Nice skiing late afternoon. I went from the Dry Creek Trail to the Pioneer Trail, then to the northwest part of the Deer Creek loop, before going up to the paved base portion of the Mitigwaki Loop. I skied the latter tonight also, and really liked the consistency. Still pretty good conditions this afternoon, but much slower with the warmer temps. Coyotes howling Thursday, and swans coming in for a landing north of the river access road this afternoon.

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(Kris Backlund)

Chills, hills, thrills and no spills! I skied the E side (E for east, and easier) of the Highland Hills loop, plus the Little Highland Hills loop, returning via the west side of the Pioneer Loop. Mostly I liked the snow, but I was striding, not skating. There was some popcorn texture snow in places, but overall a skiable surface, and good conditions. Yesterday's ski included the Mitigwaki, boat landing road and River Trail south of the landing. Even though that hadn't been regroomed, a fresh dusting of snow gave adequate grip. Good coverage over leaves on both days. Photos are from Wednesday. Light wasn't good enough for photos today.

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(Kris Backlund)

My first time in many years skiing Wild River SP. Last time may have been wood skis with 3-pin bindings. Great conditions on these extensive trails. Many trails with fresh grooming, some I was getting first tracks. A few soft areas on corners. Great to have very few oak leaves in this largely pine forest.

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(Sue Schroeder)

Skied Mitigwaki, Old Logging, River, Pioneer and Dry Creek. Pioneer and Dry Creek had fresh grooming. In fact, I was the first person on the trail. The tracks were very soft and seemed like they could use a bit more packing before setting the tracks. All of the other trails had older grooming, but were significantly more firm. Kick waxing was quite the riddle, but it was a great day in the woods.

(Michael Hall)

Howling south winds led to skiing on one of my favorite, more sheltered trails--Dry Creek. This trail is also less leafy. There were a few more leaves in the tracks compared to yesterday, but still very nice conditions. Hills were a little soft, but nothing that warmer temps, a little drizzle, more skiers and additional grooming won't firm up.

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(Kris Backlund)

Absolutely the best skiing of the season. Classic tracks were in very nice condition. I skied part of the Mitigwaki Loop, the River and Old Logging trails. The leaves are finally covered. No swans today, and only a handful of skiers that I saw.

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(Kris Backlund)

Classic skied Deer Creek loop, pretty good all things considered, leaves and twigs will get covered with this week’s snow. Hard crust but not really icy. Saw deer and lots of swans in the open water inside the loop.

(Bryan Lueth)

Despite no recent new snow, I was pleasantly surprised at the change in conditions from Tuesday to today. The track wasn't perfect, but it wasn't nearly as icy as it was Tuesday. Breaking up the icy tracks and laying new track really made a difference. I would say fair conditions, and close to good in some sections. I skied the Mitigwaki Loop. The best part about Tuesday's ski was the moon, not the trails.

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(Kris Backlund)

The amount of snow on the ground at Wild River is adequate, what was there before the New Year has frozen solid, there are few worries about hitting rocks or other bare ground objects. There are lots of leaves on the track. We skied some of the northern trails. All of which had been carefully groomed a day or two before we arrived. The tacks were nicely set and the skate deck looked firm and smooth. Conditions? The best description seems to be that because of the freeze/thaw cycle its like skiing on corrugated iron plate. Thanks to the staff for maintaining the clean and warm trail center and for grooming so carefully.

(David King)

I found a variety of conditions. I skied part of the Mitigwaki Loop (bike trail), the boat landing road, and the River Trail south from the landing. The machine set track was fast and a bit icy, making me wish I had used waxable skis. I think the combination of drizzle in the morning and temps slightly above freezing which had dropped slightly below freezing before I skied contributed to the solid tracks. Going down the boat landing road was a bit like a luge run. I stayed out of the single track from the start and was in a deep snow plow, barely able to maintain control. Somehow I managed to stay on my feet. The only place I found a lot of foot traffic, including right in the track, was on the River Trail. This section was a skied in track, not machine set. There was a small section of single track back up on top that seemed to be freshly set. That was quite nice. Hopefully some additional grooming or snow will take the bite off the fast tracks. All in all, at least fair conditions.

(Kris Backlund)