursday the snow was about 1F so it was like skiing sandpaper. Double poling in the classic tracks was a lot better: they're solid, clean and deep with a mild dusting of powder on top. As temps warm, trails will get better and better. I snowshoed on Red Granite, and it is very skiable also.

(Charlie Dee)

All skate/classic combination trails are in excellent condition with firm deck and tracks, featuring a base of 7-10in. At this time the local’s favorite, the Pipeline Loop, is not a completed loop due to logging occurring by the Ballfield Lot. However it makes a fantastic two-way trail that goes double the distance with fun rolling scenic terrain on the west side great for the average skier and big hills on the east side for those looking to get some hill workouts. Pipeline West ends by the winter campsites and Pipeline East ends just as it goes into the pine forest. Red Granite (skate/snowshoe loop) is very good but still has some irregular spots due to being a multi-use trail seeing high snowshoe usage. The east-half of Vahtera was tracked, accessible through Pipeline East from the Office Lot. Takesson was re-tracked; accessible from the Loon Lake lot through Pipeline West. Sections that remain closed at this time include a 2km section of Pipeline East by the Ballfield/Purple Lots and the west-half of Vahtera for visitor safety while logging operations continue. We hope to reopen these popular sections around January 21st.

(Chris Bender)

If you're ever in a situation where you spend 2/3 of available daylight trying to get a furnace to give you heat above 46 F, then the deus ex machina appears to fix the damn thing, the perfect antidote to frustration, the perfect tension remover, the perfect way to celebrate resolution, would be skating on the Pipeline, east and west, and Meadow Trail at CFSP. Conditions very good throughout, excellent in many places. Classic tracks are firm, fast and clean. Because of logging, Pipeline East is a down and back from Meadow only.

(Charlie Dee)

Most trails were groomed today. The Meadow Loop is excellent with a firm skate deck and new tracks; tracks were brought further in and should now provide more consistent firm pole plants. The Red Granite Falls Loop is very good, groomed for skate and snowshoe but the center is still somewhat soft; trail has seen increased snowshoe usage this season. Pipeline West is excellent with a firm skate deck and good tracks; tracks were brought further in and should now provide firm pole plants. Pipeline East was groomed and tracked today, excellent skate deck and tracks, but still closed where it enters the woods after the big downhills. The east-half of Vahtera was tracked, accessible through Pipeline East from the office lot. Takesson still had good tracks, last tracked Monday. Takesson access will be from the Loon Lake lot through Pipeline West as the Ballfield Lot remains closed due to ongoing logging operations. A 2km section of Pipeline East and the west-half of Vahtera remain closed at this time for visitor safety while logging operations continue.

Photos:

(James Enigl)