3" new powder snow from last 7 days; average 4" base; 3k Classic combed and track set; 6k loop groomed with skate lane and track set; bucks run and Rabbits trail groomed with skate lane and track set. Balance of trails roll packed last week with 3" fresh powder. Fresh groomed base soft. Bring your good skis. Started out this morning over fresh snow and light snow falling and some skiers out and about. Completed grooming tonight in mild temps 20's above. Trails do have some twigs here and there from high winds of this past week.

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(Douglas Schumann, Rainbow Resort)

Beautiful terrain, scenery, and trails. More snow than the Brainerd Lakes Area. No bare spots and very few leaves or sticks. Great little lodge with snacks and lunch items. Friendly cozy environment with a great view. Worth making a day trip.

(Melissa Barrick)

One of the best classic ski condition so far in this ski season, on natural snow! Classic skied the 6k loops, started at 1:30pm at -4F and finished at 4pm with temp dropping to -10F. Windchill cut through thick woods. Trails are well groomed for classic and skate skiing! Some classic tracks are covered with drifted loose snow. Great workout for a chilly day!

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(Amy Xu)

All trails open and roll packed but part of 10k not track set. Snow has transformed to a dry sugary soft snow - not fast skate conditions but classic was pretty great.

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(Jill Troutner)

Fresh roll pack on 10k so conditions were faster and clean. Other section that were windblown were slower but classic track provided a great double workout. Dry powdery cold squeaky snow. Green/ polar wax, snow temp was -8F but air temp was 11.

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(Jill Troutner)

Eagles Run, Rabbits Trail, Cougars Run, Hawks Run, and Ridge Run now roll packed. Average base depth 3 to 4 inches; rolled packed 4" new snow from early morning snowfall. Balance of trail system is Tidd Tec groomed and track set. Lost Bobcat only trail not groomed. Started out mid morning and -9*F with very light snow showers falling then the sun came out and brighten things up. Went out to roll pack to help set up base on Eagles Run Loop. Base on other trails groomed yesterday is very firm. Snow is slow with cold temps but really setting things up.

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(Douglas Schumann, Rainbow Resort)

7" new powder accumulated yesterday and overnight; average base depth 3 to 4 inches; 3K Classic, 6K Loop, Wolf Run, and Bucks Run now roll packed last night and combed, renovated, and track set this morning. Eagles Run, Rabbits Trail, Cougars Run, and Ridge run roll packed last night. Bring your good skis. Base is punchy now but should firm up. Started last night roll packing in light snow showers and 17F; then finished the last hour in a snow dump where it was hard to even make out the trail. Started this morning grooming with tidd tec at 5F above and completed early this afternoon at -2*f. Great to see all the new white powder on the trails and trees.

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(Douglas Schumann, Rainbow Resort)

Over 50 percent tracks reset-deep and solid track. Snow temp is dropping. I measure 5 inches new at trailhead that is getting colder but has mixed in well with base. Snow was just getting "squeaky" and my skis were slowing way down. Snow feels dry and powdery.

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(Jill Troutner)

Half inch of new snow made this a very nice ski. We skated and strided and even got out on the lake. The groomer has done a great job of preserving a deck and track set as well on more than half the trails. We came in between skis and had a pizza and a nice chat with the owners. Great winter day!

(Kathy Gang)

Brought 25 skiers up from Chaska/Chanhassen and stayed on site in Rainbow's cabins. Trails were in amazing shape considering the recent warm weather. You can tell Doug worked hard to keep the snow they got and mixed in the fresh snow that fell. Tracks were decent with only a few areas of grass poking through. If you have never skied here, the outer loop at Rainbow offers many challenging climbs and fun downhills. It was really cold all weekend, but the wooded trails shielded the wind and the ski in/ski out cabins allowed us to take quick breaks and get back at it. So great to show my metro area skiers what it's like to be on different trails while enjoying nature. I love our manmade snow in the metro, but nothing beats real snow in the north woods. Overall great experience well worth the drive, my kids are already asking if we can go back!

(Eric Adams)