Beautiful day on the trails! It appeared every trail freshly groomed as of this morning. Both skate and classic well done! At 1 pm I was the first person on the Prairie Overlook Trail. Snow was thick up there despite grooming (no doubt from recent snowfall and drifting.) So you can see in last image where tires from groomer sunk in. Not going to complain though. Another pass by from groomers and should be nice and packed. Again, great day to be out and one of the first people to touch the trail after 12pm. Enjoy!

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(Elizabeth Westerhaus)

Got on the trail at WOB around 11am. Fresh corduroy! Thick in spots, so a little slow-going, but amazing! Skate skied (from the warming house) the first outside loop (Hardwood Hills trail; lots of debris up there but groomed), Woodland Edge Trail, skipped Rolling Hills Savanna trail (looks like they skipped that one too, maybe to deal with all the drifting over on the next loop, the Prairie Overlook Trail). Started on that one, but snow was thick and soft and seems they were still in the process of packing it down, so got back on the main trail to head back down to the Wetland trail. Leaves/twigs in certain areas were heavy (to be expected after the last strong winds) but overall trail in great shape and should be a little faster after a day or two! Also, Wedge Hill Savanna Trail seemed to be groomed but still thick and in need of more packing.

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(Elizabeth Westerhaus)

Got on the trail about 11am. Skate deck hard, fast, lots of unevenness (if we're being picky:) but we'll take it. Was hoping groomers would make it a run at it today, but sounds like they don't plan to head out again until after this next dump of snow we have coming. I just did the flat, Wetland Trail and Beaver Lodge Trail to get the legs moving. A cautious skier, so a little too uneven and crunchy for my level of skating, but good enough! A gorgeous day out there and look forward to a fresh layer of snow! Classic tracks looked to be in excellent shape though, minus the few leaves in the way.

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(Elizabeth Westerhaus)

Today was a beautiful day at William O'Brien. I skied the outer loops on classic and then on skate skis. The trails were all groomed and in great condition. I will be making a trip back tomorrow.

(Derek Jackson)

Just got off the phone with the park staff (11:30am). Most of the trails were groomed yesterday with the exception of the Hardwood Hills Trail, Rolling Hills Savanna Trail, and Prairie Overlook Trail. I specifically asked about skating, so all are groomed for skate with the exception of those I listed. I'm told they plan on grooming the rest tomorrow. Bummer it isn't all open by now with all this snow!

(Jason Hedlund)

They are just grooming, it's nice behind it but it's kind of late for the weekend... At 11am they are probably 90% done.

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(Karoly Horvath)

Classic skied all outer loops today. Very disappointed with the grooming! South America and another hilly loop had not seen a groomer recently -- bumpy and lumpy. Supposedly will be borrowing groomer from Afton tomorrow to finish the job.

(Jo Beth Croatt)

Classic skied O'Brien this morning. About 8K, the inner loop, was full tracked and groomed for both skating and classic. Classic skiing on the groomed trail was very nice, a classic blue wax day. The skating lane had only seen a few skiers but there looked to be soft spots, there is lots of new snow. The outer loops were not groomed and were covered with new snow, (see picture - The ski track coming in from the left was the return from the loop known as South America). The groomer was working the trails as I left.

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(Jim Smith)

We were able to classic ski a 5 mile loop today. The classic tracks were very nice for the most part but were occasionally overrun by skaters and the groomer itself. The skate track looked good but being freshly groomed it appeared a little soft. Three of the four more advanced outer loops had not been groomed yet, but the groomer was actively working while we were there. I thoroughly enjoyed the ski and I think the course will be good for awhile. Beautiful scenery and no crowds!

(Chuck Howe)

Heartbreaking that the powers that be at William Obrien have decided not to groom the trails with this latest snow. I skated the entire outer loop and was working with plenty of snow and if it had been groomed it would have been magical! Classic tracks had been set by earlier skiers not groomers which was also disappointing. I am hoping for grooming after the next round of snow.

(Cindy Gardner)