Trail Detail

Minneapolis, MN
10K
Skating/Classic
No
No
[ NWS ]
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Notes

South Wirth Park includes 10 kilometers of groomed trail, with a mix of beginner, intermediate and advanced trails. Trails include JD Rivers Loop, Wirth Lake Loop, Eloise Butler Trail, Quaking Bog/Norm Oakvik Trail and Bridge Trail.
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Trail Reports

2022-2023 season
Reports 30 to 39 of 74    Month: Mar | Feb | Jan | Dec | Nov
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Bog, Butler and Brownie were all in great shape. A pickup truck inexplicably got onto the trail by Anwatin and lodged itself axel deep after it drove off the firm trail and onto a cutoff section. That vehicle hadn't done any real damage, but subsequent tow trucks attempting to extract it were really ripping up the trail.
(Spencer Davis)
Friday, January 27, 2023
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Good skis ]
Eloise Butler, The Bog and over to Brownie Lake were groomed around noon today while I was out. A little soft after the grooming, and there were enough skiers out avoiding the high school meet that we were putting in tracks before it could set-up. Nice to be in the Woods and out of the wind. Still great skiing, though not as fast as conditions have been the last week +. Classic tracks that were set looked good. Trail crew has done a great job patching up the trail where the water was undercutting the trail on the connecter from the Wirth Lake parking lot to the Bog trail. Thank you trail crew and groomers!
(Carleton Johnson)
Monday, January 23, 2023
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Skied Eloise Butler and Norm Oakvik. Having classic skied these trails on Saturday I prefer skating with the current conditions as the classic tracks are not very well defined. Skate lane is firm and I didn't find any ice. Foot traffic is noticeable but not too bad.
(Mark Bushinski)
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Skied the trails between Glenwood and 394 twice around which comes to just over 15K. My favorite section of the whole Wirth system. So nice to be in the woods on natural snow in the middle of the city and away from the crowds. Conditions on the Bog side (west side of Theo Wirth Pkwy) are much better than the Butler/Anwatin side because of all the hiker/walker boot tracks on the trails on that side. Perhaps more visible signage indicating which trails are designated for what would help, since there are plenty of trails for hikers to use, but maybe some people don't know. Despite all the deep boot holes in the trail, it is a beautiful and peaceful time in the woods and a blast of a route to ski. The grooming from yesterday morning combined with many skiers over the past 24 hours and continued cooler temps made for a solid skate deck with just enough loose snow to get an edge for pushing off. Much faster and firmer snow here than yesterday. The pond on the Butler side has some ice showing through, but nothing that will damage your skis, and it's short and easy to ski around if desired. The section of trail that borders the school is very hard packed and a bit icy and uneven, but it's all flat, so it isn't too dicey. The downhills are fast and fun, especially now that there aren't those nerve-wracking technical sharp turns at the bottoms of hills anymore... So nice to have the direction/flow of this part of the South Wirth trail system is back to the old way! It's so much more fun than what it's been the past few years and I hope it stays this way! The classic tracks also looked in pretty good shape most of the way except toward the tops of the numerous uphills where skiers have to herringbone to get up and over, and were also obliterated on the section that borders the school recess field (a short, easy ski section). Thank you to whomever put a snow covered board to bridge the gap of creek toward the end of the route along Glenwood, and thank you to the groomers for getting this section of trail done yesterday!
(Amy Swan)
Friday, January 20, 2023
Morning
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
All of the natural snow trails in South Wirth, including Eloise Butler and Quaking Bog, were groomed early Friday morning. Skate decks and new tracks are in excellent condition. New snow may be a bit loose on top of the skate deck (should be great edge control). Note that the trails across Wirth Lake and around Brownie Lake remain ungroomed due to slush under the snow (groomers consider Brownie to be part of the South Wirth trails).
Photos:
(John Daniels)
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic 
[ Good skis ]
I classic skied the Anwatin and Bog trails today. They were all beautiful with the new snow. Conditions were more of a mixed bag. Portions has usable mixed tracks, but other parts (particularly in the Anwatin loop) were rutted out with shoe and snowshoe prints. Still, a really nice ski.
Photos:
(Thomas Blackstock)
Sunday, January 15, 2023
Morning
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Still great conditions for skate and classic thru South Wirth this morning. Safe for good skis. Excellent snow coverage.
Photos:
(Bill Oyler)
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Morning
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Good skis ]
Skied from wirth lake over to the trailhead and back. The skate deck is firm with a layer loose snow on top. Fast, smooth and fun. Parts along wirth lake are icy.
Photos:
(Peggy Guiney)
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Morning
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Good skis ]
Trails had been groomed Monday night. On my Tuesday morning ski the skate deck was perfectly flat again and the classic track looked outstanding as well. Walkers and runners had already enjoyed the fresh grooming but most of them stuck to the edge of the grooming and away from the classic track.
(Zachary Handler)
Monday, January 9, 2023
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: All, Good skis ]
Skied all trails south of Glenwood Ave. Spectacular scenery with snow on all the branches. Snow is a little soft, your poles will sink in a little. There are classic tracks almost all the time.
(Mark Bushinski)

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