Trails are open. A glorious day to ski! Sunshine on Sap Run for a morning ski didn’t get much better. Despite a mild day on Wednesday, the trails and snow are holding out great. High temperature was 36 but only for a hour or so before cooling back down. We will plan to groom the entire trail system again today and Friday. We had an inch or so of rime snow fall from the trees yesterday that is grooming in nicely to the existing base making for very good to excellent conditions.
We have also have a loop on Little Sugarbush Lake “Lumi’s Loop” with a skate lane and track on each side. This is a fun 1.2km loop that makes for a fun ski at sunrise, sunset and especially at night with the full moon this past week. The lake has over a foot of ice.
This Saturday and Sunday 1/10 and 1/11 the “old sauna” will be available to the public from 12noon to 4:30pm. Please purchase a trail pass for skiing and a trail pass for sauna.
It’s been awesome seeing so many people out on the trails over the holiday season and we deeply appreciate the support! Want to share your ski experience at Maplelag, consider a report on Skinnyski.com
Skating on Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, North Loup, Single Green, Kristin’s Kutoff and Eira Bikwadinaa Hill. All other trails are tracked for classic skiing. (Please no skating on classic trails) Sukkerbusk is a great starter trail for classic which feeds the outer trails and crosses most of the inner trails providing a good “lay of the land”.
26″ of snow so far this season. We have been grooming daily on the entire trail system since mid November, only missing a few days.
Thank you to everyone that comes to ski and supports the trails with season pass purchases. Day passes can be purchased here. A MN State trail pass is NOT required to ski at Maplelag. The Maplelag trails are self funded by operations with no grants or state funding. 18 and under day pass is $15, use the summer trail pass option.
Ski rentals are available at a rate of $25 for adults and $15 for 18 and under. Snowshoe rental is $10 a person.
Snowfall YTD at 26″ Compacted base on trail 3-6″. Total snowfall in January at 2″. December: 17″. Snowfall in November: 7″. October precipitation (rain) at 2.7″ and around 1″ in September. Total precipitation ytd (rain) at Maplelag is at 25.12″.
Sunny start to the day on Sap Run, January 7th, 2026.Touch of rime frost on the deck making for really nice gliding but loose outside the track for great control, January 8th, 2026.Frosty scene in the “Switchyard“, January 7th, 2026. Late afternoon groom on Mother Hen trail, January 7th, 2026. There is great snow to work with for future grooming and conditions should be very good to excellent rest of the week and weekend. Frosty scene at crossing to Twin Lakes and the western trails, January 7th, 2026.Wavy Gravy trail, January 7th, 2026.North end Bullhead lake trail, January 7th, 2026. (M. Sands photo)Frosty scene between Twin Lakes, January 7th, 2026 (Dani S. photo) Frosty day at the races January 6th, 2025The hills of Mother North Star January 6th, 2026JV Boys classic race, January 6th, 2026.Ending the day with a ski….magical conditions! January 6th, 2026.Always good when the moon pops out during the evening groom, January 6th, 2026.Trees thick with rime frost, January 5th 2026.Norwegian Log cabin at night surrounded by frosty trees, January 5th, 2026.Cutting a new track on the lake loop, “Lumi’s Loop”, January 5th, 2026.Night grooming on the course for tomorrow’s JV/Jr High races, January 5th, 2026.MPLS Washburn skiers in the “skinny field”, January 4th, 2026.Local skier D. Johnson happy to have the recent fresh snow after navigating the icy conditions the week before! 78 years strong! January 4th, 2026.MPLS Washburn skiers gliding on Bullhead Lake, January 4th, 2026.After the fire of October 2022, Joel Woodward unbeknownst to us, started a GoFundMe to bring back the cookies. The cookies are back! Thanks Joel.Local skier “Dr. Bob” still going strong at 82 on trail today, January 3rd, 2026. MPLS Washburn skiers working on skills on Eira Bikwadinaa hill, January 3rd, 2026.
The entire 25km FatLagChilada course is now open and groomed! Conditions have been good. Little bit softer/silky with the 100% humidity the past few days but very rideable. To pick up the trail, head to the skaters waltz trail and go right. We are putting out signs to mark the key intersections. To access the west side trails, use the driveway to access Twin Lake singletrack and Sukkerwest which is a good starter trail for first time riders. A good loop to start with is taking the skaters waltz and following the signs and groomed singletrack to access Bjorps and Sukkerwest.
