The old perimeter trails - Brown's Pond, Lake Elmo and Savanna? - were in very good condition. Just a little seed and leaf litter and an avoidable strip of Ice on the steep climb out of the valley on Brown's Pond. It was 32 degrees and overcast. I used FastWax Yellow LF. Red or Salmon may have been better but I still had a reasonably fast ski. The parking lot was clearing out when I started at 4:45. I met only 5 other parties of skiers in the 40 minutes I was on the trail. The trail has seen moderately heavy use but has held up well. The bare spots that had developed on Savanna, 14E to 18E, have now been covered up by the recent snows and that trail section is now in good to very good condition. Thanks to the great groomers.

(Keith Carlson)

A thin firm skate deck. Lots of leaves scattered about. Bare spot here and there. Joyful skiers enjoying. One last January ski.

(Ernie Ogot)

Classic skied just the "Savannah" and "North" loops. Tracks are worn and there are some icy or debris laden spots, but overall in good shape and a pleasant outing.

(Dee Hein)

Went out at Lake Elmo over lunch. Brown is excellent, Pink is good to excellent, Green is good, and yellow is excellent. Classic tracks looked good with a just few icy patches. A great ski!

(Alex McKinney)

Skate deck was regroomed. Trails are getting thin and some icy spots are showing but are still considered in fairly good condition. There is also some debris present.

(Carolyn Friedrich, Washington County Parks)

Excellent conditions. Great grooming for classic. Just a few short icy patches, but these weren't a problem. A couple small bare patches were easily avoided. Some leaves in tracks, but the wax (Swix V-20) was hard enough that these weren't really a problem. Skate deck seemed mostly good and probably fast. We skied th We skied Brown's Pond, Burr Oak, Lake Elmo, and Northern Lights trails. Very few skiers between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm.

Photos:

(Craig Wiklund, North Star Ski Touring Club)

Went out Wednesday night on classic skis. Had a great time, trails were groomed perfectly and tracks are now set in. There was a full moon out which really lit up the snow. Rated 10/10.

(Ellen Loch)

Skied almost all trails on the east side. All trails had good coverage and grooming overall. The steepest climb on the Brown loop has some exposed ice on the right, but it can be avoided. A few short sections of the new north loop are thin enough to feel your poles hit asphalt. Some extra areas have been groomed (to give group technique practice areas?) and those are a bit soft. Overall great conditions. I used my good skis and caution.

(Jess Holle)

All trails were groomed and tracks were set. There is good coverage with minor icy patches and thin areas. There was minor debris reported.

(Carolyn Friedrich, Washington County Parks)

The multiuse trail on the west side (the old Eagle Point trail) was in fair condition. Lots of foot traffic, a few bikers and skiers. It was loosely packed snow, over ice in many instances. It was probably the low 20's. I used FastWax Red LF. It was skate-able but slow.

(Keith Carlson)