I classic skiied the valley and northern lights trails. As expected the valley was in great shape for striding. Norhtern lights was fair. The skate lane on N.L. was in good shape with plenty of snow. Coverage was good for the tracks but varied from good soft snow to ice. In many places I had to use the skate lane to go up the hills. The tracks on N.L. are pretty worn in places.

(Mark Basiletti)

I skated Creek and Northern Lights this morning. The trails were freshly groomed for skate and in good condition except for a few expected spots. The long bridge at the beginning of Creek is closed and they have groomed the trail south towards the 610 bridge and then down to the multiuse trail. This was not as good as the Creek trail but certainly skiable. The section just past where Creek and Lake come back together north of Mud Lake has a big patch of ice that I could just ski around and there was pavement showing at the path crossing. The downhill to the wetlands was skiable for now but if the sun comes out will get bad fast. The classic tracks looked fairly glazed but I didn't notice any large bare spots. Thanks to the groomers for spending the effort to get us one more day of good skiing!

(Tom Harris)

I only skied the manmade which was great. I double-poled in the classic tracks a fair amount and they were about as fast as I've seen so far this year. The skate deck was fast and firm. I noted that the bridge to the Dark Side is bare in a couple of spots. I did not see any signs of fresh grooming going out on the Northern Lights from the upper donut.

(Mark Lahtinen)

Classic skied both the snow-making loop and Northern Lights trail. Trails were lightning fast. Northern Lights trail was in surprisingly good shape. Classic track on Northern Lights was a little shallow and slightly washed out in some spots, but otherwise very little (if any) debris, sticks or dirt showing through. Used my good skis without issue or regret!

(Josh Boyer)

Manufactured trails at Elm were understandably a little rutted after the day's warmth and refreeze, but screamin fast and fun. Main reason for posting is to report that Northern Lights (natural snow) was surprisingly good, holding up really well, didn't see anything poking through or even a dirty spot.

(Jay Lyons)

The cooler temps and cloud coverage this morning have done well for the trails at Elm Creek. I went and skied the man-made loop (including the cut out and wall) and Northern lights. The parts of the lake/creek loop that I could see looked good but I don't know about once you leave the man-made loop. The phrase word I would use to describe today's trails would be ghost town. I ended up seeing more deer than people. I saw five deer and one person skiing. There was snow coverage everywhere that I skied. There were some soft snow patches where the snow/hills were in the sun (going up the backside doughnut and the top of the wall). There was icy underneath the snow on Northern Lights. There were some ruts to be mindful of and the snow has seen a lot of love (no fresh corduroy here). I would also be careful under the bridge. Overall it was very fast skiing. These were much better condition than I was expecting with the warm weather we have been having. I would recommend getting out and enjoying the skiing before it's all gone.

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(Elizabeth Loper)

Skied all lighted this morning. Man-made good as usual, getting a bit sugary on some uphills. Northern Lights loop, while still has good coverage, has turned into icy boilerplate conditions with the warm-up and re-freeze, has not been groomed recently. Looks like groomer made a pass on outer loop (did not ski, just saw tracks).

(Grant Schoen)

Wife and I skied Eastman trails and a bit of Creek north. Tracks were adequate with some wash outs on corners. Areas in the open were turning to soft, but not icy. My skin techs worked great in the soft, sometimes slushy tracks. Many boot prints from walkers who don't know any better.

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(Earl Stabenow)

Skied Multiuse, Creek , Northern Lights, Valley, all in good conditions. Multiuse has a lot of footmark but does not slow you down too much. Fastest snow of the season, no debris, great weather and temperature make a very enjoyable morning. Hope it last for another few days!

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(Bernard Cerles)

Gorgeous day at Elm Creek! I stuck mainly to the natural snow trails: Lake, Eagle, and Northern Lights. This was my first time skiing at Elm Creek and was impressed by the beauty and variety of scenery on the trails (woods and prairie). Classic tracks were in great shape and consistent on most trails (only a few spots where they'd been washed out around turns or in high traffic intersections). Saw four downy woodpeckers up close, which was a special treat. My boyfriend saw some white-tailed deer, too. Park was crowded, but natural snow trails were not. Was on the trail for about three hours and saw a dozen or so other skiers. Highly recommend!

(Emily Hietpas)