Trails are taking shape nicely with daily grooming after 8-9″ of snow last weekend. We started packing select trails Saturday night and have been packing and grooming daily since.
Tracks have been set on Sap Run, Sukkerbusk, Mother Hen, Poki Loki, Mother North Star, JibFly and Twin Lakes. Skating open on Skaters Waltz, North Loup, Single Green, Suicide Hill and Skaters Extension trails. Groomed/combed for no track classic skiing on Roy’s Run, Island Lake, Wavy Gravy, and Rootin Tootin. Lucky’s Loype and Bullhead Bootleg trails skiable but recommended to ski after more snow. Good to excellent early season conditions. A few bumpy spots and a few thin areas but overall great skiing for early December. We will continue packing and grooming on the entire trail system the rest of the week.
With high water tables, there are a few low areas with flowing water that we have managed. Use caution on JibFly low area and Sukkerbusk on the one low area in between the road crossings.Bullhead trail best to wait to ski until colder weather.
We had a good final weeks clearing on the western trails and North Loup. Lots of deadfall from October storms we were able to finally clear.
Testing the tracks on Sukkerbusk, excellent early season skiing on this trail. December 4th, 2019.Great early season classic skiing on Twin Lakes. Other than a couple thin areas, fantastic skiing. December 4th, 2019.Winter scene at Twin Lakes crossing, December 4th, 2019.Skaters Waltz in excellent early season condition, December 4th, 2019.Fat bike grooming on Twin Lakes singletrack, December 5th, 2019. Both Twin Lakes and the new Bootleg loop groomed for fat biking.Grooming across bridge on Bootleg singletrack, December 5th, 2019.The new Mother Hen is now groomed and open with a track set. Beginner trail 1.3km. December 4th, 2019.Night ride on the fat bike trail, December 4th, 2019. Grooming planned Thursday evening! Fresh cut double tracks on Sukkerbusk, December 3rd, 2019.Cutting track on Twin Lakes, December 3rd, 2019.Combing out Suicide Hill, December 3rd, 2019.Grooming around Roy’s field on Skaters Waltz extension, December 3rd, 2019.
Grooming on Single Green, December 3rd, 2019.
Sunset ski on Skaters Waltz, December 3rd, 2019. Great early season conditions!Packing and combing on Skaters Waltz, December 1st, 2019.
Grooming through the skinny field, December 1st, 2019.
Beautiful day to groom, December 1st, 2019.
Sunset ski on Skaters Waltz, December 1st, 2019. Great early season conditions. Heading out for evening group. November 30th, 2019.
Happy Thanksgiving! A very thin dusting of snow on the trails. Cold weather continuing to set frost deep into the cleared trails which is key before the snow flies. It won’t take much snow to have skiable conditions on the cleared trails. Once there is enough snow to start packing, we will begin grooming. We will open for the ski season on December 12th.
We had a good week clearing on the western trails this week after working on North Loup last week. Lots of deadfall from October storms we are finally getting to on the outer trails. With the ground being frozen we are able to access wet areas that are now frozen. Even with warmer temps lately, the ground is frozen on the cleared ski trails and there is 4-6″ of ice on the lakes.
A fun weekend on the trails, in the woods and on the lake! Great seeing everyone enjoying the beautiful weather over the weekend hiking, running, fat biking, skating and finishing off the day taking the plunge!
Clearing brush and deadfall on Wavy Gravy trail, November 26th, 2019.Skaters on Little Sugarbush, November 24th, 2019.Hikers on Sap Run, November 24th, 2019.Wayne crossing Bootleg creek on new “Bootleg” trail, November 23rd, 2019 (Arneson photo)Fun times skating on the lake! November 24th, 2019.Great way to end the day! Taking the plunge! November 24th, 2019.Dusting of snow on the trails as seen from the bottom of Suicide Hill, November 22nd, 2019.Dusting of snow on the trails, November 21st, 2019.Mountain bike trails now open for winter riding. November 21st, 2019.Tuning on Skaters Waltz, November 19th, 2019. Select inner trails will only take a few inches of snow to have skiable conditions. Late fall grooming on North Loup, November 20th, 2019.
Clearing deadfall on North Loup, November 20th, 2019.Clearing thick leaf bed on North Loup, November 20th, 2019.
Temps warming up after a cold week which saw lowest temp at -5. Cold weather has set frost deep into the ground and made good ice on the lakes, sloughs and ponds. This week we packed around 5km of trail (Sap Run and early season loop) after a few dustings of snow. We still need 2-3″ of snow before we can open for skiing but packing the snow on the early season loop now makes it easier to open after additional snow.
Little Sugarbush lake, lake Maplelag is next to, froze over completely on November 7th. This is one of the earliest dates on record it has frozen over. Setting frost deep into the ground will be good for the first snowfalls.
The trails are now closed to the public until November 18th in respect to local landowners deer hunting. This includes the mountain bike trails a well.Winter riding season will open November 18th as well, weather permitting.
