Other than occasional snert, Brown's Pond, Lake Elmo (eastern hills per new map) and Prairie were in very good condition. Savanna and North ranged from poor conditions on the western, outbound side to good condition on the eastern, inbound side. Classic track was shallow or washed out. Per my car thermometer it was 28 degrees and overcast with no wind. I used FastWax Blue LF on my rock skis. The groomers have done wonders with what little snow we have had. It was great to ski something other than short, artificial snow loops. Other than the top of the steep hill leading to the top of the southern ridge on Brown's Pond, I was able to sustain my skate all the way to the climb out of flats on the northern edge of old Lake Elmo. After the bridge on Savanna, it was really thin with gravel showing through on every hill until it flattened out. After that there was adequate coverage or, with one exception, grass sticking out allowing continuous skating.

(Keith Carlson)

Had a great skate ski yesterday and today! Classic tracks are not set. Some thin spots but overall nicely groomed and fun!

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(Amy Meyers)

All trails were rolled Wednesday. Trails are in poor to fair condition with some debris and areas of turf showing. Base is thin and icy. No tracks have been set on the ski trails.

(Carolyn Friedrich, Washington County Parks)

Today was awesome, if a little chilly! The snow was very cold-feeling (which, you know, makes sense), so it was a little slow for me since I’ve only waxed for warmer temperatures, but it was nonetheless great snow and really beautiful. I didn’t see any classic tracks on any of the trails yet. Also, there were occasionally small branches and twigs and leaves on the trail, but nothing that couldn’t be avoided so long as you’re on the lookout. There were one or two sandy-ish patches, but again nothing that couldn’t be avoided. It would probably be fine to use good skis, but I just tagged this with B skis because of that.

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(Jack MapelLentz)

Really quite good skate skiing - much better than expected. No track set but trail is mostly packed flat and the fresh snow has covered the ice. If you know the trails well you could use your B skis, but rocks and thin snow in the usual places.

(Bob McKenzie)

Lake Elmo did more than I expected.
Maybe a 1/4 inch base over grass, packed snow, or ice, BUT the entire trail system was “skiable”.
Caution over the bridge, it’s completely iced over.

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(Ben Creagh)

Skied Prairie and Savanna, planned to do more, but conditions are deteriorating. Exposed grass and ground I saw yesterday have become larger and more frequent. Skate deck is getting thin, especially on hills, both up and down. Much of the trail is hardpack with ruts, manageable, but skis tended to chatter and often slip out on the push. The ground right beneath the snow "grabbed" my poles several times, as well. The trails have not been refreshed since early yesterday morning, snow is likely just too thin at this point. However, it was nice to get in one more ski before warmer weather.

(David Sonnenberg)

Skied at 9:00 and I was the second one on the freshly set classic tracks. I did most of the trails and new tracks were set on 60% of the trails. Nice tracks with good glide. The only issue I had was the groomer did not track up or down the hills!

(Bill Aamodt)

I have been out for a sunrise ski at Lake Elmo the last two days, It has been great skiing with a few spots of dirt showing through at the tops of hills (easy to get around). Thank you groomers!

(Jeff Ranta)

Skied the "outside loop," Hills to Brown's Pond to Flats to Hills to Prairie to Savanna and back to trailhead on Prairie return leg (8km). North was not groomed when I got to it, so I passed it up. Groomers did a good job, skate deck was very good with only the occasional thin spot sporting grass on south faces and on curves at the bottoms of downhills. Diagonal tracks looked good, also with occasional spots showing grass/ground. It was 36 when I started about 11:30 and 42 when I finished about 12:20 - I know, old and slow. The snow seemed to be holding up well with minimal skiers out this morning, but it was getting soft and thin. The Lake Elmo groomers have consistently been magicians at giving us good trail conditions, so I'm hoping for the best with warmer weather. Sorry, no pictures - was having too much fun skiing!

(David Sonnenberg)