What a great post Thanksgiving surprise having a full mile loop available to ski. Plenty of people getting their ski on this morning. Star and Willow are open so a little bit of hills available.

Photos:

(Scott Greymont)

Black Friday Update: The first 1.8K (Star and Willow) of Hyland Cross Country Ski Trails will open on Friday! Starting Saturday, Nov 26th, ski rentals will be available online.

(Sonja Bercich, Three Rivers Park District)

Hyland XC ski breaking news: With the cold temps in the teens last night, more snow was made and Hyland's amazing groomers will be able to open 1.8K Hyland XC Ski Trails on Saturday, 5am - 10pm. Visitor Center is closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and will be open 9-5 on Friday - Sunday. Thank you to Hyland Maintenance!

(Sonja Bercich, Three Rivers Park District)

Hyland Maintenance made good progress making 60% of the snow needed to open the first kilometer (Star Loop). Grooming plans: With the warmer temps this week, snowmaking will be minimal. No date for opening at this time. Elm Creek's snowmaking trail is open!

(Sonja Bercich, Three Rivers Park District)

They had the guns blowing around the star loop. Asked when they would be open and the guy was hoping in the next couple of weeks. Here's to hoping for cold weather for more snow.

Photos:

(Scott Greymont)

We are loving the colder temperatures; snowmaking begins full blast!

Photos:

(Sonja Bercich, Three Rivers Park District)

Snow guns operating this morning on the Star loop.

Photos:

(John Shirriff)

3-4" of loose snow on trails. Snow guns silent in Nordic area, blasting in alpine area.

(Tony Pellegrini)

I spotted about a dozen guns positioned around the star loop, with crews out powering things up. Downhill area was a winter wonderland with 30+ guns blasting.

Photos:

(Spencer Davis)

Three Rivers sent out an update on their snowmaking operations this season:
We are always committed to balancing the protection of natural resources with the ability to provide recreation opportunities, and the current drought conditions make this approach even more important. Rest assured, we will have manufactured snow trails for skiing this year, but the timeline for making snow and the length of trail we can snow-in and groom, especially at Hyland Lake Park Reserve, will depend on weather conditions and adjustments we can make to our snowmaking practices. We will only be making snow in the most ideal weather conditions – sustained cold temperatures with minimal wind – which means the process will likely be slower and take longer this winter. The quality of grooming and care for the trails will be the same, but things may look a little different. Practice and start-finish areas may be smaller, trails may be narrower and the trail base may not be as deep. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

(Bruce Adelsman)