Took the Green Trail late in the day. Warm temperatures made for a slick track and there were a few thin spots out in the open. Some litter in the woods. Thanks to those who got out last weekend to roll the trails and set tracks!

Photos:

(David Wilford)

All trails have been groomed and tracked. “Skiers Only” signs are now up and should reduce foot and bike(!) traffic. We decided to prioritize getting trails skiable over spending time putting up signs.

(Dave Thofern)

Soft skate deck but classic tracks the whole 12k loop we skied. Unfortunately some ruts from walkers/bikers but full coverage and no regrets using good skis.

Photos:

(Hanna Torvi)

Skied the green, campground loop and blue to the falls and back. Thanks to the groomers for yesterday afternoon grooming the campground and blue (also saw they groomed some others but did not ski them). The campground loop was great...nice skate deck. The blue was nice as well...unfortunately hikers thought it was a good idea to walk right in the middle of the deck along with a fat tire bike that was sinking in the deck. The blue deck was a bit soft but still very skiable. Really bummer to have bikers and walkers impacting what would be an awesome skate deck.

(Brian Bell)

Groomers have done a great job with all the snow to set both skate and classic tracks. I attempted from the boat landing to skate Purple and Silver trails around the river. There has been so much foot traffic in the middle of the skate deck on all trails and the steeper hills on Silver were dangerous with the big holes. As well I encountered several people running on the trail. Until the ski only signs are posted and the park starts to enforce ski trail usage rules I would not attempt skating.

(David Ousdigian)

All trails are groomed and tracks are set. Excellent conditions. New snow packed in pretty firm now. Tracks are well-defined.

(Jeff Roberts)

20" of new light snow. All trails were rolled. No grooming yet as the snow needs to setup before a track can be set and the final skate deck finished. The current conditions are soft. The skating would be okay if you are looking for a workout thru a soft deck. Classic without tracks might be acceptable as the ski will sink in a few inches.

(jeff Roberts)

Groomers were out Friday night but had to pull off the trails due to poor visibility and deep snow. We’ll try again tomorrow at first light, assuming we can get into the park. Trails are currently covered in deep snow. We’ll spend Saturday dragging and rolling and may be able to begin grooming and tracking. It will take park staff some time to plow the entrance road and parking lots. You may want to call the park office to make sure the entrance road is open before you head out to Willow.
Gun deer hunting is open through Sunday north of the river and on part of the Red trail. Blaze orange is recommended if you venture into those areas.

(David Thofern)

Hunting season remains open in the park north of the river through December 15. No ski trail grooming on the Silver trail or packing for hiking on the Pink trail will be done till hunting ends. In November I spent several hours mowing leaves off the trails, as possible, to help the grooming towing machine traction, and perhaps low snow skiing. The volunteer grooming group is on notice to be ready to go when the time is right. Typically they make the first packing run during the snowfall with the rollers only. The second run, after the snow ends, may also be packing only. This provides a soft, but skiable surface without track. Track setting follows. If the second run is with the grooming pieces, it's done and needs some time to set up. Another change at Willow is bike trails that cross ski trails. Expect to see riders. The Purple Lowland ski trail has been routed around that annoying wet spot with the off camber U-turn approach. The entire Lowland loop was worked over to take the worst lumps out.

(Jeff Bolte)