It was a magical ski in diminishing light. With snow still falling and shining in my head lamp, I skied the Dry Creek Trail. Only a skied-in track at that point. There were some branches and limbs down to navigate around, and snow laden trees arching over the trail in places. Dry Creek was running high, which is very unusual in winter. A few places were either slightly slushy at the base, or icy in spots that are typically thin (under pines and/or on slopes). I would rate trails close to good for ski conditions, and excellent for winter beauty. I will like them better once track is set.

(Kris Backlund)

I had low expectations, but found skiing to be a little better than I expected. Trails were definitely fast with temps staying below freezing all day. Even slight "hills" were potentially tricky. I can't imagine the trails got any better with rain Saturday. Here's hoping for some snow on the end of this wet weather system and some grooming magic to occur.

(Kris Backlund)

Plenty of snow with quite a few leaves on top. Leaves are heavy on classic tracks. Better conditions (fewer leaves) on the skate trails. Some trails are labeled "advanced skate" and this is accurate -- too much elevation gain and steep drops for beginners, but lots of fun if you are experienced.

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(Justin Eberhardt)

This park is huge with tons of groomed trail! Double-tracked classic trails were in great shape, save for the oak leaves in a few areas, especially near the campground. Southern most loops were the best, looked like they had not been regroomed after the last 1-2" snowfall, but tracks were still very well defined from skier traffic. Skate trails were bumpy and soft in the open prairie areas. Pretty great conditions for Mid-December. Well worth the 1 hour drive from the city.

(Jason Dalebroux)

A bit chilly today, but the sun was beautiful. Classic tracks were in good condition. Some hills are a little soft yet. Despite a number of cars in the parking lot, I didn't find many people out on the trail.

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(Kris Backlund)

Glad to find some track set at Wild River. Conditions were really very nice. I skied the Mitigwaki Loop. I could tell at least some of the trails weren't re-groomed yet after Monday's snow. There was definitely much better snow cover over the oak leaves, but still a few leafy areas. I skied late afternoon and ran out of daylight, but didn't turn on my head lamp until near the end of my ski with the full moon adding great light.

(Kris Backlund)

I skied on the bluff level again this afternoon. With cooler temps, I mostly stayed on top of the corduroy today, compared to yesterday when I was skiing primarily in the remnant groomer track for a harder surface. There were only a few places under pines or in areas packed yesterday subject to sun exposure where it was slightly crusty or icy. Still no tracks set, but it is nice to be out skiing this early in the season.

(Kris Backlund)

I skied each of the last two days. I found pretty decent skied-in tracks Wednesday, and some flat pan today. I was on the Mitigwaki Loop, River and Old Logging trails. There were a couple spots on the River Trail with a bit of water over the trail, so watch for slush/ice possibly in those locations. Overall trails were in fair condition, with widely scattered icy conditions at the base, and short pole plants on the bike trail portion. Heard and saw swans flying overhead both days.

(Kris Backlund)