Natural Snow Report: Not as advertised (“good”) but still fun. Picture is typical of Lake Trail, which was the worst of it. Hill was mostly great. North was decent. Nature Center Spur was better than Lake.

Photos:

(Mike Schowalter)

Skated late morning to around noon. Fun to see so many people out having fun on the trails, although it might have been wearing on the natural snow trails. The artificial snow trails were in excellent condition; nice firm, smooth, fast base. The natural snow trails in contrast were in poor to fair condition, in much better shape the further you got out from the more populated areas. The Lake trail, for example, had tree debris extensively churned up in the snow base throughout the trail, although it skied much better than it looked. The Hill trail was generally in very good shape, except for a couple of critical spots involving exposed rocks and dirt. One section had a lot of dirt and rocks churned into the snow that required some care skiing around, and another section had some exposed gravel. The Lake trail also had a section with exposed gravel. I think these isolated spots created a significant risk of rock damage. I think you could use best skis on the artificial snow trails, but for the natural snow trails I'd definitely recommend B skis, or even one further removed if you have them.

(Kristian Markon)

The temperature is perfect for XC Skiing! The Manufactured snow trails (5K) are packed tracked and in Good Conditions; includes: Star, Willow Creek, Frog Town, Scenic Foothills, and Boulder Ridge. The Natural Snow Trails (10K) are packed for skating and not enough snow to track for classic skiing. High School Races: Tuesday, January 11th, 3:30 PM-5:30 PM (NWSC), Wednesday, January 12th 3:30 - 5:30 PM (SSC), Thursday, January 13th 3:40 - 5:30 PM (MEC). Trails are still open to the public during the races. Trails will be closed, Friday, Jan. 28, 4:30 - 9 pm and Sat. Jan. 29, 5 am - 10pm, for Rennet Races.

(Sonja Bercich, Three Rivers Park District)

Quite nice conditions this sunny afternoon for a lunch hour ski at Hyland. The snow was very fresh, grooming was excellent, and classic tracks were deep and fast on the downhills. The snow was pretty cold so it was definitely a bit slow for gliding (especially up Boulder Ridge!), but overall super nice conditions! I think the fresh natural snow on top really helps.

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

BRRRRRR. Warm up by XC Skiing! Manufactured Snow Trails (5K) are packed, tracked and in Good Conditions, this includes: Star, Willow Creek, Frog Town, Scenic Foothills, and Boulder Ridge. Natural Snow Trails (10K) are packed, not tracked and in Good Conditions; this includes: Lake, Hill, Oak Knob, North, and Nature Center Spur. High School Races Scheduled: Tues. Jan.11, ( NWSC); Wed. Jan. 12, ( SSC); Thurs. Jan. 13, ( MEC); 3-5:30pm. Trails are still open to the public during the races. Trails will be closed, Friday, Jan. 28, 4:30 - 9 pm and 5am - 10pm, Sat. Jan. 29 for Rennet Races.

(Sonja Bercich, Three Rivers Park District)

Skied the Lake trail with the new snow, no tracks and some thin spots due to blowing it was fun to ski a different trail on fresh snow and a bit out of the wind. B skis would be best for Lake trail. Star loop and frog town trails were in good condition tracks were quite shallow in spots due to blowing snow on top of the manmade snow. 11:30 am to 12:30pm almost had the trails to ourselves, a rarity for Hyland this year.

(Melissa Gross)

I skied the snowmaking loops, but used my B skis, just in case I decided to venture out onto a natural snow trail. The skate deck has a solid base, and while soft enough to set an edge, it's getting pretty hard on the flats and downhills, bumpy and rutted enough to make the skis chatter. The flat light from the overcast made picking up surface definition difficult, even with the amber lenses. The uphills had already started to get sugary by the time I got there. That said, the groomers have done a great job preparing a solid base, but it's getting a lot of use without much natural snow to help out. The diagonal tracks looked good and seemed to be working well for those skiing the classic style. All in all, it was worth the drive, but I'm praying for a nice 6" to 8" storm sometime soon.

(David Sonnenberg)

Manufactured snow trails are packed, tracked and in good condition, trails included: star, willow creek, frog town, and scenic foothills. The double black diamond rated boulder ridge is open for the advanced skier. The natural snow trails are packed, not tracked and are fair to poor, trails in fair condition include oak knob, north, nature center spur. The lake and hill trails are in poor conditions. Hs meets: tues. January 4, 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm (ssc), wed. January 5, 4 pm - 5:30 pm (lake), thurs. January 6 at 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm (nwsc). Trails are still open to the public during the races.

(Sonja Bercich, Three Rivers Park District)

Another amazing day at Hyland. Skate skied man-made trails only at 1:30PM when temps finally hit 0F. The deck and classic tracks were in excellent (early morning) condition - no sugar even though it was weekend afternoon. Not too grippy even with low temp (I waxed Swix green). I expect it will be a great week of skiing ahead, the only concern is that they laid an extra classic track on the outside (a classic track on the left and right side of the trail). It interfered when trying to pass people on the outside. My preference would be for them to lay double classic lanes - side by side.

(John Nealon)

Was a cold but enjoyable ski on the man-made snow course. The skate deck was blistering fast and hard with the sub zero temps. The classic tracks were firm and fast. No complaints, the crew has done a great job with the snow.

(Scott Greymont)