All posts by Jay Richards

Ski Trail

Ski Trail Report

Trails open. Winter wonderland conditions! An inch or so of new snow overnight, no wind with sunshine in the afternoon made for “Maplelag Magic” day.

Good early season conditions. We have groomed on the entire trail system after 4″ of total new snow since Thursday morning. Trails are open for day skiing for non lodging guests.

Grooming update: Skate trails combed this morning. Select classic trails groomed as well. New snow will be skied in on other classic trails and make for very nice classic skiing. Skate trails on tap for Sunday grooming. Classic trails holding good from, best tracks found on Roy’s Run, Sap Run, and JibFly.

Classic skiing on Sukkerbusk, Sap Run, Mother Hen, JibFly, Rootin Tootin, Twin Lakes, Mother North Star, Wavy Gravy, Island Lake trail and Roy’s Run. Please no skating on the classic trails. Crossing between Twin Lakes is still rough. Take skis off to get through or possible to make a fun loop by using both Island and Wavy trails (and Twin). Bullhead/Bootleg has been packed and combed on the Bootleg extension and return. Lucky’s Loype is adventure skiing, no grooming on the AMA segments.

Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, North Loup, Suicide Hill, Single Green and Kristin’s Kutoff designated trails for skating.

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!

SkinnySki.Com First Hand Reports. Thanks for the reports!

Fat Bike trails Open. Click here for report.

Snowfall past 24 hours: 1″

Snowfall past 7 days: 4″

Snowfall to date: 22″

Compacted base on trail: 2-4″

Snow depth in woods: 4-10″

Fat Bike trails Open. Click here for report.

Day and season passes can be purchased here.

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.

JibFly at dusk, December 18th, 2021. Tracks in great shape on JibFly. Groomer’s choice.
SP Highland Park skiers having fun on Bullhead lake under the rising moon, December 18th, 2021.
Magic hour on Bullhead Lakes, December 18th, 2021.
Roy’s Run at dusk, December 18th, 2021. Most of Roy’s in great shape, another trail on Groomer’s choice.
Setting track on Sukkerbusk early Saturday morning as skiers pass by, December 18th, 2021.
Roy’s Run, December 18th, 2021. Outer tracks should be skiing much better today after new snow and grooming yesterday.
Skaters Waltz extension, inner loop, December 18th, 2021. Skate trails in excellent shape!
St Paul Highland Park skiers on Rootin Tootin classic trail, December 17th, 2021.
Skill work for Champlain Park skiers, December 17th, 2021.
Mound/Westonka skiers at bottom of Suicide Hill, December 17th, 2021.
Moorhead skiers heading up Suicide Hill, December 17th, 2021.
Setting track on Island Lake trail, December 17th, 2021. Singletrack trails tracked today are a bit thinner with a few more rough spots but very skiable.
Mother North Star after tracking late afternoon, December 16th, 2021.
Setting second track on Sukkerbusk late afternoon, December 16th, 2021.
Double track setting on Mother North Star, December 16th, 2021.
Packing and combing the fresh snow, December 16th, 2021.
Setting track on JibFly, December 16th, 2021. More track will be set Friday morning.
Combing out Suicide Hill, December 16th, 2021. Suicide is in great shape with a solid base, nice layer of new snow and little to no forest matter.
Slower grooming today with windfall from the strong winds, December 16th, 2021.
Bike Trail

Fat Bike Trail Report

Entire “FatLagChilada” course groomed Friday afternoon. 1″ new snow falling after grooming. A great weekend of riding on tap!

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.

Trail passes help offset grooming and maintenance costs. Trails have already been groomed multiple times this year. Thank you.