We had a great end to fall trail clearing until the cold weather moved in. Overall the trails are in good shape and ready for snow. We will continue with fall grooming right up until the snow accumulates enough to groom. Clearing the leaves and having a clean and smooth surface as possible allows the ground to freeze up sooner and open select trails on minimum snow for early season skiing. With dense snow, we can open select trails on just 3-4″ of snow for early season skiing.
Sap run after roll packing, November 14th, 2019.
Skater Waltz, November 14th, 2019.
Sukkerbusk, November 14th, 2019.
Top of Suicide Hill, November 14th, 2019.Skinny field, November 14th, 2019.Sukkerbusk ski trail, November 12th, 2019.Skaters Waltz, November 12th, 2019.Bullhead Bay, November 12th, 2019.Air pocket between ice, result of falling lake levels on Little Suguarbush, November 12th, 2019. Enough snow and good ice on the lake for skiing. November 11th, 2019.Mink track on the edge of the lake, November 11th, 2019.Mink entering and exiting on shore of the lake (with a little issue). The lake level has dropped since the lake froze over last week with the edges collapsing. November 11th, 2019.Little Sugarbush lake mostly ice covered, November 6th, 2019.Clearing on JibFly, November 5th, 2019.Removing thick leaf bed on Mother North Star, November 6th, 2019.Dusting of snow on Sap Run, November 2nd, 2019.
Mother North Star ski trail, November 2nd, 2019.
Around 5-6″ of snow accumulating on the trails from a storm October 11th and 12th. We groomed an out and back segment for the first grooming of the year. We were able to ski a few days and good to see a few other folks out enjoying. This is one day later than last year in October when we had snow enough to groom and ski.
Earlier this fall we did cat work on Mother Hen, making a new return and also made a new return on Wavy Gravy trail. We are excited to have Mother Hen back on the grooming plan for this coming winter season!
Other trail work includes cleaning deadfall along the side of the trails and cutting firewood for next season for the wood burning stoves at Maplelag. We also planted nearly a 1000 trees earlier this year.
Final mowing/clearing on Suicide Hill, November 1st, 2019. Ready for snow! Fall grooming on Rootin Tootin ski trail, October 31st, 2019.Bullhead lake frozen over completely, October 31st, 2019. (as seen from bottom of Suicide Hill)Fall grooming on Skaters Waltz, October 30th, 2019.Another load of deadfall cleared off the trails, October 30th, 2019.Leaf clearing on Skaters Waltz, October 30th, 2019. Many low areas that were holding water now frozen over. Most ponds and sloughs now frozen over with a dusting of snow on top after multiple nights in the upper teens, October 30th, 2019. Ice forming on the edge of Island Lake, October 29th, 2019.
Icy scene on the edge of Island Lake, October 29th, 2019.Fall grooming through the skinny field on Sukkerbusk, October 28th, 2019. Moss deck after clearing leaves on Skaters Waltz ski trail, October 26th, 2019. Dry weather has been welcomed to resume final fall grooming.Clearing on Kamikaze hill, Skaters Waltz October 26th, 2019.Many ponds freezing over Thursday including the new pond at the start of JibFly after temps in the low 20’s. October 24th, 2019.Clearing leaves on Twin Lakes singletrack, October 23rd, 2019.Members of the Moorhead Nordic team out for a training session taking advantage of MEA break. October 16th, 2019.Fall/winter scene at start of JibFly ski trail. October 14th, 2019. Usually this low area is dry!
Landon and Sofie out for a ski Monday afternoon on the last remaining snow from weekend storm. Nice job getting out! Just Ski! October 14th, 2019.Still lots of snow at bottom of Suicide Hill morning October 14th, 2019.Few hours of good crust skiing before softening and melting, October 14th, 2019.Tracks from the neighbor! Fall and winter scene, October 14th, 2019.Bending branches slowly popping back up, October 14th, 2019.One of the downed trees from snow load, October 14th, 2019.First grooming of the year on Sukkerbusk, October 12th, 2019.Grooming Suicide Hill, October 12th, 2019.Skiing through the Skinny Field, October 12th, 2019.Bottom of Suicide Hill, October 12th, 2019.Skiing through fall color on Sukkerbusk, October 12th, 2019.As expected, unfortunately a handful of trees falling due to heavy snow, October 12th, 2019.Many branches folding over with leaves catching snow. October 12th, 2019.Start of Roy’s Run and North Loup late Friday afternoon, October 11th, 2019.
Skaters Waltz extension late afternoon, October 11th, 2019.
Bending branches from the wet snow collecting on the leaves. October 11th, 2019.
Tree art in the woods! October 11th, 2019.Fall grooming, top of Suicide Hill, October 9th, 2019.Fall grooming, bottom of Suicide Hill, October 9th, 2019.Golden scene on Skaters Waltz, October 7th, 2019.Clearing leaves on Poki Loki trail, October 7th, 2019.Fall scene on the Maplelag driveway, October 7th, 2019. Mostly oak trees with color along the sides.Start of Northern Trails, North Loup and Roy’s Run. Low areas holding water after excessive rain this fall. October 5th, 2019.Start of Roy’s Run ski trail, October 5th, 2019.Autumn scene off the ski trail, October 3rd, 2019.Fall grooming on Mother North Star, October 3rd, 2019.
