I went out and did the lake loop today and the conditions were technically difficult. The trails were very smooth and icy in spots making it more difficult to get an edge. You could tell there was corduroy so not impossible to get an edge but it was more work. The two wooden bridge decks were straight icy which made it very hard to control where you were going or speed. The big downhill on the backside as you make the right hand turn around the lake was very icy. With today's cold temps I felt with cold snow with limited glide. When I got to Northern Lights the conditions were so much better and there was more snow. There is still come washboard on the right side of the skate deck but it's not as bad as it was. The section of the man-made loop that I did was in great condition. The only spot where I had trouble was from under the bridge to ski school. That section has hardened up but also contained some icy patches to be aware of. The other thing that I noticed on the man-made loop was that the inside corners were much smoother than the outside of the skate deck. The attached photo is from where NL and the Lake trail meet at the top of that little hill.

Photos:

(Elizabeth Loper)

The trails are holding up pretty well here, and last night's dusting was really nice. Machine made snow is superb as always. The natural areas were mostly good, with only a few very tiny sections that were icy. It's worth heading out today. Bridge sections on the natural are where one really needs to be patient with ice. If you love skiing, you'll have fun! If you only like skiing, you'll have fun too. Good skis are good if your not afraid for them, otherwise B plus skis.

(Mike Schowalter)

I skated the natural snow outer loop early this afternoon. The front lots were chock full of cars, and many skiers and young MYSL participants were out in spite of the single digit temps. Overall, the trails were in good shape -- a very firm skate deck bordering on hard pan in a few spots, but the groomer had largely been able to till the upper surface into very workable and surprisingly fast snow. Classic tracks looked good although shallow in some areas and holding debris here and there. A few exceptions should be noted for caution. I skated onto the long wooden bridge leading out beyond the manmade loop and hit a virtual skating rink. Literally no control for a few moments until my speed reduced. The snow leading to the bridge is very good, so it is tempting to maintain your speed into the corner. Approach that baby slowly and you can more easily hold an edge in one of the classic tracks to double pole across. The second ice zone was at the bottom of one of the last downhills on the Lake Trail as you round the lake. The right turn is again going to mostly be a hang-on-and-glide-it-out experience for a few seconds. The manmade loop was excellent, no surprises there. Overall, it was a great afternoon ski, and nice to see so many folks enjoying the trails.

(Margaret Adelsman)

The man made loop was groomed and in very good condition. Northern Lights had not been groomed although it appeared the groomers might have been heading out when I left at 9:00am. NL was hard packed glaze and challenging to get an edge. Also "washboard" on the skate deck is forming on multiple sections.

(Don Callander)

I decided to go do the lake loop about 3pm this afternoon. The first section had fresh corduroy on it (like I was the third skier on it). The rest of the lake loop wasn't quite as nice with some dirty and icy snow, but this was easy enough to ski around and the rest of the snow was nicely groomed. Then when I got to northern lights I ran into washboard (like on gravel roads) on the right side. If you stay left it wasn't as bad, but if you got into that washboard it was unpleasant. I only saw two people on the outer loop. The man made trails had a few high school skiers on them, but most of them were by the doughnut or wall. The man made snow has definitely seen some use today and had some smooth spots but wasn't icy. It was a great day to be out skiing.

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(Elizabeth Loper)

Skated the Valley-Lake-Creek-Northern Lights loop. I'd say fair overall; good in general except on the Lake and Creek trail there are some spots with slightly dirty snow and/or thinner spots. The bike trail crossing north of Mud Lake has a tiny spot with exposed blacktop. Overall, pretty enjoyable to ski on; things are avoidable and/or not much to worry about, but I'd probably use B skis if you have them. The trails closer to the chalet are in better shape. The multi-use trail looked groomed pretty well although I didn't ski it.

(Kristian Markon)

I skied Lake, Eagle, Creek, and Northern Lights. Excellent conditions on all, especially the classic-only Eagle trail. Very little debris in the tracks. Just the occasional oak leaves. No problem with good skis.

(Mark Waldoch)

The outer classic only tracks are in great shape. Skied out to the nature center and there is certainly some debris in the tracks in areas so skied in between the tracks. Where it's classic+skate the tracks are slightly worse but still very good. Just rate it for B skis since there are definitely places where there is a lot of debris and may ding up the skis a bit of you aren't really careful. So plan for 90% of the time skiing without worrying - I'd recommend classic skiing there, especially Eagle and the North part of Monarch trail. The Monarch trail along the river had a lot of debris but certainly skiable. Picture is of the north Monarch trail.

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(Nils Wahlander)

I skied the man made loop and Northern Lights. Both were recently groomed and in excellent shape. Thanks groomers.

(Don Callander)

Did the Valley Trail and abbreviated Northern Lights. Tracks were well-defined and a bit slow because of the temperature. No dirt, no rocks, but some leaf and seed litter in the tracks. Only did one lap, but glad I did despite the temp/wind.

(Steve Paladie)