The first half of Twin Lakes has a few soft spots and the singletrack is a bit tighter. We plan to groom Twin Lakes first half this morning to clean up the edges and flatten the base. (It is important to run lower tire pressure and keep the bike centered on the trail! On the corners, check the speed and make turn in the middle. Going wide will result in “augering”.)
Any questions on riding, text Jay 218-849-7669.
Last downhill on Twin Lakes singletrack, January 7th, 2026. Keep the wheels in the middle!Groomed connector trail on Bullhead lake to access Bootleg loop, January 7th, 2026.
“Eira” downhill as part of the FatLagChilada course, January 6th, 2026.Saturday on the singletrack! January 3rd, 2026. Nice fat bike riding conditions over the weekend. Fat bike ride at dusk, January 4th, 2026.Fat bike grooming, January 2nd 2026. (B.Olson photo) Thanks Ben for grooming today! Rolling on skaters waltz ski trail, January 2nd, 2026 (G.Ames photo)Night riding, January 1st, 2026. Riding at night is super fun and with good lighting, almost easier to read the trail versus day time!More fresh groomed trail! December 31st, 2025.Fat bike grooming, December 30th, 2025.
Trails are open. A great day on the trails! Incredible frosty scenes and skiing. Cleared off last night which allowed the temp to drop down to a low of 14 at Maplelag and cool down the base nicely. We reached a high of 36 before slowly cooling down again in the afternoon. A half inch or so, some places more, rime snow fell from the trees on to the trail deck. This little bit of frost snow will mix in nicely when we groom next and conditions should remain excellent rest of the week and into the weekend. We did groom a little this evening and the tracks reset perfectly. We will plan to groom the entire trail system again Thursday and Friday. Grooming last night on Sap Run, Skaters Waltz, Eira Bikwadinaa and segments of Sukkerbusk and Mother North Star.
A stunning day for the ski meet yesterday. Incredible rime frost on the trees, no wind and temps in the lower 20’s. The snow was like silk and so fun to ski on. Good work to to all the skiers. Tuesday evening grooming on Sap Run, portions of Sukkerbusk and all of Skaters Waltz and Eira Bikwadinaa hill.
We have also have a loop on Little Sugarbush Lake “Lumi’s Loop” with a skate lane and track on each side. This is a fun 1.2km loop that makes for a fun ski at sunrise, sunset and especially at night with the full moon this past week. The lake has over a foot of ice and keeps the snow nice and cool on warm days if skiing Wednesday afternoon.
This Saturday and Sunday 1/10 and 1/11 the “old sauna” will be available to the public from 12noon to 4:30pm. Please purchase a trail pass for skiing and a trail pass for sauna.
It’s been awesome seeing so many people out on the trails over the holiday season and we deeply appreciate the support! Want to share your ski experience at Maplelag, consider a report on Skinnyski.com
Skating on Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, North Loup, Single Green, Kristin’s Kutoff and Eira Bikwadinaa Hill. All other trails are tracked for classic skiing. (Please no skating on classic trails) Sukkerbusk is a great starter trail for classic which feeds the outer trails and crosses most of the inner trails providing a good “lay of the land”.
26″ of snow so far this season. We have been grooming daily on the entire trail system since mid November, only missing a few days.
Thank you to everyone that comes to ski and supports the trails with season pass purchases. Day passes can be purchased here. A MN State trail pass is NOT required to ski at Maplelag. The Maplelag trails are self funded by operations with no grants or state funding. 18 and under day pass is $15, use the summer trail pass option.
Ski rentals are available at a rate of $25 for adults and $15 for 18 and under. Snowshoe rental is $10 a person.
Snowfall YTD at 26″ Compacted base on trail 3-6″. Total snowfall in January at 2″. December: 17″. Snowfall in November: 7″. October precipitation (rain) at 2.7″ and around 1″ in September. Total precipitation ytd (rain) at Maplelag is at 25.12″.
