Conditions: Skating - good; classic- tracked only up to Trailhead Junction.
Winter Wonderland! The groomer was out the whole time we skied and groomed for skating only for most of the system. Beautiful skate deck, with some wet/icy sections scattered. Classic track on first section (up to Trail Head) had about 2-3% thin icy track from wet base, but rest was good. I was classic skiing.

Photos:

(Dave Arvold)

Conditions: Poor. Numerous wet/icy spots.
After several days of above freezing temperatures and rain, the trail is in poor condition with numerous wet spots. Snow and cooler temps are in the forecast for Tuesday and grooming will resume when conditions allow.

(Dan Kephart, Wisconsin DNR)

Got to After Hours early since temps already mid 20s by 8 AM. It was 28 when I left about 1:00 PM. They had several inches of snow in the Sunday night/Monday morning event. Perfectly groomed, trees beautiful. I skied all trails, including classic only, and it was about perfect. Fast glide, good kick with gold old Swix Blue. Skating great too. The pictures tell the story, including the one of the Brule River, reminding us why we go to these trails even when there is plenty of snow everywhere.

Photos:

(Tim Holst)

Very good classical tracks and skate deck as well. Appears as if they had groomed this morning or last night. Great 90 minute ski with no human encounters. Take advantage of this gem before warmer weather.

(Bill Stroozas)

Conditions: Good skate deck and good classic tracks.
Skate deck is firm and there's no issue getting an edge-still some corduroy if you look hard enough. Classic tracks were very good with minor debris. The system is seeing a lot of use but the grooming continues to hold up. An inch or two of snowfall will move this from good to great.

(Jakob Wartman)

Conditions: Very well used skate lane and classic track.
We classic skied and skate skied today around midday and the parking lot and road were the busiest I've ever seen it there. This is by far the best skating close to Duluth right now and probably the best classic also. There is 99.9% coverage, with just some minor dirt showing here and there. The skate deck was very well used, hard packed with an edge. There were a lot of leaves in the classic tracks and they were of the ski stopping variety so beware!

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(Eve Graves)

Duluth's best option. The 45 minute drive was well worth it. Warmer temps yesterday and cool temps overnight made for fast conditions on the skate deck. The classic tracks seem to be in great condition but I didn't see anyone with classic gear this morning. As others have posted, there are some icy patches. But most of them are right by the trailhead. Get out there. And early. I left an almost full parking lot at 9:30.

(Kris Osthus)

Still a winter wonderland in Brule, although trees have lost some of their snowy cloak. Grooming on all trails was excellent. There a very few spots where freeze-up has left some ice, including right at the start, but don't let that put you off, the icy spots are virtually no problem. Skating is excellent almost everywhere. There are a number of spots where oak leaves and pine needles are annoying in the classic tracks, and very rarely in the skate lane, where they are much easier to avoid. The "oak leaf" issue is larger on parts of the classic only trail, yet much, perhaps most, of that trail is perfect, with no debris.

Photos:

(Tim Holst)

Conditions: Being regroomed as I skied at 1pm. Perfect where groomed!
December 1st is the first day of "true" winter, and at Brule you will find mid winter conditions. Used Special Green and had nice kick and glide even though the temperature was 4F. Pines and bushes are snow crusted ... truly a winter wonderland. The groomers were doing two passes everywhere ... one to break up the snow, and then reset the skating deck and classic tracks. Thanks Wisconsin DNR!

(Rich Hoeg)

Trail was groomed and tracked on Monday, and is in good condition. Skiers can expect to find a few icy spots, but most of the trail is in good to very good shape with a packed base of about 4 inches and 11-12 inches of snow cover.

(Dan Kephart, Wisconsin DNR)