We drove from Brainerd to ski on real snow. Trails were hard packed and icy. Very fast conditions. A few bare and frozen water spots in low areas. We stuck to the Pincushion Mtn Loop, Upper and Lower Snowman, and West Overlook trails. One set of footprints throughout the trail, but did not interfere with our ski. Just annoying. Overall, so happy to ski and enjoyed the day. Definitely use B skis.

(Janet Hennies)

With the current snow drought, if you want to ski an entire trail system or actually cover some territory during your ski this is a decent option. Specifically for skate skiing. Everything was skiable, but it was icy and if you are not familiar with the trail, you will need to check your speed in areas that it would not otherwise be necessary. Do not assume that all brown spots in the snow are churned up dirt/wood, bark, or leaves, some of these most certainly are rocks and stones. That said, it is possible to avoid these spots and I was comfortable on B skis. In the current conditions, the North Advanced trail and others designated "black" definitely held up best. They had the nicest corduroy and their downhills had the least ruts where you could catch a ski. It was possible to ride skis much longer on these "black" trails. Overall, the entire trail system had enough coverage to be flat and not at all bumpy from the contours of the ground below the snow.

(Sara Zimmer)

Skied the entire trail system. All in good condition considering the recent rain. Groomers did a fantastic job, classic tracks set. Icy in most places, so challenging overall but very skiable and enjoyable.

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(Jan Poehland)

As of this afternoon most trails were freshly groomed with minimal bare spots and some icy spots. I skied the North Advanced loop and it was in great condition. Although the Pincushion Mountain loop had more bare spots and a few rocks on the snow. The only thing unskiable was inside the stadium. Overall, skiing was very good especially with the rain that Pincushion has gotten.

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(Nathan Langer)

Trail Base: 3-5". Our post-rain cleanup is underway. The good news is that trail coverage is OK after the rainstorm, though there are some bare areas in the stadium. Skate lanes groomed on West Overlook and Upper and Lower Snowman. Other than a couple of easily avoidable dirt patches, skiing is excellent. Tracks set on West Overlook and Upper and Lower Snowman. They are poor to fair in quality, but much better than glare ice.

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(Timothy Lederle, Pincushion Ski and Run Club)

Great snow coverage Sunday morning at Pincushion. Trails were icy, hopefully grooming will fix that.

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(Carolyn Bramante)

Friday morning the snowmobile groomer had touched up all green and blue trails. Blacks was not yet freshened by the time I left. Snow cover 100%. Great skiing on freshly groomed but not as pleasant on the unfreshened Blacks as it was a bit crusty/icy in spots. (Icy in town of Grand Marias but plenty of snow over the hill!).

(John Witzmann)

Trail Base: 3-6". Surface Conditions: Re-groomed all skate lanes. Skating conditions are excellent. Classic tracks were not reset, but are well defined and have a half inch of fresh power in them. Classic conditions are very good.

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(Timothy Lederle, Pincushion Ski and Run Club)

It looked like all the trails were open. We skied about half of them and coverage was great. I saw only one patch of churned up earth, and that was on an uphill and easily avoidable. Snow conditions were not great today, however. It was over 30F when we started and was 38F when we wrapped up. Snow was wet, heavy and slow. We spent a good bit of effort having to pole on downhills to move. That's weather for you though. Despite the heat, it seemed like the trails were holding up well.

(Adam Schwartz-Lowe)

Very good considering the warm conditions! Was able to do most of the loops without seeing bare spots. Snow was definitely slushy, but was still able to get some solid gliding in.

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(Cassie Pratt)