From the snowmobile parking lot trailhead just west of Cascade State Park, I skied up to Cascade, up west Pioneer loop, over to Deeryard, around to the Fire tower loop, up and down Fire tower, around short loop, and back to Pioneer loop and down the east side back to the parking lot. Snow cover was good once you were part way up the Pioneer loop. Tracks were well formed throughout. Tree debris and stubble were modest issues on lower trails which is why I recommended B skis. The short loop was wavy and narrow, with a couple of divot danger spots on the downhills which are very fast. Walkers have chopped up the skate/bike lane on the connector and lower Pioneer loops but did not harm the classic tracks. Classic track seems to be more toward the center of the trail vs what I remember from past experience. That was nice for a firmer track, fewer face whips, and plunging pole plants.

(Tim Nelson)

Absolutely pristine 10k single track around Deer Yard loop. Winter Wonderland at its finest! Thanks groomers for well set tracks.

(Peggy Hess-Johnson)

I skied out and back from Lutsen. The connectors from Lutsen to Cascade were tough skiing. Bumpy, rocky, and lots of sticks/weeds poking out of the snow. Snow was variable depth 6 inches packed to 3-4 inches. Suitable for an adventure ski though! Once on the Cascade/Deeryard loops things improved substantially, with snow depth and trail levelness improving dramatically. No track set, but soft enough snow that skis tracked nicely. Not all trails are groomed in Cascade, but the Pioneer loop is groomed up to Deeryard and it appeared the connector to Bally was also groomed. Word to the wise: do not trust even thickly covered bridges. I snapped a pole in between bridge slats around the firetower climb.

Photos:

(Karl Holub)

Skied a little of the connector trail from Solbakken towards Lutsen and then a good chunk of the Pioneer Loop from Cascade Lodge. Good coverage, but there's a lot of sticks still poking through and a fair amount of debris down. Both sections have been rolled, but no tracks set.

(John Leaf)