Trail Detail

Saint Mary's University
Winona, MN
13.1k
Skating/Classic
Yes
Yes
[ NWS ]
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Notes

Some of the best trails in southern Minnesota. Tucked in the valley behind the school, the trails run around the northern slopes of the valley making them quite challenging and also well protected from the sun. Some lighted sections, and snowmaking operations.
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Trail Reports

2016-2017 season
Reports 34 to 43 of 43    Month: Mar | Feb | Jan | Dec
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Morning
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
We've been grooming every morning and the trail is getting progressively better. Manmade/lighted loop is in very good condition with a classic track. Orchard, meadow, river trail and upper hillside are in good condition. 5 k loop is skiable, but downhills are still icy. Still a lot of twigs, bark and small branches. As you ski, help us by flipping some branches and bark off the trail.
(Gerry Cichanowski)
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Morning
Firsthand: Freestyle Secondhand 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
The groomers at St Mary's have transformed bulletproof ice into very fun skiable trails. Our first couple laps were tough to ski and rather sketchy but after a couple groomer passes things were great. Early this morning the trails were the consistency of a dry sno-cone. No classic tracks were present, skate only. Steve, the groomer, said they had the ginzu blades set to maximum depth and made multiple passes to get is skiable. They will be grooming all week because they get between 70-100 kids out there every night! Amazing place to ski.
(Jack Zabrowski)
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Morning
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
We groomed today with both Ginzu and Pisten Bully. The overnight cold dried the snow pack sufficiently to get the skate deck in unexpectedly good condition. The majority of the 5K loop is in good condition with a variety of icy and dirty spots. The wind has made all the trails full of leaves, twigs and some branches. The Lighted loop is very good with only a few icy areas. There are no classic tracks. Caution is highly recommended on downhills as they are icy. Overall we have survived the rain and SMU Nordic trails are ready for skiers.
(Bruce Johnson)
Monday, December 26, 2016
Afternoon
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Most, Rock skis ]
Most of the trails survived the rain. The lighted loop with man made snow has been groomed and is in good condition with some brown areas. The main 5K loop is in good to marginal condition with some corners very icy. Caution is highly recommended. The extremely windy conditions have spread small branches and tree bark on many parts of the trail. Overall you can ski but be prepared for snow conditions to change as you ski to different sections. We are not able to reset any classic tracks at this time. We recommend skiing primarily of the upper lighted loop for safest conditions.
(Bruce Johnson)
Monday, December 26, 2016
Afternoon
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Partial, Rock skis ]
Majority of St. Mary's trails are iced over and debris laden. I tilled up the lighted, manmade loop and it's pretty good, also did the small loop at orchard's first cutoff, back to the dike, and the meadow loop across the sledding hill. We'll try and till some more trail, when things freeze more solid, right now ski only where trails have been scratched, the rest would be treacherous! If you ski everything that's been scratched 2 to 2.5 K.
(Steve Horeck)
Monday, December 19, 2016
Afternoon
Firsthand: Classic Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Most, B skis ]
Groomed and set track mid-morning. We did not groom Rattlesnake again as it still needs better snow depth. The skate deck is in excellent condition with very few thin areas. The classic track is also very good but again there are a few thin areas. I skied between 1-2 PM and some tracks were getting wind blown and some had accumulating leaves from the wind but overall the classic and skate conditions are great.
(Bruce Johnson)
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Morning
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Most, Good skis ]
4-5" of new snow overnight. Entire system was packed this morning. Still a little soft but good conditions everywhere except Rattlesnake and Yon's trail beyond the second cutoff. They are still a little thin, good skis not recommended there. The lighted loop is open for evening skiing.
(Gerry Cichanowski)
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Afternoon
Firsthand: Freestyle 
[ Trails Open: Most, Rock skis ]
Very good for first grooming and snow. A few thin areas. Overall great early season conditions. Picked up a few rocks and flicked a bunch of sticks. Try to clear a few things if you get out there. Thanks to the groomers!
(Garrett Ping)
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Afternoon
Grooming 
[ Trails Open: Partial, Rock skis ]
6-8" light snow over hard frozen dirt. We packed all trails expect Rattlesnake and the only to the second cutoff on Yon's. After the cold temps help firm up the new snow conditions will improve but it is definitely rock skis only and I would rate the conditions marginal in all areas except the Lighted Loop. 90% of the Lighted loop has a base of man made snow so the conditions are very good. Ski at your own risk or better yet stay off the main trail for a few days.
(Bruce Johnson)
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Afternoon
Grooming 
[ Trails: Closed, Rock skis ]
We had both snow guns running today and got a good chunk of upper man-made loop made. With the predicted snow tonight could make for a good week of skiing up there. Thanks to the snowmaking crew for making the loop again this year.
(Anders Braaten)

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