Skate skied this morning most of the beautiful Copper Falls network except the classic only. The skate deck is in perfect condition -- firm and smooth. The classic tracks looked good other than not being groomed the past few days. Best time to experience the trails this week would be in the morning since afternoon warm temps tend to slow things down. Thanks to CF staff for maintaining the trails! Don't forget Wed night ski from 6 until 8pm.

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(Colleen Matula)

Groomed/tracked Meadow and Pipeline Loops on Friday. Some needle debris in the pines, otherwise very good to excellent. Tracks are a little iffy on the big hills on Pipeline East. Only groomed the first half of Red Granite due to Saturday's event, back half still pretty good. Skied-in tracks remain on Vahtera and Takesson classic-only trails. Saturday Feb 4th will be the Park's annual candlelight hike/ski held by Friends of Copper Falls State Park from 6-8pm. Snacks, chili, chili-dogs, and warm beverages will be available for purchase. The FOCFSP are fundraising to acquire new trail grooming equipment and make additional trail improvements.

(James Enigl)

The park received about 3-7" of new snowfall. Staff groomed Meadow, Pipeline, and Red Granite. Conditions for grooming started out very soft but was firming up like concrete shortly before sundown. Meadow Loops are excellent; groomed for skate and classic. Pipeline West is excellent; groomed for skate and classic. Pipeline East is fair to good, expect softer conditions on the big hills in open areas but otherwise very good; groomed for skate and classic. Red Granite is in fair condition, needs to firm up more; groomed for skate and snowshoe. Ran out of time for classic-only trails. Happy skiing!

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(James Enigl)

James was laying corduroy when I skied at 3pm. Incredibly scenic, like skiing in a snow globe with flocked trees. Also rolled the red Granite trail for hikers and snowshoeing, which is an incredible plus for this property. Love this park.

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(Michael McFadzen)

If you haven't tried this hidden gem, you're really missing something. Several feet of snow + 25 of gorgeous trails through both hardwood and conifer forests + easy trails + moderate trails, some with challenging hills, but nothing that is extremely technical. Pipeline West is very good and will be excellent when it firms up a bit. Same with Pipeline East. The portion of Vahtera that is wide and groomed for skating is excellent. Meadow is excellent. I didn't ski the classic only portion of Vahtera. Takesson has been rolled but not tracked yet. Granite Falls trail is good, with soft edges. Granite Falls is a multi-use trail, so there may be hikers, snowshoers or dogs sharing it with you.

(Charlie Dee)

Pipeline, Meadow and Red Granite trails were groomed this morning. Trails were still somewhat soft this morning but should set up well. Pipeline and Meadow loops - good to very good for skate and classic. Red Granite - excellent for snowshoe and good for skate. Vahterra was not groomed but has good tracks set from Monday. Takesson has not been groomed due to low hanging trees and branches from heavy snow loads. Trail clearing is in progress.

(Tom Piikkila)

The park received about 12" of wet snow over a few days, bringing us to a total of 102" fallen since the beginning of November. The UTV was back from repairs so Chief Groomer Tom and the park's Ranger teamed up to roll and groom most trails. Meadow Loops are in excellent condition groomed for skate and classic. Pipeline Loop is in fair to good condition groomed for skate and classic; watch out for some soft pole plants at the big hills on the east half of the loop. Vahtera is in excellent condition tracked for classic. Red Granite is in fair condition groomed for skate and snowshoe; lots of soft spots. Grooming plans: Park staff will brush out Takesson on Tuesday. Thank you to the five FOCFSP volunteers that spent several days removing debris and lopping low branches from the trails. Happy Skiing!

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(James Enigl)

The park received about 7" of wet snow Thursday. A staff member was out in the storm rolling Pipeline and Meadow Loops with the older snowmobile, but more packing is needed. Volunteers from FOCFSP will be out Friday and Saturday removing branches on Vahtera, Takesson, and Red Granite. We hope repairs are finished on the UTV Friday morning so we can resume grooming the combi trails that afternoon.

(James Enigl)

After two days of rain, we received a few inches of very wet snow. The volunteer grooming team decided to roll and comb the trails hoping they will firm up tonight. Meadow, Pipeline, Red Granite, Vahterra and Takesson were rolled and combed. Trails are soft and in marginal shape. Despite these conditions, we still had a fun Wednesday night ski on the Meadow trail. Come join us next Wednesday! Grooming plans: With the future forecast we hope to groom on Friday.

(Colleen Matula)

We skated Pipeline and strided the classic only single-track Vahtera and Takesson trails and they were in excellent condition from Friday's grooming. It was a great way to wrap up our 10-day exploration of NW WI ski trails before heading back to the Madison area. Thanks to the volunteer grooming crew for your efforts!

Photos:

(Darren Blankenship)