Maple with fall color in front of Six Swedes, October 3rd, 2019.
Maples alive with color behind cabins at Maplelag. October 3rd, 2019.Fall scene on south Twin Lake. At least a dozen trumpeter swans have been residing on the Twin Lakes. October 1st, 2019.Fall scene near slough off Mother North Star. Nice to see the sun for a few hours after all the rain yesterday, September 30th, 2019.Lakeside mountain bike Twin Lakes singletrack, September 30th, 2019. Fall scene on north side of Bullhead Lake, September 28th, 2019.Round two for these beavers on birch tree, September 28th, 2019.Trumpeter swans in slough along Goat Ranch Rd. September 29th, 2019.Sunrise scene on Island Lake, September 28th, 2019.Intersection of Rootin Tootin and Skaters Waltz, September 27th, 2019.Leaf bed on Rootin Tootin. Still some deep pockets of solid green, September 27th, 2019.Mother North Star ski trail cleared multiple times this week, part of the bike course. September 27th, 2019.Meadow near trail head, September 27th, 2019.Fall scene on Bullhead lake. Trumpeter swans enjoying a piece of floating bog, September 26th, 2019.Tuning new return for Mother Hen trail. We are excited to have this beginner trail back on the grooming plan for this upcoming winter season.Clearing leaves on Sukkebusk, September 23rd, 2019.Clearing leaves on Sukkebusk, September 23rd, 2019.Cat work on the trails, September 23rd, 2019.New return added to Wavy Gravy ski trail, September 23rd, 2019.Fall color around the Finish Log and Sava Sauna cabins, September 19th, 2019.Fall color scene in the switchyard, September 18th, 2019.
Trail head at Maplelag, September 18th, 2019.Beautiful evening ride, Maplelag driveway, September 18th, 2019. The colors have exploded this week! Sukkerbusk ski trail, September 18th, 2019.Rootin Tootin ski trail, September 18th, 2019.
Rootin Tootin ski trail, September 18th, 2019.Slough along Mother North Star, September 17th, 2019.Fall grooming on Mother North Star, September 17th, 2019.Crossing at driveway from Twin Lakes ski trail, September 17th, 2019.Fall color scene in the switchyard, September 16th, 2019.Fall color scene as scene from the tower of the main lodge, September 16th, 2019.Fall color scene on the driveway, September 16th, 2019.Fall riding on the mountain bike course, September 15th, 2019.
Dusting of snow on the singletrack Saturday morning, November 2nd, 2019. Hard deck underneath making for a fun ride!
Trails are open. Dusting of snow on the deck. With warmer temps possible in the afternoon, conditions could get a bit greasy on top but with cloudy skies and frozen ground, should hold most of the day. Best riding today will be in the morning. Recommended loops are the new Bootleg loop and Twin Lakes singletrack which are in good late season riding condition.
Creek on Bootleg loop still running strong, October 31st, 2019. Overall Bootleg loop is in excellent riding condition. One wet spot still distance of a bike length.
Trails will be closing on November 4th for the dirt season than open again late November for fat biking/winter riding. Once again we will be grooming the Twin Lakes loop for fat biking and also plan to groom the new Bootleg loop. These trails were recently cleared of leaves and will allow the frost to set up quicker and be groom ready sooner.
We recently completed a new loop called “Moorhead” that branches off the original main loop just past the “Fargo” segment. This new loop around 1 mile in length. We also completed the new “Bullhead Bootleg” earlier this summer. The new trail loop is around around 3.5 miles in length. The trail is slow tech/flow tech. Very smooth but tight turns with fun berms and rollers on the downhills.
Both trails built on Maplelag property.
The Bootleg trail is accessed off county hiway 34 about 1/2 south of end of goat ranch road across from blue adopt a highway sign. Limited parking, best to ride to the trail from Maplelag. Call or text 218-849-7669 if more information needed. The new trail will not be part of the Laddies Loppet but hopefully in the spring race we plan for 2020 the end of May.
The trails are closed during rain events but usually an hour or two is all it takes to be back on the trail riding with the nature of the trails at Maplelag being classic old style singletrack.
Click here for trail map. Trail starts at the Skaters Waltz ski trail. (look for white sign with Citizen, Kids Comp, Sport, Comp/Expert) All main intersections are now marked and signs at the key intersections for beginner (citizen) or advanced (sport/comp/expert). Please park in far parking lot next to blue dumpsters.
Summer pass can be purchased online, good for whole season. (There is no charge for Maplelag team members). The Maplelag trails are self supported with no grants or outside assistance. Trail pass revenue helps offset trail maintenance, new trail work and property taxes. Thank you.
Rock garden on “Moorhead” singletrack, October 27th, 2019.
Bridge crossing Bootleg singletrack, October 27th, 2019.
Lakeside Bootleg singletrack, October 27th, 2019.
