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)

Maintenance started grooming at 4 am this morning. Skate deck was refreshed. The classic tracks were set yesterday and were not reset. Good coverage with no debris reported.

(Carolyn Friedrich, Washington County Parks)

Nice and deep classic tracks set today. Few bare spots, but great otherwise. Skate deck is forming up but heavy use today. Groomers doing a great job with the new snow! Be patient, peeps. Thank you.

Photos:

(Emmerson Ward)

Classic skied almost everything both sides of the road. Good snow coverage. Classic tracks were loose as expected. Saw skate skiers skiing over the classic tracks.

(Bonnie Weiskopf)

In the early evening (about 6 PM), the soft-snow trail decks were very torn up. The classic tracks had been torn up. Another grooming is necessary. I did not see any grooming machines during the one hour which I was there. Please people, keep your skate skis out of the classic tracks.

(Bryan Heinle)

Lovely ski at Lake Elmo! In the afternoon, it was pretty soft on uphills, but definitely navigable with good coverage throughout. Snow was slow, but that's okay for the first ski of the season. Thank you groomers!

(Ashley Pethan)

Excellent snowcover after yesterday’s storm! Nordic center trails are groomed; I didn’t check out the west (shared) trails. This being the first major snowfall of the season makes for a pretty loose pack, so the flats and uphills were pretty carved up by mid-day. Downhills were nice and fast.

(Kit Johnson)