All posts by Jay Richards

Ski Trail

Ski Trail Report

Trails Open A nice weekend of skiing on tap. Windy conditions on Friday bringing forest littler to the ski deck but overall good skiing conditions. Lots of snow and temps have been below freezing all week after a small warm up on Monday. Grooming bringing up drier snow.

We are closed for the season for lodging/ski packages but the trails will remain open for day skiing until a projected date of April 15th, weather and snow conditions permitting.

Grooming Report Daily grooming this week has conditions as good as they can be on the entire trail system. We set a track on Bullhead lake for more skier friendly access to Bullhead/Bootleg (see photos below) We have been grooming daily since December 26th.

Nature Notes: Wildlife has been active the last few weeks. We have been seeing porcupines along the snowshoe trail and Roy’s Run. We have also seen hawks, owls near JibFly and North Star, fox, deer of course, pileated woodpeckers and tons of tracks. Eagle sighted this week near Twin Lakes return at eagle view.

Fat Bike trails open. Click here for report

Trails are open for day use. Day and season passes can be purchased here. Please note due to COVID protocols, there are no lodge services for day use for day skiers. This includes no ski rental or access to coffee bar. Parking in far lot near blue recycling bins where porta potties are located.Please respect this policy so Maplelag can operate as safe as possible and remain open. There are no dogs or pets allowed.

Groomed classic skiing on Sukkerbusk, Sap Run, Mother Hen, JibFly, Rootin Tootin, Twin Lakes, Mother North Star, Wavy Gravy, North Loup and Roy’s Run. Please no skating on the classic trails. Lucky’s Loype is adventure skiing (no grooming).

Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, Suicide Hill, Single Green and Kristin’s Kutoff designated trails groomed for skating. North Loup classic only at the time being but will be groomed for skating again for March skiing.

All trails are one way except Sukkerbusk and Skaters Waltz. Skiing correct direction, especially in early season, helps us maintain the integrity of the base. Thank you!

Trails are open for day skiing for non lodging guests. Lodge is closed to day use.

Day and season passes can be purchased here.

Snowshoe trails are open and packed.

Snowfall past 24 hours: 0″

Snowfall past 7 days: 6″ Snowfall to date: 90″

Compacted base on trail: 12-29″ Snow depth in woods: 18-49″

NO services in the lodge at this time or ski rental available for day skiing. Parking in far lot near porta bathrooms and recycling bins.

Ski Trail

Ski Trail Report

Trails Open Incredible skiing for early March! Everything is skiing fantastic after a break in the snowfall and a chance to work the snow and groom it out proper. Overall fantastic conditions and with a deep base of snow for early March, some great spring skiing on tap this month.

We are closed for the season for lodging/ski packages but the trails will remain open for day skiing until a projected date of April 15th, weather and snow conditions permitting.

Note: Fat bikes only please on the fat bike trails. No mountain bikes and e-bikes not allowed to preserve the integrity of the trail. Be sure to run pressure in the 6-8 psi range. If you are leaving a rut, let out more pressure. The deck is firm and should support tires from our riding experience yesterday.

Grooming Report Today we will be cleaning up the skate trails. Yesterday we reset the track on JibFly and Rootin Tootin. Twin Lakes, JibFly, North Loup, Roy’s Run and Loon Return groomed Wednesday with new tracks. Skaters Waltz and extension also groomed. Bullhead, Island and Wavy Gravy Lake trails groomed Tuesday. We set a track on Bullhead lake for more skier friendly access to Bullhead/Bootleg (see photos below) We have been grooming daily since December 26th.

Nature Notes: Wildlife has been active the last few weeks. We have been seeing porcupines along the snowshoe trail and Roy’s Run. We have also seen hawks, owls near JibFly and North Star, fox, deer of course, pileated woodpeckers and tons of tracks. Eagle sighted this week near Twin Lakes return at eagle view.

Fat Bike trails open. Click here for report

Trails are open for day use. Day and season passes can be purchased here. Please note due to COVID protocols, there are no lodge services for day use for day skiers. This includes no ski rental or access to coffee bar. Parking in far lot near blue recycling bins where porta potties are located.Please respect this policy so Maplelag can operate as safe as possible and remain open. There are no dogs or pets allowed.

