Skied the North and South loops on Saturday. Parking lot was packed, but I did not see another skier on the trails. Overall conditions were great! Track set well for classic. Tracks were in place even on the bottom of hills. There were some oak leaves on the track but it was minor. Hope to ski it again in a couple weeks.

(Terrie Cummings)

Hickory Hills never disappoints! Started from the North cabin and did the south loop and Highland Lakes. Great firm, clean classic track. Had a nice visit with Mr. Landgraf, boy, the skiing community sure misses him.

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(Mark Sproul)

We skied Hickory on Wednesday when they had rolled it between snowfalls so we broke trail through 2-3 inches. As we were leaving the groomer met us, setting a track. That was all the motivation I needed to go back yesterday. The track was sure and solid. The skate lane had been skated on. It looked like the skier broke through here and there. It was a bluebird day for skiing.

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(Karen Possley)

Absolutely perfect skiing today. Classic and skating trails in excellent shape. Classic skied the 10k north and south loops. Windy on the open logged portions of the trail.

(Diane Harp)

The entire system was groomed and tracks set (I did not ski Dog island). The tracks were very good.

(Colleen Duffy)

Conditions are not bad. Skied South, North, and Tram Lake loops. Tracks are solid. Skate deck is firm and allows a good edge. Still a fair amount of tree liter remaining from the Christmas ice storm. South loop is the cleanest, Tram Lake is the most cluttered.

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(Bob Schwartz)

Near nirvana compared to the conditions back in the Cities. 26 degrees and partly cloudy. Inch or so of fluff on top of firm base had been skier-packed. Moderately heavy leaf and twig litter in spots but was not enough to cause any problems. I covered just shy of 11 K on the south and north loop in 1:17. I used Fastwax Pink (old color scheme) LF. There was no classic track. My skis/wax seemed a little slow but I got in a few sustained skates on the west side of the north loop and on the entry leg on my return. Unfortunately, the area adjacent to the outward bound portion of the south loop and the first portion of the return on it after exiting the north loop has been clear cut. The north loop was unaffected as well as most of the south loop (that are also the most scenic sections.) It was more than worth the drive.

(Keith Carlson)

Very great ski morning. The inch of powder covered the base perfectly keeping the trail fast but plenty safe on the downhills. The groomer as of noon had not touched the trail after last night's snowfall, but that was probably done strategically as to not lose that top layer, plus really it's not needed right now. Get out and ski! It's great! Still small debris on the trail especially on the connector, so I would recommend no better than B skis and you'll note I put rock ski suggested in this report. No real classic track set to note.

(Brady Zwiefelhofer)

The trail came through the recent rains with a solid, 3" base that is relatively flat and free of bare spots. The skate deck has been cleared of most of the woody debris. There is 1/2 inch of new snow on recent corduroy. Small sticks and isolated leaves remain but the trail is reported to be quite skiable. Expect little track, if any, until more snowfall arrives. The Dog-Island Loop and trailhead is closed until further notice, but there is still more than 20K of trail through some of the State's best scenery to enjoy!

(Mike Dahlby)

Very icy and huge amounts of debris on the trails from the wind and ice storm Sunday and Monday. Large branches and even entire trees in a few areas have gone completely across the trail. These are beautiful trails, but more snow, some tilling of the base, and a lot of debris removal will improve conditions significantly.

(Aaron Holtebeck)