Skiing classic this morning at Wm. O'Brien made me think 1.) I am grateful the park staff persisted, and Afton shared, so they could groom despite equipment failure, 2.) I have been spoiled by the typically excellent grooming at W.O'B.! Wetland and Woodland trails were ok, if icy. Rolling Hills Savannah trail was untracked, rutted and icy-hard. I will wait until the on-site equipment is working again to return to Wm.O'Brien.

(Amy Cortright)

Excellent fast classic skiing this morning on skin skis. I only skied the flat loops east of the RR tracks. Firm, fine-grained molded crust. Not icy! The set track is very firm and well defined. Perfect pole plant. The light snow yesterday must have helped. There is just enough loose fine-grain in the track that wax and Klister should work. Getting to be more leaves in the track. The downhills are uneven crust but not ice. The track was set on Tuesday and is still excellent.

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(William Buell)

From the William O'Brien website: A huge Thank You for our Afton State Park neighbors who worked hard to complete their trails so they can lend us their equipment. Rolling trails started on Saturday afternoon. As of Sunday morning the trails east of the railroad tracks were rolled. The goal is to have all the ski trails rolled, groomed and tracked by the end of Tuesday.

(Bill Callas)

No grooming, no problem! A beautiful morning classical ski on deep skier made track. Classic skiing will a backcountry flare!

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(Steve Skarvan)

From DNR staff: Unfortunately, both our grooming equipment and our back up equipment has failed us and are out of service. We are searching for alternatives but the other area parks cannot loan us equipment until their trails are groomed. Therefore, it appears that WOB trails will not be groomed until next week. We feel your pain because we are stuck inside this weekend with paperwork, rather than outside grooming and enjoying the beautiful weather. Please purchase your ski pass, the park will be enforcing the rules. All hikers, walkers, people with pets need to stay off the groomed ski trails.

(William Buell)

Took my classic skis to William O'Brien State Park this afternoon, and skied from 2-3:30pm, beautiful afternoon, 20F. Grooming machine must still be under repair as there were classic tracks on all trails, just not the machine made variety. Thanks to those who came before me and created the tracks that I skied on today, no skate deck since trail is still covered in blanket of ungroomed snow. Office was closed when I left so was not able to get update on when groomer would be fixed. Beautiful day though and plenty of snow.

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(Harlan Jones)

Tried to skate at O'Brien in the early afternoon and was encouraged when I saw the John Deere tractor completing the snow removal in the parking lot. Brought my skis to the trail and discovered that no grooming had been started. Someone told me that the groomer was broken. People had been classic skiing in the deep snow and had made a pretty good trail (for as far as I could see). We packed up our skis and drove a few miles over to Jackson Meadows.

(Chuck Howe)

I called the park at 1:00 pm today. Staff said that trails have not been groomed because their equipment is down. It's "blaze your own trail.".

(Patti Isaacs)

Did a classic ski starting at 2:30pm, passed the campgrounds, the Woodland Edge trail, Wetland trail, Wedge Hill Savanna Trail, and back to the Interpretive Center. The tracks were a little icy, but still in decent shape, some spots where tracks were broken, but overall nice ski. Temp in low 30's, overcast, but no wind which is always nice. Looking forward to some new snow and keeping this ski season rolling. Happy New Year!

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(Harlan Jones)

Great coverage and freshly groomed this morning. Good classic trails and skate deck in great shape. A lot of folks out enjoying the park. Happy New Year!

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(Scott Ford)