Grooming on Friday December 17th, 2021.
Base holding on Bootleg singletrack, December 14th, 2021.
Bootleg singletrack, December 11th, 2021.
Crossing Bullhead lake, December 11th, 2021. Watch for frozen slush on each end.
Checking out the recently groomed Bootleg singletrack, December 8th, 2021.
Bootleg singletrack, December 8th, 2021.
Snowy segment on Bootleg singletrack, December 8th, 2021.
Return on Bullhead lake, December 8th, 2021.
Groomed path on side of Suicide Hill, December 8th, 2021. Please stay to side on the path.
Bridge grooming on the Bootleg loop, December 7th, 2021. All the key bridged were widened this summer!
Bootleg loop grooming, December 7th, 2021.
Sunset over Bullhead lake, December 7th, 2021.
Ski Trail

Ski Trail Report

Trails open. Good early season conditions. We have groomed on the entire trail system after 3″ of new snow Thursday morning. A great weekend on tap for our first High School Ski Camp! (Trails are open for day skiing for non lodging guests.)

We set track on the singletrack trails this morning and combed out the skate lanes again. The singletrack trails are a bit thinner with shallow tracks but very skiable. There is some organic forest mattered scattered from high winds associated with the storm, otherwise ski conditions are very nice considering the amount of snow. Inner trails in best condition for classic.

Classic skiing on Sukkerbusk, Sap Run, Mother Hen, JibFly, Rootin Tootin, Twin Lakes, Mother North Star, Wavy Gravy, Island Lake trail and Roy’s Run. Please no skating on the classic trails. Crossing between Twin Lakes is still rough. Take skis off to get through or possible to make a fun loop by using both Island and Wavy trails (and Twin). Bullhead/Bootleg has been packed and combed on the Bootleg extension and return. Lucky’s Loype is adventure skiing, no grooming on the AMA segments.

Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, North Loup, Suicide Hill, Single Green and Kristin’s Kutoff designated trails for skating.

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!

SkinnySki.Com First Hand Reports. Thanks for the reports!

Fat Bike trails Open. Click here for report.

Snowfall past 24 hours: 3″

Snowfall past 7 days: 3-4″

Snowfall to date: 21″

Compacted base on trail: 2-4″

Snow depth in woods: 3-8″

Fat Bike trails Open. Click here for report.

Day and season passes can be purchased here.

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.

St Paul Highland Park skiers on Rootin Tootin classic trail, December 17th, 2021.
Skill work for Champlain Park skiers, December 17th, 2021.
Mound/Westonka skiers at bottom of Suicide Hill, December 17th, 2021.
Moorhead skiers heading up Suicide Hill, December 17th, 2021.
Setting track on Island Lake trail, December 17th, 2021. Singletrack trails tracked today are a bit thinner with a few more rough spots but very skiable.
Mother North Star after tracking late afternoon, December 16th, 2021.
Setting second track on Sukkerbusk late afternoon, December 16th, 2021.
Double track setting on Mother North Star, December 16th, 2021.
Packing and combing the fresh snow, December 16th, 2021.
Setting track on JibFly, December 16th, 2021. More track will be set Friday morning.
Combing out Suicide Hill, December 16th, 2021. Suicide is in great shape with a solid base, nice layer of new snow and little to no forest matter.
Slower grooming today with windfall from the strong winds, December 16th, 2021.
Ski Trail

Ski Trail Report

Trails open. Fresh snow! Around 3″ of snow overnight after a short period of rain and sleet. Temps dropped fast during the day to the single digits. Colder temps made for good grooming and everything groomed out great today, especially when considering the weather the past 24 hours. We ended up tracking all the inner trails this afternoon as well as one track on Twin Lakes. All the skate trails were roll combed. The base survived the warm weather yesterday and key to having good conditions with the new snow. The sleet layer was a game changer and allowed us to set track a bit easier. Tomorrow we will comb out the skate lanes again and set singletrack on the outer trails and a second track on Twin Lakes.

Classic skiing on Sukkerbusk, Sap Run, Mother Hen, JibFly, Rootin Tootin, Twin Lakes, Mother North Star, Wavy Gravy, Island Lake trail and Roy’s Run. Please no skating on the classic trails. Crossing between Twin Lakes is still rough. Take skis off to get through or possible to make a fun loop by using both Island and Wavy trails (and Twin). Bullhead/Bootleg has been packed and combed on the Bootleg extension and return. Lucky’s Loype is adventure skiing, no grooming on the AMA segments.

Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, North Loup, Suicide Hill, Single Green and Kristin’s Kutoff designated trails for skating.

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 youi!

SkinnySki.Com First Hand Reports. Thanks for the reports!

Snowfall past 24 hours: 3″

Snowfall past 7 days: 3-4″

Snowfall to date: 21″

Compacted base on trail: 2-4″

Snow depth in woods: 3-8″

Fat Bike trails Open. Click here for report.

Day and season passes can be purchased here.

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.

Mother North Star after tracking late afternoon, December 16th, 2021.
Setting second track on Sukkerbusk late afternoon, December 16th, 2021.
Double track setting on Mother North Star, December 16th, 2021.
Packing and combing the fresh snow, December 16th, 2021.
Setting track on JibFly, December 16th, 2021. More track will be set Friday morning.
Combing out Suicide Hill, December 16th, 2021. Suicide is in great shape with a solid base, nice layer of new snow and little to no forest matter.
Slower grooming today with windfall from the strong winds, December 16th, 2021.
Ski Trail

Ski Trail Report

A warm day on the trails but as of 6pm there was still coverage on the trails and we are optimistic for snow tonight with accumulations possible. If any new snow overnight, we will groom if the base has froze down enough. We might need a half day to cool things down before grooming on Thursday.

We have been working on select trails this week, building up thin and exposed areas.

Grooming report: This week we are focusing on Skaters Waltz, JibFly, Sap Run and Sukkebusk for the upcoming ski camp weekend building up thin and exposed areas.

When we receive enough snow to reset tracks, classic skiing on Sukkerbusk, Sap Run, Mother Hen, JibFly, Rootin Tootin, Twin Lakes, Mother North Star, Wavy Gravy, Island Lake trail and Roy’s Run. Please no skating on the classic trails. Crossing between Twin Lakes is still rough. Take skis off to get through or possible to make a fun loop by using both Island and Wavy trails (and Twin). Bullhead/Bootleg has been packed and combed on the Bootleg extension and return. Lucky’s Loype is adventure skiing, no grooming on the AMA segments.

Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, North Loup, Suicide Hill, Single Green and Kristin’s Kutoff designated trails for skating.

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 youi!

SkinnySki.Com First Hand Reports. Thanks for the reports!

Snowfall past 24 hours: 0″

Snowfall past 7 days 0″

Snowfall to date: 18″

Compacted base on trail 1-4″

Fat Bike trails open and groomed. Click here for report.

Lodging for the winter season operations will begin the December 17th weekend. There is no lodging available for winter operations before. Day and season passes can be purchased here.

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

Start area around noon, December 15th, 2021.
Exposed area we build up this week on Skaters Waltz, December 15th, 2021.
All north facing segments holding good coverage, December 15th, 2021.
North end of Bullhead lake trail, December 14th. Packed and combed and lots of tracks! Fox sighted right before photo. We have seen a lot of foxes this fall and early winter.
Bullhead lake trail on south side of crossing, December 14th, 2021. Machine packed only. Will be combed and tracked after next snowfall.
Building up the base on Skaters Waltz on Kamikaze hill segment, December 14th, 2021.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz late afternoon, December 14th, 2021.
Building up base on Kamikaze hill, December 14th, 2021. If you are not comfortable skiing straight down and step turning the corner without snowplowing, please avoid this section so we can preserve the base until more new snow.
Better section of trail on Island Lake trail, December 12th, 2021.
“Mac’s Mess” on Wavy Gravy trail, December 12th, 2021. Lots of various animal tracks.
Sunset striding on JibFly, December 12th, 2021.
Sunset December 12th, 2021. We’ve had some great sunsets so far this month!
Moonrise on JibFly, December 12th, 2021.