Beautiful afternoon lakeside Twin Lakes singletrack, October 26th, 2019.
Pump section, Bootleg singletrack, October 26th, 2019.
Sunset ride on Bootleg loop, other than a couple short wet spots, conditions are excellent. October 24th, 2019.
Sunset over Twin Lakes, October 24th, 2019. Gets dark fast!!
Twin Lakes rock garden after clearing, October 23rd, 2019.
Clearing on Twin Lakes singletrack, October 23rd, 2019.
Heading out for a group ride, October 19th, 2019.
Riders on the Bootleg loop, October 19th, 2019. Beautiful weekend of riding.
The return of nice weather welcomed. Great riding on Bootleg loop, October 17th, 2019.
With most leaves off the trail, track drying a bit faster October 17th, 2019.
Bullhead Bootleg singletrack after clearing, October 16th, 2019.
Bullhead Bootleg singletrack after clearing, October 16th, 2019.
Clearing bridge section on Bootleg, October 16th, 2019. Creek running strong with all the recent moisture.
Bootleg singletrack, afternoon October 15th, 2019.
Singletrack segment on main loop. October 15th, 2019. Mostly firm deck under the thin compacted leaf covering.
Twin Lakes ski trail, October 12th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, October 12th, 2019. Relatively clear segment of trail.
Start of Twin Lakes singletrack, October 12th, 2019. Heavy snow folding over a lot of branches.
Golden scene on starter loop, October 9th, 2019.
Beautiful fall riding, October 9th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on Bootleg trail, October 9th, 2019.
Fargo singletrack, October 9th, 2019.
Twin Lakes lakeside, October 9th, 2019.
High water on bridge segment starter loop, October 9th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on Bootleg loop. October 6th, 2019. Water running strongest has been all year. Last year at this time was bone dry!
Great fall scenes on the trail, October 6th, 2019.
Rolling through rock garden on new “Moorhead” trail segment, October 6th, 2019.
Great fall scenes on the trail, October 6th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on Bootleg loop. October 6th, 2019. Water running strongest has been all year. Last year at this time was bone dry!
Rolling through rock garden on Moorhead singletrack, October 6th, 2019.
Fargo singletrack segment, October 6th, 2019. Best riding after wet weather is the hillier segments that are hardpack and shed water better.
Start of Fargo singletrack after clearing, October 3rd, 2019.
Fargo singletrack, October 3rd, 2019.
Clearing out rock garden on new Moorhead singletrack, October 3rd, 2019.
Late afternoon ride under fall scene, October 2nd, 2019.
Clearing on Hudson’s Hula. Entire Twin Lakes loop cleared Tuesday and Wednesday.
Lakeside singletrack Twin Lakes, September 30th, 2019.
New singletrack segment “Moorhead”. September 30th, 2019.
Fall scene along the bike trail, September 30th, 2019.
Ski trail segment, September 30th, 2019.
Beautiful fall riding, September 28th, 2019.
Bridge section on Bullhead bootleg, September 28th, 2019.
Rock garden on new trail segment “Moorhead”. September 28th, 2019.
Fall scene on north side of Bullhead Lake, September 28th, 2019.
Great fall riding, September 27th, 2019. Get out before the leaves cover up the track!
Clearing singletrack on the main loop, September 27th, 2019.
Clearing leaves on bridge segment singletrack, September 26th, 2019. It has been a busy week clearing leaves off the trail. Leaves continue to fall and will be a another 2-3 weeks of leafy conditions. Enjoy!
Golden hour riding on Bootleg loop, September 25th, 2019.
Golden hour riding on Bootleg loop, September 25th, 2019.
Start of Bootleg singletrack after leaf clearing, September 24th, 2019. Still many leaves on trees yet to come down.
Rock garden on Moorhead singletrack, September 23rd, 2019.
Bike track on the ski trail cleared, September 23rd, 2019.
Riding on new singletrack “Moorhead”. Cleared on September 23rd, 2019.
Beautiful fall riding, September 20th, 2019.
Cruising on Bootleg loop, September 20th, 2019.
Berming on Bootleg loop, September 20th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on Bootleg, creek running as strong as ever. Usually a trickle this time of year. September 18th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, September 18th, 2019. The colors have exploded this week!
Beautiful evening ride, September 18th, 2019.
Singletrack after fresh clearing. Leaves are falling down fast this year. September 18th, 2019.
Berms on Bootleg trail, September 11th, 2019.
Rock garden on new “Moorhead” trail, September 6th, 2019.
Start of Elite short track race Laddies Loppet, September 1st, 2019. Skinnyski.com photo.
Staz Bednardski previewing the course, August 30th, 2019. (Bruce Martens photo)
Area high school cycling team on course practicing Thursday evening. August 29th, 2019.
Bootleg trail, August 29th, 2019.
John Wessling checking out the course, August 29th, 2019. Ride the berms high! Course has dried out nicely after rain earlier in the week. Couple damp spots but should be completely dry by Saturday morning!
Beautiful evening for Wednesday night time trial, August 28th, 2019.
