Nothing better than being the fist skier on the trail after the groomer came through. Freshly groomed this morning. Soft and slow due to the warm weather. Otherwise it was perfect.

(Sue Logan)

Skate skied around the noon hour today. Groomer was out regrooming sections of trail. Trail was fairly firm and not yet slow as the temps were close to freezing. Good coverage throughout except on Evergreen, where there are two windblown sections that are very thin (and one of those has sharp gravel). Classic tracks looked good and were faster than the skate lane on the downhills. Nice to be able to ski Baker again.

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(Bruce Adelsman)

Today was the Baker of years past. Perfect for classic. Such a beautiful ski. Fresh snow with a firm track. Very few leaves. The skating looked very soft. Get out and enjoy the parks.

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(Diane Pattridge)

Beautiful day at Baker. This was my first time skiing there and it was a treat to be out. I skied the whole network a couple of times, except for Evergreen, which was listed as "closed" for classic. Coverage was great throughout. Snow was a bit soft, but the classic tracks were perfectly decent. Just a few very small places the deck on the right side was too soft to get good pole purchase. The skate deck looked very sofy, not surprisingly. A couple skate skiers I talked to confirmed it was slow going. Should be much improved if it gets groomed again by tomorrow. The trails were getting lots of use today, with many families--and many young first-time skiers--out enjoying the afternoon.

(Jonathan Poppele)

Evergreen-Island-Hill-Fairway: Skate deck in great shape; softer on Evergreen; harder packed elsewhere. A few blown off areas on west ridge of Evergreen, but these were easily avoided. Evergreen also is now tracked for classic.

(Mark Chatterton)

While everyone else was in Hayward/Cable, a group of 13 of us took advantage of freshly groomed snow at Baker Park, a destination most of us hadn't been able to properly ski in more than a decade. All trails were open and in good condition (although Evergreen was just being groomed) and the staff welcomed skiers back with opened arms. The trails were beautifully groomed for classic with only one sketchy patch which was easily avoided. The dreaded oak leaves in the tracks were few and far between. The two skaters in our group had soft, but fresh corduroy snow. The trails wind through forested and scenic areas with sufficient room for classic and skaters to ski side-by-side. Get out there and enjoy. GPS directions can be a little sketchy. Follow the signs to the Golf Course/Winter Rec area and then turn at the gate to the golf course (no indication that it is also the Winter Rec area).

(Bonnie Carlson-Green)

Skated the perimeter (outermost segments of Evergreen, Island. Timber, Hill, & Prairie). Deck packed but soft/slow throughout. Classic tracks glazed/fast with only a very few, very short bare spots in sunny areas (easily skied around). Best conditions of the year so far. Get out there and bring a friend!

(Mark Chatterton)

Much improved over even Sunday's race-day conditions. A 1/2" of fresh snow and the groomers were already out working the trail. Fresh corduroy over crushed ice, no brown spots. Groomers are working overtime!

(Dallas Johnson)

Skated the Island-Timber-Prairie "loop", noting that the groomers had done their usual fine work to make most of the deck good, also dumping snow on a bare spot on one of the first downhills, and on the connection to the Island Trail, that loop having dirt showing through on all the usual places, including the sharp left curve at its north end, which I found sort of treacherous at speed. The rest of this 8.7 km loop has good coverage, except the very start, the short downhill starting the Timber Trail, and maybe a few of the shorter hills. In summary, Island Trail probably rock skis, the rest probably B skis.

(Richard Swenson)

You could use your good skis but perhaps an errant pebble... Baker is great, the entire loop! Groomers have it ready for tomorrows fun ski/race 8:30am!

(Jan Guenther, Gear West)