Designated ski trails on the east side were packed this morning. No tracks have been set. Trails were reported as being good with some thin spots present. There is some minor debris.

(Carolyn Friedrich, Washington County Parks)

Lake Elmo Park Reserve has some new trails open -- "Flats" and "North" (see photo). When there's more snow, 'Flats' should be a good place to practice Open Field (V2A) skate technique, but so far it's mostly windblown snow, dirt, and a few corn cobs. I didn't ski it, but the new 'North' trail is reportedly in similar condition. Snow is better in the woods areas. The "Green" trail (now called "Hills"), is nice in some spots, but had a few sections that required removing your skis, particularly in the "Finger" part of the trail.

Photos:

(Chuck Nelson)

70% good coverage with the usual windswept sections being very thin or bare. With the right attitude and some skis you aren't going to win a race on, it's quite enjoyable. I didn't find any scratches on my skis afterwards. The outer loop has expanded to 10k, and had the most grass/dirt showing. The interior loops had better coverage.

Photos:

(Ben Creagh)

Where there was enough snow, conditions varied between firm and soft, but decent for skating overall. But every trail has at least some big bare spots. I'm excited by the new trails but one was essentially unreachable without walking around long bare spots, so I skipped it, and another had bare spots everywhere.

(Jess Holle)

Trails are packed on both east and west side and are fair to poor condition with some bare spots. Classic tracks are not set. When skiing Washington County parks please purchase a county ski pass at pay stations or in park offices.

(Alex McKinney)

Lots of snow, and no skied-in tracks, until now. Beautiful night, beautiful snow. The lights came on as I was skiing! Thank you Lake Elmo. I decided to only ski the Green trail as I was having sticky kick wax issues and didn't want to fall and break a collar bone.

(Ray Johnston)