Hudson’s Hula, Twin Lakes singletrack. August 27th, 2019.
Clearing out Twin Lakes singletrack, August 27th, 2019.
After morning rain, beautiful evening for riding. August 26th, 2019.
Hints of Fall on the mountain bike course, August 25th, 2019.
Rolling on the ski trail, August 25th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, August 23rd, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, August 23rd, 2019.
Maplelag team members enjoying the beautiful evening on the Laddies Loppet course, August 23rd, 2019.
Trail tuning, August 21st, 2019.
Evening ride on new Bootleg trail, August 20th, 2019.
Bridge crossing over Bootleg creek on new trail. Flowing strong after morning rain. August 20th, 2019.
Trail tuning, August 19th, 2019. We will be tuning on the course for Laddies Loppet mountain bike race over Labor Day weekend daily until race weekend.
Evening ride on Twin Lakes singletrack, August 13th, 2019. Bit damp from rain earlier in the day but overall nice riding.
Crossing at end of Lakeside drop segment. With the high water tables this summer, bridge has been useful. August 13th, 2019.
High side of lakeside drop segment. Most of the segment brushed out again today. August 14th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, new Bootleg loop. August 8th, 2019.
Evening ride on new “Bootleg” loop, August 1st, 2019.
Evening ride on new “Bootleg” loop, August 1st, 2019.
Evening ride on new “Bootleg” loop, August 1st, 2019.
Many Point Scout Camp mountain bike program after a riding session. The scouts are out at least once a week. Many first time riders as well! July 30th, 2019.
Signage at start of new “Bullhead Bootleg” loop.
“Fern Gully” segment on new Bootleg trail, July 28th, 2019.
Berm action on new “Bootleg” trail, July 28th, 2019.
Twin Lakes rock garden, July 28th, 2019. A “B” line option will be added in the next few weeks to avoid the technical section.
Testing out newest addition to new trail “Bootleg”. July 23rd, 2019.
New berm work on final trail segment of new trail. July 23rd, 2019.
Beautiful morning ride, July 20th, 2019.
Switchback climb on Twin Lakes singletrack, July 20th, 2019.
Deck setting up nicely on new trail “Bootleg”, July 20th, 2019.
Rock garden on main loop, July 20th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, July 20th, 2019.
Nice riding Friday evening on new trail “Bootleg”. July 19th, 2019.
Great riding on the new trail Tuesday evening, July 16th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride after a wet few days, July 11th, 2019.
Bridge crossing on additional new singletrack segment added to new “Bullhead Bootleg” singletrack loop. July 11th, 2019.
Hand building another section of singletrack to be added to new “Bootleg” loop, July 10th, 2019.
Berm action on new trail, July 7th, 2019.
Rolling on the ski trail, July 7th, 2019.
Rolling through on the new trail, July 7th, 2019.
Sunny Saturday ride, July 6th, 2019.
Lakeside singletrack, July 6th, 2019.
Checking out the new trail “Bullhead Bootleg”. July 6th, 2019.
Rolling on the ski trail, July 6th, 2019.
One of the bridges on new trail, July 4th, 2019.
Summer scene along the bike trail, July 4th, 2019.
“Fern Gully” singletrack segment on new mountain bike trail near Bullhead lake, July 3rd, 2019.
Riding through a berm on new trail. July 3rd, 2019.
Bridge crossing on new trail, July 3rd, 2019.
Fun on the new trail, July 3rd, 2019.
Berm tuning on new trail, June 30th, 2019.
Lush singletrack in the deep woods. June 28th, 2019.
Testing trail tuning on new trail, June 25th, 2019. Planning to have “officially” open by the weekend!
Building and tuning last major berm on phase 1 Bullhead Bootleg loop, June 26th, 2019.
Building and tuning last major berm on phase 1 Bullhead Bootleg loop, June 26th, 2019.
Great riding Sunday afternoon, Twin Lakes singletrack June 23rd, 2019.
Great riding Sunday afternoon, June 23rd, 2019.
Testing out new trail, June 23rd, 2019. Getting closer to be officially opened!
Testing out new trail, June 23rd, 2019. Getting closer to be officially opened!
Testing out new trail, June 23rd, 2019. Getting closer to be officially opened!
Berm work on new trail, June 22nd, 2019.
Another gorgeous June evening for riding. June 18th, 2019.
Berm tuning on new trail near Bullhead lake. June 21st, 2019.
Great dirt to work with on new trail “Bootleg” near Bullhead lake on Maplelag property, June 20th, 2019.
Deep woods singletrack, June 18th, 2019.
Brothers on the trail! June 17th, 2019.
Beautiful evening ride, June 13th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, June 13th, 2019.
Yellow slippers along the side of the singletrack, June 12th, 2019.
Clearing overgrown area, June 12th, 2019.
Singletrack on the doubletrack! Signature Maplelag trails. June 12th, 2019.
Suicide hill mowed today, part of all bike courses. June 12th, 2019.
Evening ride, June 11th, 2019. Even with rain earlier in the day, track absorbs and dries out quickly enough hour or two after.
