All the trails are groomed and tracks are set most everywhere. As of 11 am the skating deck was hard and rutted, but there were some stretches where the fringes of the trail were nicely skateable, but you have to be nimble on your skis. With the air temp around 37 the snow was softening a little. The tracks are hard with some icy stretches, but clear of oak leaves and debris, and good for double poling.

(Mark Blaskey)

It had firmed up a bit and was fast enough. The surface is not real uniform but who is going to complain with this great opportunity of mid-April skiing. There were about 10 cars in the parking lot when I left at 6:15 pm.

(Jim Hoeppner)

The County groomed yesterday and again this morning. As of 10:00 this morning he was still grooming. About 1/3 of the trails have been groomed for skating and they are surprisingly firm. Only occasionally did the skis plow in. The snow is moderately fast. No tracks have been set. The poles go in a long way so if you can switch to big baskets before you skate it will be helpful. Get out there.

(Mark Blaskey)

Went about 5:30 pm Friday evening. It was rutted up with the cold temps crusty. I only skied for about 20 minutes as it wa just too frozen with the ruts to make it safe. There are also some wide open bare spots to be expected. I'm guessing maybe not enough snow to re-groom...? If it were to get groomed again, it might be nice skiing so if that happens hopefully someone will file a report. In my opinion it's barely skiable but not really enjoyable skiing. I do think that if the temps warm up to soften the snow, there might be a nice brief window to get one more ski in this year.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

Most of the trails are groomed and some tracks are set. The steep hills are not groomed. The skating deck is soft and the few skiers that were out left ruts. Cold temps tonight should firm it up. The tracks are soft as well.

Photos:

(Mark Blaskey)

About 80% of the trails are still snow-covered with some bare spots that have to be walked across and some spots that will be bare soon. Tracks are faded.

(Colleen Duffy)

The skating deck was hard and a bit rutted and icy this morning. It appears the most recent grooming was Monday. The snow softened a bit by 11:00. The classic tracks are very hard and icy. (Skating on Lake Altoona is very good)

(Mark Blaskey)

There is a solid snowpack throughout the trail system. The skating deck was hard and bit boilerplate in the morning but by noon it had softened and the skating was very good. The classic tracks are glazed and mostly deep, with oak leaves and forest litter melted down into them, but they are fast. Remember there is a low-key Skiathlon at Tower at 5:30 tomorrow (see Facebook for more).

(Mark Blaskey)

Fresh corduroy on all trails this morning. Best skating of the season. The sun is high but the temps remain at freezing or just above, so while the sun feels like March, the snow feels like mid-winter with a powdery texture for the most part. The tracks were not reset today but remain firm and fast, though the oak leaves are starting to take over stretches.

(Mark Blaskey)

Fresh corduroy this morning on the skating deck and conditions are excellent: speed and total control. The classic tracks are glazed where they are exposed to the sun and hard-packed powder otherwise, but firm and great for double poling.

(Mark Blaskey)