Skated at noon. There was very little traffic so the trails were not beat up yet, but all trails had a thin layer of wet mashed potatoes which made them quite slow. That said, it was hard to beat 50 degrees in February.

(Philip Westover)

The Hyland glacier lives on! Rock hard base around sunrise - bring your strong push off legs and/or strong double pole muscles - or wait a few hours after sunrise for things to get a bit softer. Amazing how firm things were with overnights temps in the 40s!

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

Did both skate and classic runs on all the snowmaking trails. The wind had blown quite a few leaves and a few twigs on the trails, which is why I rated B, but all told conditions were quite nice. The skate deck was firm and fast, and the consistently cold temps meant none of the hills had any sugar buildup. Boulder Ridge was actually in the best condition, and it didn't seem like there had been too much traffic on the further stretches of the trails. Classic tracks were deep and steady, but definitely had some slow/sticky spots due to periodic leaves. Things are looking in great shape for tomorrow's winter play day.

(Pieter DeHart)

Ventured onto a couple of the natural snow trails late morning today. North loop (photos) and Oak Knob have almost full coverage but it is a very thin base. Also attempted the lake loop, but the first climb was barely skiable with numerous twigs and wood chips exposed. Extremely grabby and I do not recommend. Snowmaking loops in excellent condition, as usual.

Photos:

(Ben Ruhme)

Impeccable conditions on the man-made 5K snow loop. Corduroy was just soft enough to get an edge, and classic tracks are bulletproof. And the snow seems to be warming up just a tad to make gliding a bit easier. Should be an excellent weekend for the free Winter Play Day at Hyland!

Photos:

(Bill Oyler)

The snowmaking loop was in very good condition at my 3:30 start. It was around 20 degrees and sunny. While there was little loose snow on the skate deck, I had no trouble getting bite or negotiating the Boulder Ridge downhill with almost no snowplowing. The snow was dry and, with my skis newly waxed with Opti-Wax in the -4 to 32 degree temperature range, I found it a little slow and tiring on the climbs, being .5 mph off my recent usual pace. The skier traffic was very light, with the front parking lot being the least crowded I've seen it all season.

(Keith Carlson)

Early morning skate ski on snowmaking trail. Only two other skiers out at 5:45AM....everyone must already be up at Birkie or tapering :). Conditions of the skate deck were excellent but a bit slow due to the morning temps (around zero). Groomers as always get a huge shout out for maintaining excellent skate deck and classic tracks. Thank you to the groomers and everyone else who's makes it possible for us to cross country ski each winter!

(John Nealon)

The trails have been groomed beautifully this season, and I love Hyland. But sadly, when I skied classic last night there was a groomed squiggle at the bottom of the last Frogtown hill. The track bulges out as the trail curves to join oak knoll/willow creek so you can't see the squiggle until it's too late and you're flying right at it. :( Now headed to urgent care for a shoulder injury after a high-speed fall.

(Alex Haglin)

Slow but nice. Corduroy was much more forgiving than yesterday. Over dressed yesterday. Today was just pants with no long johns, mittens, warm skin. and buff. No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.

Photos:

(Kevin Wendland)

As usual, manmade snow trails were in good shape with a firm skate deck and tracks. Also skied the lake trail with natural snow. Of the total 2.0 mi / 3.3 km of the lake trail, about 1.2 mi / 1.9 km is the causeway and woods. In general this portion started with noticeable wood chips, then trended to leaves poking through the snow. It was usually easy to avoid the worst spots, and there was no scraping of bottoming out of skis. Once out of the woods, snow cover was sufficient but not enough for groomed tracks. Bundle up and enjoy the outdoors!

(Tom Pitchford)