Rolling down the ski trail, June 5th, 2019.
Deep woods singletrack riding, June 5th, 2019.
Deep woods singletrack riding, June 5th, 2019.
Berm work on new trail, May 31st, 2019.
Pat checking out new trail. May 30th, 2019. We are slowly making progress on new trail. Hope to officially open most of the loop late next month.
Forest road riding on Sugarbush trail, May 30th, 2019.
Working on new trail, May 30th, 2019.
Fun times on the trail! May 28th, 2019.
Riding the berm high. May 28th, 2019.
Pat rolling through the Twin Lakes rock garden, May 28th, 2019.
Pat rolling through the Twin Lakes rock garden, May 28th, 2019.
Checking out new mountain bike trail segment near Bullhead lake, May 20th, 2019. We still have 4-6 weeks of tuning and bridge building before we officially open the trail.
Checking out new mountain bike trail segment near Bullhead lake, May 20th, 2019.
Damp but good riding on the weekend. May 19th, 2019.
Testing out a segment on new trail, May 19th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, May 18th, 2019.
Weaving along lakeside singletrack, May 18th, 2019.
Hudson’s Hula singletrack, May 17th, 2019.
Trail work on new singletrack. Thanks Denny and Peder for your help! May 17th, 2019.
Tuning on new trail build new Bullhead lake, May 15th, 2019.
Twin Lakes lakeside singletrack, May 14th, 2019.
Woods slowly starting to green up. May 14th, 2019.
New trail work near Bullhead lake. May 13th, 2019.
Rolling along Lakeside singletrack, May 10th, 2019.
Lakeside singletrack Twin Lakes, May 7th, 2019.
Rolling on the singletrack, May 7th, 2019.
Lakeside singletrack Twin Lakes, May 7th, 2019.
Technical section on the singletrack, May 7th, 2019.
Twin Lakes singletrack, May 4th, 2019.
Trail work on new singletrack, May 3rd, 2019.
Keith rolling through the “Fargo” singletrack, May 1st, 2019. This segment has been closed the past few years but now it is cleared and open for riding! Segment branches off near the end of the east side loop.
Trail work on new trail near Bullhead lake. May 2nd, 2019.
Twin Lakes lakeside on “Pete’s Porkie” segment. April 28th, 2019.
Rolling through Twin Lakes rock garden, April 28th, 2019.
Great riding Saturday April 27th, 2019.
Great riding Saturday April 27th, 2019.
Lance S rolling along lakeside, April 25th, 2019.
Trail feature on the singletrack, April 25th, 2019.
Twin Lakes rock garden, April 25th, 2019. Twin Lakes needs a few more days to dry out. Couple low areas holding water.
Ski trail segment on bike course, April 25th, 2019.
Riding into sunset, April 25th, 2019.
Keith dropping in for the first dirt ride of the year, April 23rd, 2019.
Summer like weather moving in after a cool start to September which felt more like October! Leaves are starting to change more and more each day and with all the rain this summer, the woods are as lush as ever setting us up for a spectacular fall color season. Typically we hit our peak of fall color from September 20th-October 7th but appear to be on track a few days earlier this year.
Outside of all the rain, we have been mowing and clearing deadfall every day possible, grooming the trails as we prepare for the winter season to come.
A great weekend for the Laddies Loppet mountain bike race with favorable weather. Thanks to everyone that came!
Other trail work includes cleaning deadfall along the side of the trails and cutting firewood for next season for the wood burning stoves at Maplelag. We also planted nearly a 1000 trees earlier this spring and continue to plant potted pines.
We have also been working on the existing mountain bike singletrack clearing and removing deadfall and finished new trail build on Maplelag property near Bullhead lake. We will also be making new tweaks to select ski trails including Mother Hen and Double green for new beginner loops for next season.
Total snowfall this past season from November 1st at 96″ Total snowfall from October 1st at 102″. Opening day for the ski season on November 12th after skiing a few days in October and grooming in October. Last day of skiing on April 19th, 2019. Ice off the lake on Little Sugarbush on April 25th.
Fall color scene on the driveway, September 16th, 2019.Fall color scene as scene from the tower of the main lodge, September 16th, 2019.Fall color scene in the switchyard, September 16th, 2019.(check the changes below from 5 days earlier!)Fall color scene around the Orange caboose, September 11th, 2019.
Fall grooming on JibFly ski trail, September 11th, 2019.
Fall scene, September 11th, 2019. (same location as below five days later)
Fall scenes more prevalent each day, September 6th, 2019.
Mowing on Twin Lakes trail, September 6th, 2019.
Signs of fall on the mountain bike trail, September 7th, 2019.
With the all the moisture in August, the mushrooms have exploded in the forest and can be seen everywhere! August 24th, 2019.
Afternoon summer scene in the switchyard, August 14th, 2019.
Moon rise paddle, August 12th, 2019.
Another load of deadfall to be split for the sauna! August 6th, 2019.
First signs of fall! Aspen leaf on the bike trail, July 31st, 2019.
Another mowing on Suicide Hill, July 29th, 2019.