Frosty scene in the “Switchyard“, January 7th, 2026. Late afternoon groom on Mother Hen trail, January 7th, 2026. There is great snow to work with for future grooming and conditions should be very good to excellent rest of the week and weekend. Frosty scene at crossing to Twin Lakes and the western trails, January 7th, 2026.Wavy Gravy trail, January 7th, 2026.North end Bullhead lake trail, January 7th, 2026. (M. Sands photo)Frosty scene between Twin Lakes, January 7th, 2026 (Dani S. photo) Frosty day at the races January 6th, 2025The hills of Mother North Star January 6th, 2026JV Boys classic race, January 6th, 2026.Ending the day with a ski….magical conditions! January 6th, 2026.Always good when the moon pops out during the evening groom, January 6th, 2026.Trees thick with rime frost, January 5th 2026.Norwegian Log cabin at night surrounded by frosty trees, January 5th, 2026.Cutting a new track on the lake loop, “Lumi’s Loop”, January 5th, 2026.Night grooming on the course for tomorrow’s JV/Jr High races, January 5th, 2026.MPLS Washburn skiers in the “skinny field”, January 4th, 2026.Local skier D. Johnson happy to have the recent fresh snow after navigating the icy conditions the week before! 78 years strong! January 4th, 2026.MPLS Washburn skiers gliding on Bullhead Lake, January 4th, 2026.After the fire of October 2022, Joel Woodward unbeknownst to us, started a GoFundMe to bring back the cookies. The cookies are back! Thanks Joel.Local skier “Dr. Bob” still going strong at 82 on trail today, January 3rd, 2026. MPLS Washburn skiers working on skills on Eira Bikwadinaa hill, January 3rd, 2026.Moorhead Nordic team members on Roy’s Run, January 3rd, 2026.Resetting track on Sukkerbusk under the full moon, January 3rd, 2026.Striding on Bullhead Lake trail, January 2nd 2026. Great conditions on Bullhead Bootleg loop! Striding through a winter wonderland on Roy’s Run, January 2nd, 2026.
The entire 25km FatLagChilada course is now open and groomed! Conditions have been good. Little bit softer/silky with the 100% humidity the past few days but very rideable. To pick up the trail, head to the skaters waltz trail and go right. We are putting out signs to mark the key intersections. To access the west side trails, use the driveway to access Twin Lake singletrack and Sukkerwest which is a good starter trail for first time riders. A good loop to start with is taking the skaters waltz and following the signs and groomed singletrack to access Bjorps and Sukkerwest.
The first half of Twin Lakes has a few soft spots and the singletrack is a bit tighter. We plan to groom Twin Lakes Thursday morning to clean up the edges and flatten the base. (It is important to run lower tire pressure and keep the bike centered on the trail! On the corners, check the speed and make turn in the middle. Going wide will result in “augering”.)
Any questions on riding, text Jay 218-849-7669.
Last dowhnilll on Twin Lakes singletrack, January 7th, 2026.Connector on Bullhead lake to Bootleg singletrack, January 7th, 2026.“Eira” downhill as part of the FatLagChilada course, January 6th, 2026.Saturday on the singletrack! January 3rd, 2026. Nice fat bike riding conditions over the weekend. Fat bike ride at dusk, January 4th, 2026.Fat bike grooming, January 2nd 2026. (B.Olson photo) Thanks Ben for grooming today! Groomed Fat Bike trail, January 2nd, 2026. (H. Olson photo)Rolling on skaters waltz ski trail, January 2nd, 2026 (G.Ames photo)Groomed Fat Bike trail, January 2nd, 2026. (H. Olson photo)Night riding, January 1st, 2026. Riding at night is super fun and with good lighting, almost easier to read the trail versus day time!More fresh groomed trail! December 31st, 2025.Checking out the fresh groomed, December 31st, 2025.Fat bike grooming, December 30th, 2025.
Trails are open. Today we will be hosting a JV/JR High race on Sap Run, Mother North Star and Skaters Waltz. Races on Sap and Sukker are at 10:30 and over by 12;30pm. Jr Hight skate race All other 50km of trails open for skiing. Best way to access skiing is to take Sukkerbusk to the west and access all the western trails JibFly and northern trails.
A winter wonderland with the trees flocked with rime frost and snow. If you ever wondered what it was like to ski in a cloud with excellent snow conditions, it is like that now! We did have a little bit of mist Sunday but the dry silky snow absorbed it nicely and the snow is dreamy to ski on right now. Also we do not salt or sand like streets in town so we have no slush or slop. (We are not a fan of wheel clumps!!)
Mild weather looks to continue this week with Wednesday possible temps above freezing. We have a great base of snow and always look ahead when grooming in the present to make sure we can work the snow if any warm weather to have the best conditions possible. Typically when people come out skiing after a warm spell, conditions are “better than expected” Just Ski. With that said, if you plan to ski Wednesday, please try to ski in the morning to help us preserve the snow moving forward.
We have also have a loop on Little Sugarbush Lake “Lumi’s Loop” with a skate lane and track on each side. This is a fun 1.2km loop that makes for a fun ski at sunrise, sunset and especially at night with the full moon this past week. The lake has over a foot of ice and keeps the snow nice and cool on warm days if skiing Wednesday afternoon.
