Snowmaking to start this week! As Theodore Wirth was operating as golf course until Nov 9th, ground preparations for winter activities could not begin until Nov 10th. Most of the preparations will be completed by Wednesday, Nov 19 when snowmaking is scheduled to begin. Thanks for your patience. It's going to be a great year!

(Robin Smothers, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation)

Conditions: Slow, cold, well-covered.
Trails are well-covered although a bit rutted. Cold on Sunday morning at 9 degrees! I saw too late the notice to stay off until trails are groomed, although I'm wondering why the snow guns have not been going already here.
On a sadder note, two vehicles were broken into at the par 3 parking lot (windows smashed) on Sunday morning at about 8:45 am. Another reminder to bring all valuables with you when you leave your car.

(Mike Miller)

Skied from Wirth Beach through Eloise Butler and Quaking Bog area then east side of the lake. Not groomed but no bare spots and packed from skiers in most places. Five miles of skate trail in Nov is is pretty good.

(John Quinn)

Please stay off the Wirth golf course. The trails at Wirth are not yet open for the season. When you ski on the golf course turf, particularly the greens, you are damaging and killing the turf with ice build up. Please stay off the course until trails are groomed so we can direct you where to go. We plan to start snowmaking operations at Wirth this coming week.

(Troy Tschida, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation)

Conditions: Complete coverage on the Front Nine ( the part across the road from the Par 3 bldg.) - no grooming.
Very fun and way better than typical early season conditions. I skate skied for about an hour and had a great time. There is a few inches of snow and I did not see any bare spots even under the railroad bridges.

(Steve Eberly)

Stopped by Wirth and skied the front 9. No grooming but plenty of skier activity. There is a fairly well packed trail, but it was a little rutted this afternoon. Pretty good coverage, I used rock skis but B skis probably would have been OK. I started to head south, on the connector towards Hwy 55, but it was pretty torn up and thin so I bailed out after the first 100 yards.

Photos:

(Bruce Adelsman)

Conditions: Decent coverage, very little ground showing through.
Checked out the Front 9- no grooming, Back 40-no grooming, JD Gardens- no grooming, Butler/Bog- no grooming. Two snow covered snow guns noted by the machine shed. Seems like it would be a great opportunity to roll and develop a solid base and there are nice cold temps for making snow. The skating was better (especially sections that had seen a lot of traffic), the ruts were making classic a little more difficult.

(Michael Gotzsche)

Skied south side and JB Gardens. Good enough coverage for good skis although a bit rougher on the connecting trail. No grooming as of mid afternoon. Striding easier than skating right now, but the snow is starting to firm up.

(Matt Kramar)

Conditions: Ungroomed but excellent considering.
Skied the back 40 at sunset. Nothing groomed, but the snow is really great for skiing. Deep enough with frozen slush base that I didn't hit any dirt, sticks, or stones, but shallow enough that skate and classic are both easy. Pretty fast with a paper thin ice crust. Ride a flat ski unless you really want to test the coverage.

(Zach Handler)