Calm evening for a paddleboard, July 22nd, 2019.
Wild rice on Little Sugarbush, July 22nd, 2019.
Fish in action! July 22nd, 2019.
Mushrooms exploding everywhere on the forest floor after all the rain this summer. July 20th, 2019.
Summer sunset, July 16th, 2019.
Great riding on the new mountain bike trail Tuesday evening, July 16th, 2019.
Lush green carpet on the ski trail forest floor! July 5th, 2019.
Clearing deadfall on ski trail, July 5th, 2019.
Wild iris flowers near Mother North Star ski trail, July 5th, 2019.
Summer scene along the bike trail, July 4th, 2019.
Beautiful evening to paddleboard, June 30th, 2019.
Summer sunset over Bullhead Bay (Skaters Waltz to the left). June 23rd, 2019.
Many mushrooms popping up in recent weeks thanks to damp conditions. June 24th, 2019.
Another gorgeous June evening for riding. June 18th, 2019.
Great dirt to work with on new trail “Bootleg” near Bullhead lake on Maplelag property, June 20th, 2019.
Fresh tracks on Mother North Star ski trail! June 17th, 2019.
Singletrack on the doubletrack! Rootin Tootin ski trail after clearing. Also part of the bike course. June 12th, 2019.
First mowing of the year on Suicide Hill. June 12th, 2019.
Yellow slippers along the side of the singletrack, June 12th, 2019.
Clearing mountain bike singletrack. Quickly overgrown! June 12th, 2019.
Baby snapping turtles on the move, June 3rd, 2019.
Cedar Waxwings making a rare appearance at Maplelag this week, enjoying the blooming “snow tree”. May 31st, 2019.
Beautiful spring scene at Twin Lakes crossing, May 20th, 2019.
Trail work on new singletrack. Thanks Denny and Peder for your help! May 17th, 2019.
Marsh marigolds blooming in full force the past few days in local sloughs. May 16th, 2019.
Tuning work on new mountain bike trail, May 17th, 2019.
Another beautiful spring sunset, May 8th, 2019.
Slowly spring, May 8th, 2019.
Tree planting along the bike trail, May 8th, 2019.
Tree planting along the bike trail, May 8th, 2019.
Beautiful evening lakeside Twin Lakes mountain bike singletrack, May 7th, 2019.
Bloodroot flower trying to stay warm, May 4th, 2019.
Calm waters as seen on the south side of Bullhead Lake looking towards Suicide Hill, May 2nd, 2019.
MTB trail work on new trail near Bullhead lake. May 2nd, 2019.
Great time of year to clear deadfall for sauna firewood. April 27th, 2019.
Wild flowers sprouting up with warm weather. Back to dormant mode now with cooler weather in place. April 26th, 2019.
Little Sugarbush free of ice, April 25th, 2019. Loons returned shortly after as usual!
Poplar blooms floating on low area holding water. April 25th, 2016.
First wild flower of the season popping up along the singletrack, April 23rd, 2019.
Keith dropping in for the first dirt ride of the year, April 23rd, 2019. The east side loop now open for the season under early season conditions.
Clearing singletrack, April 22nd, 2019. Ideal drying conditions has allowed us to work on the mountain bike trail. Getting very close to having portion of the trail open!
East side of Skaters Waltz,April 19th, 2019 providing enough snow for the last ski of the year.
Top of Suicide Hill, April 19th, 2019.
Bottom of Suicide Hill, April 19th, 2019.
East side of Skaters Waltz,April 19th, 2019.
Flooded water at start of JibFly, April 19th, 2019.
Few ponds open water now. April 19th, 2019.
JibFly at dusk, April 19th, 2019.
Little Sugarbush lake, lake Maplelag is next to, still 95% covered in ice. April 19th, 2019.
Start of Sap Run ski trail, April 14th, 2019.
Denny and Aaron out for a morning ski. April 10th, 2019.
One more ski! Just Ski! April 10th, 2019.
Skirting across a thin area, April 10th, 2019.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz, April 9th, 2019.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz, April 9th, 2019.
Sapsicle. April 9th, 2019.
Grooming on Suicide HIll, April 9th, 2019.
Skaters Waltz early evening, April 7th, 2019.
North Loup early evening, April 7th, 2019.
Spring skiers! Glenn and Knute heading out to Twin Lakes for a late season ski, April 6th, 2019.
Nice section of trail on JibFly, April 5th, 2019.
Single green with plenty of coverage, April 5th, 2019.
Nice section of Skaters Waltz, April 5th, 2019. A few thin areas on the west side otherwise nice wet corn snow skiing. (Best to avoid the Kamikaze segment and use Poki Loki as a connector)
JibFly ski trail, April 5th, 2019.
North Loup, April 5th, 2019. 95% of North Loup with very good coverage. Always the last trail to lose snow.
Mary on JibFly, heading down the hill! April 3rd, 2019.
Mary on JibFly! Great morning on the trails. April 3rd, 2019.
Fantastic skate skiing, morning April 3rd, 2019.