This Saturday and Sunday 1/10 and 1/11 the “old sauna” will be available to the public from 12noon to 4:30pm. Please purchase a trail pass for skiing and a trail pass for sauna.
It’s been awesome seeing so many people out on the trails over the holiday season and we deeply appreciate the support! Want to share your ski experience at Maplelag, consider a report on Skinnyski.com
Skating on Skaters Waltz, the extension loops, North Loup, Single Green, Kristin’s Kutoff and Eira Bikwadinaa Hill. All other trails are tracked for classic skiing. (Please no skating on classic trails) Sukkerbusk is a great starter trail for classic which feeds the outer trails and crosses most of the inner trails providing a good “lay of the land”.
26″ of snow so far this season. We have been grooming daily on the entire trail system since mid November, only missing a few days.
Thank you to everyone that comes to ski and supports the trails with season pass purchases. Day passes can be purchased here. A MN State trail pass is NOT required to ski at Maplelag. The Maplelag trails are self funded by operations with no grants or state funding. 18 and under day pass is $15, use the summer trail pass option.
Ski rentals are available at a rate of $25 for adults and $15 for 18 and under. Snowshoe rental is $10 a person.
Snowfall YTD at 26″ Compacted base on trail 3-6″. Total snowfall in January at 2″. December: 17″. Snowfall in November: 7″. October precipitation (rain) at 2.7″ and around 1″ in September. Total precipitation ytd (rain) at Maplelag is at 25.12″.
Trees thick with rime frost, January 5th 2026.Norwegian Log cabin at night surrounded by frosty trees, January 5th, 2026.Cutting a new track on the lake loop, “Lumi’s Loop”, January 5th, 2026.Night grooming on the course for tomorrow’s JV/Jr High races, January 5th, 2026.MPLS Washburn skiers in the “skinny field”, January 4th, 2026.Local skier D. Johnson happy to have the recent fresh snow after navigating the icy conditions the week before! 78 years strong! January 4th, 2026.MPLS Washburn skiers gliding on Bullhead Lake, January 4th, 2026.After the fire of October 2022, Joel Woodward unbeknownst to us, started a GoFundMe to bring back the cookies. The cookies are back! Thanks Joel.Local skier “Dr. Bob” still going strong at 82 on trail today, January 3rd, 2026. MPLS Washburn skiers working on skills on Eira Bikwadinaa hill, January 3rd, 2026.Moorhead Nordic team members on Roy’s Run, January 3rd, 2026.Resetting track on Sukkerbusk under the full moon, January 3rd, 2026.Striding on Bullhead Lake trail, January 2nd 2026. Great conditions on Bullhead Bootleg loop! Striding through a winter wonderland on Roy’s Run, January 2nd, 2026.Cutting new track on Roy’s Run, January 2nd, 2026.Combing skate lane on North Loup, new track cut yesterday. January 2nd, 2026.Porcupine high up in a tree on North Loup near “Terrible Ted” corner, January 2nd, 2026.Cutting new track on far point of Roy’s Run, January 2nd, 2026.Setting new double track on Sukkerbusk, January 1st, 2026.Skate grooming on Skaters extension, January 1st, 2026.Enjoying the fresh fluff, January 1st, 2026.Ready for a ski on the western trails, January 1st, 2026.Ending the skiing day with a lap on “Lumi’s Loop”, January 1st, 2026.Grooming on Bullhead lake trail, December 31st, 2025.Setting track on Bullhead lake, December 31st, 2025.New Years Eve skate on the ice rink, December 31st, 2025.Track set and skate lane combed on “Lumi’s Loop”, a 1.2km loop on Little Sugarbush lake in front of Maplelag, No better way to end 2005 than with a ski! Father and son ski! Night ski on Lumi’s Loop, 1.2km loop on Little Sugarbush lake, December 31st, 2025.King court sprints and ski games for MPLS SW Nordic in the soccer field, December 30th, 2025.A “perfect day” on the trails! December 30th, 2025.Hygge time for Sartell/Cathedral skiers, December, 30th, 2025.Grooming on Sukkerbusk ski trail, December 29th, 2025.Grooming on connector to Twin and Island Lake trails, December 29th, 2025.Intense sun dogs this morning, December 29th, 2025.Sunset ski on Sukkerbusk, December 29th, 2025.Sunshine and smiles! December 29th, 2025.
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