Commuted to work today from south Cedar beach to Trailhead. What an amazing day - snow coverage was fantastic and the classic tracks were great. Skate deck a little soft south of Glenwood, but skate deck and classic was perfect north of Glenwood. No dirt or barespots. I did ski thru Kennilworth to Isles, need to ski around some construction (all on snow). "Thin ice" signs up, but I was able to ski thru no problem. Lots of people out classic skiing and snowshoeing, was really a magical day. Chain of lakes and South Wirth are fantastic! Get out and explore (or commute to work :).

Photos:

(Piotr Bednarski)

Skied all trails between 394 and Wirth lake. As of 5pm trails were rolled but no classic tracks set yet. Great coverage and great fun!

(Mark Bushinski)

Snow conditions were excellent! Good coverage on the skate deck and the classic tracks had been groomed in most places. Everything I skied in in the Flower Garden and Bog areas was in great shape.

(Jim Young)

Skied the manmade loop a few times, it was excellent - surprisingly firm and fast after the recent snow. I then ventured to the natural snow. Rolling was just in progress mid-afternoon, and so much of it was soft. But good coverage, and very skiable. Will be great once it sets up.

(Steven Goetz)

Quaking bog and Flower garden sections were groomed this morning, turning the icy surface into softer packed granular. The classic track was not salvageable and there is not enough snow to reset it. On the plus side the skate lane is now wider. 95% of the trail there should be excellent skiing. These are B conditions however. Lots of oak leaves and twigs remain. There are two problem areas on the Flower gardens side that might require removing skis - the perennial ice flow at "4 corners" in the swamp just south of Glenwood ave, and a bare patch on the sun exposed south facing hill at the intersection of 394 and the parkway. On the bog side there are a few exposed ice patches, each about the size of a large pothole. As mentioned previously use caution on the final downhill back to the bog parking lot.

(Zachary Handler)

I was extremely pleased and surprised by how good the snow conditions were today! The trails were really nicely groomed especially on the south trails. Not icy or leafy at all. I was expecting bad snow so I used B skis but the conditions were definitely good enough for A skis!

(Claire Wilcox)

Encouraged by the reports yesterday, I tried the Bog and Eloise while the Pre-Loppet was going on. Big change from yesterday. Tons of leaves everywhere, some twigs and pinecones, dirt, exposed ice and some exposed pavement. The last hill in the Bog coming down to the parking lot has a few pavement/ice humps that are effective jumps. I recommend taking skis off. There were more hikers and dog walkers out than skiers. In Eloise, the southern-most side had ice, dirt and hunks of pavement (especially the turn and hill at 394). One of the connectors to Wirth Beach had open water and pavement. Portions of the trail kept tricking me into thinking conditions were improving, but I’d definitely say C skis if you have them and are intent on getting out.

(Dan Boody)

The groomers did a good job of gentle grooming on the Wirth South trails (no major ice to contend with), and snow conditions are remarkably good for the Bog loops, Eloise Butler loops, and even the 394 connector down to Brownie Lake as of this morning when temps were in the mid 20s. Classic tracks are present in many, but not all, areas, and the skate deck is very good. Only one big "bare" spot, and that's the usual south facing uphill slope on the northeast corner of 394 and Theo Wirth Pkwy. Enjoy the fun trails in the woods it while they last!

(Bill Oyler)

Skied most of the trails south of Glenwood everything is hard packed and very fast. Some ice in the low spots but not as bad as I expected due to last weekends rain. Most of the shared use trails have foot prints all over them (so much for pedestrians on the left). Take caution on the last few hills of the picnic pavilion loop that are really fast and bumpy. The norm oakvik trail has many leaves. The anwatin loop is a little hard to follow and there is some bare ground on the uphill nearest 394. Jd rivers trail is a little icy in spots. Tornado alley has a few icy spots but there was just enough snow under hwy 55. Had a lot of fun and it's great to ski 11 miles with minimal backtracking.

(Mark Bushinski)

Trails are melting fast. Skate deck is getting packed down and thin, with ice underneath the snow. Many leaves. Maybe rock skis next time. Had a big fall on icy downhill coming out of Erickson trail in bog.

(Scott Engstrom)