Skied all that remains of Battle Creek from 1:30-3:00pm. Conditions were surprisingly great but rapidly deteriorating with each lap. By the end the usual suspect spots were becoming bare ground or very thin. Water pooling deep in some places. Thank you to the groomers and all who are involved in keeping the trail system in such great shape from beginning to end. We are very fortunate to have such a great venue to ski and people who work tirelessly to maintain it. Until next year!

Photos:

(Ryan Guthrie)

The guy (wood frog) in the photo says spring is here, but BC staff say not so fast! Wonderfully groomed trails this morning and conditions were great at 9 am on almost all snowmaking trails. Tracks looked great, but I skated one last time before it got too slushy. Thanks to all that have helped Battle Creek become such a great skiing oasis in the East Metro. Get out today if you can, but try to avoid the frogs and geese!

Photos:

(Jeff Ledermann)

Well with the high temps and the melting snow we are going to end grooming operations for the season. Grooming plans: We will groom one final time tonight and call it a season. It has been a good year and we greatly appreciate the feedback that we get from the skiers, coaches and parents. Thank you all who have come out and enjoyed the Battle Creek Recreation Area. We hope you have a great summer and will be ready to go next ski season.

(Rob Adams, Ramsey County Parks)

WC natural snow trails ski assisted hike - equal parts slush, mush, snow, and dirt. This BC natural snow starved skier went on an adventure knowing what might be found. Dismount required for most downhill and uphill. It was sticky enough to walk skis up and go slow down and thread the eye of the needle some cases. The silver segment into the snow making loop had good coverage. The climb into marker 11 and then to 12 had worst coverage. Now you know!

(Stephen Katz)

Beautiful morning ski on the last day of winter, taking one last chance to enjoy the reliably amazing grooming that happens at BC almost every day. Kudos to the groomers for their dedication.

Photos:

(Walter Ebertz)

I skated several laps this morning on the Pond, Prairie, South Tree, and North Tree (snowmaking) loops. The coverage was very good, but there was grass starting to show through on the Pond loop. Good corduroy when I started (10:30), but it had been pretty much chewed up by the time I left (12:00). That said, push was excellent, glide was decent, and directional ski stability was excellent. As the sun came out, the snow started softening and was getting rutted and heavy through the downhill turn at the north end of North Tree Loop. Not a lot of skiers out, and the trails were holding up fairly well. The Battle Creek groomers have been exceptional all season long, and this morning they once again provided me with a wonderful skiing experience.

(David Sonnenberg)

World Cup, Silver and Ski Games trails were all regroomed (two passes) and new track set. There are some hidden obstacles and the groomer brought up some leaves, so B skis are recommended on Silver and WC. There is a bare section after the first hill on the Ski Games trail and one thin spot near the end so either dismount or bring some rock skis.

(Jay Wenner)

Natural snow trails: Silver has been re-groomed and tracked. Silver is in mostly good shape; the skate deck is still a bit uneven; there are 2-3 small spots of grass poking through at the bottom of the long initial descent; and a stretch of thin snow and leaves before the Gold turn-off. Gold has been partially re-groomed (one pass) and tracked half the distance. SkiGames was groomed and tracked for the first time since the snow - most of it has good coverage, but will be soft; there are three bare spots and 2-3 more thin areas.

(Karl Dewahl)

I skied most of the trails at Battle Creek West this evening. While it is true that no trails are closed, the grooming varies a lot. The Ski Games loop has not been groomed at all; there are now the self-made classic tracks I left behind, but no one is going to be skating over there. The natural-snow trails on the east side of the road, such as World Cup Trail and Enchanted Forest, have been groomed for skating, but the only classic tracks I found were on the southern end of the system, beginning at the Competition Hill and ending at the beginning of the Enchanted Forest loop. Even on the groomed, be prepared for some adventurous skating and beware the ruts on the downhills. The snowmaking loops have a lot of hardpack and some crust. It was great out there and it is fantastic to have such skiing in mid-March, but I wanted people to have a detailed sense of the current conditions.

(Olav Ormseth)

What a wonderful treat! Bravo groomers. The entire system is open and a rare experience for March. Classic tracks are set for most of the system and there is a skate deck for the whole system. The skate deck is better than I was expecting considering the amount of snow in this last storm. There are places where you break through the surface but overall well worth the trip. There is some stick debris here and there but easily avoidable.

Photos:

(Brett Smith)