Winter wonderland with fresh snow and fresh grooming for all of the Wirth South trails, both skate ski grooming and good classic tracks all the way from the Trailhead to Brownie Lake. Even the snow over I-394 was super clean! Best conditions so far this season in the Bog and Butler loops.

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

South Wirth was rolled last night when the snow tapered. Eloise Butler and Quaking Bog were then groomed early this morning. Tracks are set. Conditions are generally very good - generally fine for good skis - a few ice spots that can be navigated around. Only a few oak leaves have fallen since the snow - these should be no issue. The woods are absolutely beautiful. The trail behind Anwatin School has been groomed. It forms a loop that returns to the main trail without going across the pond (for now).

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(John Daniels)

Bluebird day, blue wax, and fresh grooming this early morning on the South Wirth trails made for some great skiing! The trails south of Highway 55 all the way to Brownie Lake are remaining in great shape thanks to gentle grooming - there was even enough snow under the Highway 55 bridge as well as over the 394 bridge to ski continuously from the Trailhead. The only real obstacles are the leaves (primarily in the Bog) and a few road crossings. Classic tracks are mostly intact although getting a little shallow and leaf-covered. Skating is among the best it has been in December for South Wirth! Thanks to the snowmobile grooming crew - excellent work out there!

(Bill Oyler)

Skied all the trails south of Glenwood this morning. Conditions mixed. Many areas good and fast, but others with leaf coverage and becoming choppy since grooming was done 4 days ago. Also directions to trail heads not well marked. No signage with actual names such as Anwatin Loop or Norm Oakvik Trail to correspond to maps.

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(Allan Campbell)

Skate skied Eloise Butler and The Bog. The deck was glazed and rutted hard-pack with a liberal topping of ski-grabbing oak leaves. I'll call the conditions sub-optimal. I'm sure it will improve with a grooming but I'll be skiing elsewhere until we get more snow. If you do go, take your B skis.

(Bob Amis)

Mid-January-like fresh snow and fresh grooming (classic and skate) on all of the South Wirth trails this morning - what a treat! You can ski continuously from the Trailhead man-made loop all the way to Brownie Lake and only need to take your skis off for the road crossings at Glenwood and Wirth Pkwy. I did not encounter any debris that would damage my skis, but I'd suggest "B" skis for the Bog and Eloise Butler loops; "A" skis are safe on the JD Rivers, Tornado Alley, Skyline, and Bridge trails. Classic tracks are in good shape on the entire trail system as well. Thanks to the Loppet crew for the very consistently good grooming on the natural snow trails!

(Bill Oyler)

Skate skied Eloise Butler and The Bog Thursday afternoon after the snowfall. There were 1 to 2 inches of loose powder on top of a very firm base. Coverage was good, but I wouldn't use my A skis yet. There are a very few, small, exposed spots but lots of oak leaves and some twigs. It looked like there were tracks set in some places, but certainly not everywhere. The snow was fast and it was a fun ski.

(Bob Amis)

Don't be discouraged by the brief muddy entrance at the Glenwood Avenue gate (start area south of Glenwood) - it's easy to walk around and definitely worth it! While there is not enough snow for classic tracks, skating is VERY good in all of the South Wirth trails (JD Rivers, Picnic Pavilion, Anwatin, Wedding Hill, Erickson, Quaking Bog, Norm Oakvik), with surprisingly great snow coverage and very gentle grooming, which kept the snow as clean as possible with minimal dirt or debris. There are just a few icy sections, but no major hazards. The only real challenge is all of the leaves, especially on the Quaking Bog loops. The natural spring can be carefully skied over or jumped over and most of the curbs have just enough snow to ski over. There are just a few rocks that can be avoided on the south end of the Anwatin loop. There is also just enough snow under the Highway 55 bridge to make for a continuous ski to the North Wirth trails. Awesome being out in the woods in early December - thanks to the Wirth grooming crew for just the right amount of grooming!

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

Followed the groomers down Tornado Alley and had great conditions on the golf course. Thin under Hwy 55 bridge but great on lake side. Quaking Bog direct route (next to beach parking lot) had open water so I walked to trailhead but it was very worth while. Trails packed just enough and amazing scene of woods around the bog with trees filled with snow. Peak experience in The North.

(R.T. Rybak)

Was out early and met up with a friend in the parking lot. We skied the Front 9, Tornado Alley, Eloise Butler, and the Bog. It had been rolled on Friday, but a couple of inches of new snow was not groomed. Lots of sticks and leaves, but definitely skiable. Considering the last few years with limited early season natural snow, it was really fun to get off the hamster wheel!

(Bill McKinney)