Great crust skiing on North Loup, April 3rd, 2019.
Cutting new track on Rootin Tootin at dusk, April 2nd, 2019.
Snowy morning on Sukkerbusk, (S.Schumacher photo) April 2nd, 2019.
Rootin Tootin with a fresh dusting of snow, April 2nd, 2019.
Cutting new track on Sap Run, April 1st, 2019.
Combing skate lane on North Loup, April 1st, 2019.
Combing Skaters Waltz, April 1st, 2019.
North Loup, April 1st, 2019.
Fresh tracks! April 1st, 2019.
Sunset spring ski on Sap Run, March 31st, 2019.
Sunset spring ski on Sap Run, March 31st, 2019.
Striding on Sukkerbusk, March 29th, 2019.
Still some track definition on Sap Run, March 29th, 2019.
Feeder to Skaters Waltz with lots of snow, March 29th, 2019.
Setting new track on Sap Run, March 29th, 2019.
Grooming kamikaze hill section on Skaters Waltz, March 29th, 2019.
Peder A climbing Single Green trail, March 22nd, 2019. The Thursday evening groomed trails skiing fast until 11am or so.
Cruising on Skaters Waltz extension, March 22nd, 2019. Trails not recently groomed are best crust skiing from sunrise to 11am.
Crust skiing on Dry Lake off North Loup, March 22nd, 2019. The lakes and ponds great from sunrise to 1pm.
Twin Lakes ski trail, March 22nd, 2019. Still track definition from grooming last week. Still some great spring skiing to be had. Best in the morning.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz at dusk, March 21st, 2019.
Cutting new track on Sap Run, March 21st, 2019.
Cutting new track on Sukkebusk, March 21st, 2019.
Peder A. enjoying a spring ski, March 16th, 2019.
Heading down Eagle View, March 16th, 2019.
Spring skate skiing, March 15th, 2019.
Jonell enjoying the spring conditions on JibFly, March 15th, 2019.
Setting track on Twin Lakes, March 15th, 2019. All the classic trails groomed today singletrack except the two way segments.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz, March 15th, 2019.
Setting track on Sukkerbusk, March 15th, 2019.
Area ponds and sloughs should be some great crust skiing the next few weeks provided it freezes hard at night. March 15th, 2019.
Grooming Mother North Star for fat biking, March 15th, 2019.
Skiing in dusting of new snow, March 14th, 2019.
Late season ski fun with chef Deb! March 11th, 2019.
Afternoon ski on Sukkerbusk, March 11th, 2019.
Sunset grooming on Poki Loki, March 11th, 2019.
Skied in track on Mother North Star, March 11th, 2019.
Chef Deb out for a ski after last day in the kitchen for the winter season. March 11th, 2019.
Top of Suicide Hill, March 10th, 2019.
JibFly, March 10th, 2019.
Turning on Suicide Hill, March 10th, 2019.
Skiing through the skinny field, March 9th, 2019. Great winter scenes with all the fresh snow!
Grooming Saturday afternoon, March 9th, 2019. Didn’t take long for the grooming to get covered up!
Great groomed classic skiing today, March 7th, 2019.
Snow getting deep! March 7th, 2019.
Even though not recently groomed, nice skiing on Lucky’s Loype. March 7th, 2019.
Even though not recently groomed, nice skiing on Lucky’s Loype. March 7th, 2019.
Twin Lakes ski trail, March 6th, 2019. Single tracked for the weekend.
Grooming on North Loup, March 6th, 2019.
Combing North Loup for skating and fat biking, March 5th, 2019.
Combing Skaters Waltz for skating, March 5th, 2019.
Cutting new double track on Sukkerbusk, March 5th, 2019.
Fresh snow on North Loup before grooming, March 5th, 2019.
Grooming for skate and fat biking on North Loup, March 4th, 2019.
Setting double track on Sap Run, March 4th, 2019. Dusting of snow with areas of wind blown after grooming. Grooming on tap for more classic trails Wednesday and Thursday.
Lucky’s Loype March 3rd, 2019.
Wavy Gravy with 2-3″ new snow on top of recent grooming. March 2nd, 2019.
Twin Lakes February 28th, 2019. Double tracked until the main loop than single tracked on main loop.
Dr Bob finishing up a recovery skate ski, February 28th, 2019. Congrats Bob on the second place finish in the 70-74 age category at the Birkie 50km skate race. Bob put a lot of hours on the Maplelag trails this season.
Grooming Skaters Waltz, February 27th, 2019.
Grooming North Loup for skate and fat biking, February 27th, 2019.
Coating of gliss on the trail, February 27th, 2019.
Paulo and GiGi heading out. February 27th, 2019.
Skaters Waltz at dusk. Firm deck but slow snow with cold temps. February 27th, 2019.
Start of Twin Lakes filled in with snow after blizzard like conditions. February 24th, 2019. Trails not recently groomed will be good skiing with variable snow cover conditions.
A Family Owned and Operated Destination Cross-Country Ski Center
With most leaves off the trail, track drying a bit faster October 17th, 2019.
