Skated late afternoon today and was pleasantly surprised to see how good conditions were given the recent warmer temps in our area. Definitely shows how the trail crew at Maplelag work so hard and prepare the trails. Did encounter a couple rocks poking through the surface from the sun but totally avoidable if you're paying attention. Southern facing hills were soft but firming back up as the sun started getting lower in the sky. Bumped into Jay heading out with the groomer to freshen up the trails as I was making my way back to the parking lot. FWIW: I drove a little over an hour to ski and was definitely worth it. Likely heading back again this weekend to hit the freshened up trails.

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(Lance Strum)

Despite another day above freezing. the trails and base are holding out well. We remain open and people are skiing. This evening we renovated the skate only trail Skaters Waltz and the "big hill", running the teeth down on the YTS Ginzu groomer, to pull up drier colder snow and re-structure the texture with corduroy and level the crown to the edges of the trail. We also reset the classic only trail, cutting a new track on JibFly and both tracks on Sukkerbusk. We shoveled on the thin areas and blew off leave where the deer have been digging in acorns. The 10km of trail groomed this evening are the the recommended trails to ski. We are keeping the other 25km of trail groomed this past week open but extreme caution must be used as bare and thin areas exist.

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(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

I skied the Skaters Waltz loop, the trail was in very good condition. There were a few spots with some leaves peeking through and a few crusty spots but I always felt "in control", very adequate snow coverage. The classic trails that I saw looked excellent, with a track set. I drove about an hour and a half from Bemidji to Maplelag it was well worth the drive and trail fee, I thoughtfully enjoyed my self. Maplelag always does an excellent job grooming.

(Lisa Boulay)

Happy Thanksgiving! Beautiful morning to enjoy some of the best conditions I've seen on Skaters Waltz on Thanksgiving. A light dusting of snow transformed to a silky sugar on top of a firm and mostly level base made for really nice skiing. Checked out North Loup as well. That was a bit more rough with some bumpy spots but still nice skiing with rock skis. Crossed the tracks on Sukkerbusk a few times and they were looking good. Grooming plans: Skate trails will be touched up Friday morning than probably groomed again late afternoon. Track to be reset on Sukkerbusk and JibFly in the afternoon.

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(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Got a bit warmer than we expected today but the snow held out just fine. Went out for a classic ski late afternoon/early evening checking out most of the 20km of set tracked classic trails as the trails were glazing over. Skin skis worked perfectly and was a lovely ski at dusk. Found the best skiing and coverage on Sap Run, JibFly, Sukkerbusk and Poke Loki. These trails recommend to ski for classic. I did ski Twin lakes and found nice skiing in the beginning and end, middle had a lot of thin spots but easily to avoid to still ski the full loop of this beautiful trail, use caution on the downhills. The skate deck on Skaters Waltz where I crossed it looked great and still has the coating of the last dusting of snow to work with. Should be nice skating in the morning which I plan to check out. Operating plans: Trails remain open and are open Thanksgiving day. Grooming plans: We will plan to groom on Friday at some point, depends on temps tomorrow and Friday. We will most likely condition Skaters Waltz and set new track on Sukkerbusk and JibFly.

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(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

We woke up to a fresh dusting of snow which was great for working into the base and allowed us to set track on a few more trails. We now have 35km open and groomed. 20km groomed classic only and 15km groomed skate only. We also have been grooming on the northern skate loops the past two days. Went out for a late afternoon classic ski on all the trails groomed with tracks. Found best conditions on Sap Run, JibFly and Sukkerbusk. B skis can be used. Other classic trails have some rough and thin spots, can be easily avoided but recommend rock skis. Skaters Waltz and the extension loops best trails for skiing with B skis. North Loop, Kristins Kutoff and Single Green best to play safe with rock skis. We've been double tracking the better trails using a rotation method so we can reset tracks again probably on Friday after any warming. The deer have been very active where there are acorns and kicking leaves on to the trail. Deer hunting season is over in our area. No does were allowed to be harvested so we have a lot of deer in the area! Grooming plans: Tomorrow we will pack and clear the remaining singletrack classic trails to the west.

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(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)

Just enough snow along with the magic from the Maplelag groomers had Skaters Waltz skiing very well. More trails being groomed while I skied today means more to be open soon!

(Ben Olson)

The snow quality and coverage are incredibly nice, especially for early season skiing. Jay has set a classic track on Sukkerbusk and JibFly trails. I skied an hour in the late afternoon, exploring both trails, and they are in good shape. Skater's Waltz is groomed and waiting for skaters. Temps in the low 20's, great coverage with no exposed patches. Bring your good skis. It's Maplelag... just ski!

(Glenn Gifford)

We skied Skaters Waltz in the afternoon and it was in great shape! This was our first time at Maplelag and we really enjoyed it.

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(Adam Farm)

A really nice opening weekend of early season skiing. Great seeing so many people out. Today was about as good as it gets for November skiing. The first skiers were greeted with a light silky dusting on top of Saturday's grooming. I got out on the groomed classic trails at dusk and was fantastic. No ice dirt or thin areas. The usual early season bumpiness but overall lovely skiing and I had no problem using good skis. Early evening went out grooming and cleaned up the start area than packed and set one track on Sap Run. A few more rough spots and would use rock skis on this trail but the thin areas are easily avoidable by stepping out of the track and skiing where combed. Tomorrow we plan to pack additional trail to the west and north. Probably not enough snow to set track on the new trails being groomed but open for no track classic skiing. Skaters please skate on the skate only trails Skaters Waltz. By midweek we hope to have the extensions of Skaters Waltz and North Loop open for additional skate trail.

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(Jay Richards, Maplelag Resort)