Groomed classic skiing on Sukkerbusk, Sap Run, Mother Hen, JibFly, Rootin Tootin, Twin Lakes, Mother North Star, Wavy Gravy, North Loup and Roy’s Run. Please no skating on the classic trails. Lucky’s Loype is adventure skiing (no grooming).

Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, Suicide Hill, Single Green and Kristin’s Kutoff designated trails groomed for skating. North Loup classic only at the time being but will be groomed for skating again for March skiing.

All trails are one way except Sukkerbusk and Skaters Waltz. Skiing correct direction, especially in early season, helps us maintain the integrity of the base. Thank you!

Trails are open for day skiing for non lodging guests. Lodge is closed to day use.

Day and season passes can be purchased here.

Snowshoe trails are open and packed.

Snowfall past 24 hours: 0″

Snowfall past 7 days: 6″ Snowfall to date: 90″

Compacted base on trail: 12-29″ Snow depth in woods: 18-49″

NO services in the lodge at this time or ski rental available for day skiing. Parking in far lot near porta bathrooms and recycling bins. Please respect this policy so Maplelag can operate as safe as possible and remain open.

Skaters Waltz extension, March 3rd, 2022.
Cutting new track on Bullhead lake to access the Bootleg extension. Fatbike trail to right. March 3rd, 2022.
First tracks! Lots of deer moving on the ski trails with the snow pack so deep in the woods.
Cutting new double track on Twin Lakes, March 2nd, 2022.
Skaters Waltz grooming, March 2nd, 2022. Some of the best skate conditions of the season!
Crossing between Twin Lakes on Island lake trail, March 2nd, 2022.
Wavy Gravy with coating of silky fluff waiting to be skied on! March 2nd, 2022.
Infamous snag tree on the north end of Bullhead lake trail, March 2nd, 2022.
Cutting track back to back days on return of Bullhead lake trail, March 1st, 2022.
Cutting new track on Mother North Star, March 1st, 2022. MNS remains singletrack for fun best line skiing!
Ginzu groomer in action mixing the snow, pulling up drier snow to keep conditions good! March 1st, 2022.
Setting track across Bullhead lake to access the Bootleg loop, March 1st, 2022. To access this groomed segment, ski down Suicide Hill to Bullhead lake than follow grooming to north end.
Bike Trail

Fat Bike Trail Report


Trails open. A great week of riding in place! Daily grooming and temps well below freezing making for really nice conditions.

Grooming update: Wednesday we groomed out the Twin Lakes loop. This week we also worked on the Bootleg loop and have about 3/4ths of the loop open for riding. Monday when the snow was damp we packed the InnerWest loop to compress the deck.

The 18km”InnerWest” loop starts out on Skaters Waltz and follows the “Fat Bike” signs all the way to Twin Lakes. There are options to make different loops using the driveway based on riding ability. Any questions ask or text 218-849-7669.

Signs marking the route for the inner loops are in place and ultimately direct the course for the “FatLagChilada”. Twin lakes and SukkerWest singletrack can be accessed from the driveway. To access the start to access Bootleg, head to the start of Skaters Waltz to the right. We have groomed on the far right side of Suicide Hill for uphill travel. Access to Bootleg has been groomed on the lake. Use trails at own risk and assume all responsibility. Skaters Waltz is open for fat biking when conditions are firm. SukkerWest is recommended trail for beginner riders. Trail difficulty on outer loops is intermediate to advanced.

“Bjorp’s” singletrack, March 2nd, 2022.
Bootleg singletrack groomed out today, March 1st, 2022. Still some soft spots. Few more grooming runs should be good to go for weekend.
Lots of snow to work on Bootleg singletrack, March 1st, 2022.
Kamikaze hill singletrack segment now groomed and open to ride, March 1st, 2022.
Clearing trail on Bootleg, March 1st, 2022.
Fresh grooming and deep snow! Twin Lakes singletrack, February 26th, 2022.
Skaters Waltz is used to access the inner singletrack segments and connect on to the west loop. Also open for riding all the way around! February 26th, 2022.
Bjorp’s singletrack, February 26th, 2022.
Finishing up the grooming run, February 25th, 2022.
Fresh groomed ready for riders! February 25th, 2022.