Had skied Tuesday night after the snowfall and it wasn't groomed, but conditions were near perfect on Wednesday night after grooming. Skated the lighted loop and found the best conditions in weeks. Lots of skiers were out though and the corduroy was getting churned up.

(Tristan Beaster)

Lester was not groomed this afternoon. The snow that we got was very helpful. It looked like many people have been skiing today. The woods were very beautiful.

(Ava Schapman)

4pm report - Good news: no dirt. Bad news: Seven Bridges Road not plowed and trails not yet groomed. Delightful to get out of the house and enjoy the fresh powdery snow. Lots of skiers have been through. Hopefully they groom tonight.

(Kristin Riker-Coleman)

Skate skied Friday at noon from the Lester River Road up through D Loop and back. The playground is a densely packed surface with glaze. As you leave the playground area and head up through the steep pine section there is a 20 foot section of exposed soil (where there is typically low snow). I side-stepped my way up thru that spot. After that, the trails were actually good--again, the skate deck is packed and glazed, but you are able to get an edge for push--no slippage on the flats and up the hill. Tracks are glazed, quick and fun--not treacherous. The last leg to the playground loop is possible, but you should slow you descent to avoid a couple dirty-snow patches. I'm heading back to Lester again today. Enjoy.

(John Paulson)

Really nice coverage (a few insignificant dirty patches) and a nice smooth surface. Tracks getting worn - particularly on the hills. If you don't want a squirrely ride, jump onto the skate deck for the downhills.

Photos:

(Ben Fornear)

Lester Park skate lane groomed Thursday. Overall trail is in pretty good shape. Conditions are good for skiing.

(Andy Holak)

Night ski at Lester, covered all of the trails. Skate deck is firm/bordering icy with the cold conditions, just enough to make things exciting. A number of dirt patches scattered around the trails have kept me on the B skis, but you could probably run better skis if you were careful and avoided the playground loop. Still wishing for a big dump of snow in the northland!

(Eric Nordgren)

Lester was groomed around noon today and is in good condition with a few small dirty patches. Tracks are a bit shallow in a few spots. It was 4 degrees and the going was a bit slow. I skied just before sunset and saw only one other skier. I guess there was some game on TV or something.

(Catherine Winter)

I classic skied for almost two hours this afternoon. Temperature was about 3 to 5 degrees. I only skied the trails that are lit at night, and the snow and grooming were very good. There were a very few areas with dirt or grass showing. The chalet was open from 11 AM until 4 PM today (as all weekends) and it was a welcome perk of skiing there today. I changed clothes and took a late lunch break in the chalet midway through my ski session. Thanks for the grooming and the chalet!

(John Bogen)

I skied from the Seven Bridges "main" lot around noon, skipped the playground loop, skipped the G, J, and L side loops. Decent conditions overall. There are dirty/thin spots in the skate lane here and there, and similar issues (though less so I think) in the classic tracks. At 6-12F, the snow was kind of the fast version of hardpack styrofoam--not super-aesthetically pleasing, but manageable--not icy or scary fast, but definitely not slow slogging. [The stretch down from the 7 Bridges Rd lot to the sharp left is the most boilerplate out there--if you can tolerate that, the rest is better.] I rated it as "B" skis because of the periodic dirt, but it happened that my good skis were still waxed for cold so that's what I used, and I had no major anxieties about that. If you skied after dark, you might want to be more cautious about using your bonded spider silk World Cup skis--your call. If you were sitting there wondering "could I stand to ski 20k at Lester?" I'd say yeah, you could.

(Erik Riker-Coleman)