Skating was surprisingly good on Onion River Road, even with about 1-2 inches of fluffy ungroomed snow when I finished at noon. Classic skiers had skied in two nice tracks. Not the day for a stiff ski but other than that quite enjoyable - none of that death march feeling.

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(Russ Ludeke)

Conditions: Very good. Started sunny at 21 degrees; ended partly sunny and 34 degrees when I concluded 15 miles and 3 1/2 hours later. Only one bare spot, full coverage otherwise. No ice. Used red Fastwax LF.
Drove up Thursday evening to get in one last ski before returning home to the cities late Friday afternoon. Only 2 other cars in the Onion River parking lot when I arrived at 9:30. Lots when I left about 1:20. Trail over to Homestead loop was frozen corduroy with some needle litter in the densest pine groves. As things opened up, trail softened. Met three parties on Picnic Loop including two 40/50's guys who just flew. I, on the other hand, really plodded, herringboning most uphills. I was exhausted by the time I got to to N so it was nice to conclude on the downhill from N to X and then most of Onion River Road, which was freshly groomed. Its a real gift to have such a nicely maintained trail in this beautiful location. Kudos to the groomers and everybody who supports them and trail.

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(Keith Carlson)

Conditions were quite good for late March. A little icy out of the parking lot but I ended up skiing the Picnic loop which had had almost perfect conditions. I really appreciated the good grooming late in the season.

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(Mark Hennessy)

Conditions: Groomed corduroy classic and skate.
Stay in Tofte and drive 3 miles on highway 61 to Onion River Rd. Drive up the road to the trail systems. The trails have been groomed both classic and skate and touched up yesterday it is like skiing in the middle of the winter phenomenal skiing. People fly out west to go skiing with conditions like this. Get done, sit by the fire, relax, and do it again. Should be phenomenal through the weekend.

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(John Dewall)

Conditions: Packed powder with some icy spots.
Liz and I have been skiing nearly every day. We have great snow with a packed base of 4-24", most of it being 12" or so. Today, we skied out of the Oberg trailhead and found the trails to Homestead very nice. Classic tracks were deep and firm with some icy spots and the skate lane was smooth, combed powder. Timing is everything with Spring skiing. We will have plenty of snow for a while.

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(Greg Fangel)

Conditions: Britton Peak trails in great shape. Hogback Loop in near-pristine condition for skate and classic, even at 3 p.m. Monday at 31-32 F.
Many thanks to you groomers who have spent a lot of time using your chain saws this ski season!

(Colleen Hollinger)

Conditions: Good for skate and classic.
Trails still have an impressive amount of snow! Besides a bit of ice on the southern facing slopes and a few patches of sawdust/sticks, the tracks and skate deck are silky smooth. The higher terrain of the picnic loop was the best!

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(Mitchell Miller)

One of us did classic and one skated the Onion River Trail section - conditions for both were very good. Still plenty of snow on the trail with temperatures in the 20s at night.

(Russ Ludeke)

Onion River Road is excellent for both classic and skate - the trail firmed up nicely last night and the groomer was out again this morning. Skating is just a little soft but glide is still good and the snow isn't breaking down. The groomer said they're continuing to groom other parts of the system as well.

(Russ Ludeke)

Conditions: Packed powder, firm tracks and skate deck.
Who would have thought we would have such wonderful ski conditions after the meltdown? Daren, our groomer, has been creating skiers nirvana after our recent snowstorm which left a foot of snow to whip into shape. Greg used Swix EB this morning, I chose VR 40, both of our skis waxes worked perfectly. The scenery along the trails is breathtaking as the trees are sprayed with a thick coat of snow. Not all trails have been groomed as there were downed trees from the wind and water bars opened from the meltdown.

Photos:

(Liz Wagner)