Skied the whole outer loop this morning. Some leaves, a few small grassy sections where I double poled or got extra close to the tall grasses, but overall, no base damage. I wouldn't take best skis out yet, but with more snow, it should be great.

Photos:

(Ben Creagh)

Pretty nice early season conditions! Brown and green are both fully skiable, with a few bare patches that are easily avoided. Probably want to use rock skis, but coverage was generally very good. Yellow was skiable but lots of bare patches, especially near the top. Didn't ski the orange, but it didn't look usable for now...too much bare ground.

Photos:

(Seth Cattanach)

I skated the trails on the east side of Lake Elmo today and would classify it as good rock ski conditions. Coverage is thin and a bit soft, but it skied nicely. There are two notable bad spots. One is at the top of the big hill on the green trail just beyond the red barn. It is gravelly and thin coverage for a stretch of about 20 feet or so. The other spot is at the top of the yellow trail, right as you begin the descent, there is a patch of about 30 feet with little to snow snow on the trail. I thought the groomers did a great job with what they had to work with. Get out and enjoy it.

Photos:

(Torry Kraftson)