Trail pass is required to ski at the area regardless of day or hour
Trail passes are required 24/7. Rules apply 24/7 including designated dog trails and walking on groomed trails. We appreciate your help to keep the groomed trails in excellent condition by using them appropriately and supporting them financially.
Friday-Sunday 9am-5pm please pay in the rental office near the main parking lot. Season passes are on sale at the City Parks and Recreation Offices. It is important that season pass holders sign-in at the yurt with each use, as this provides us with documentation of the necessary use numbers to justify the area staying open. If no one is staffing the A-frame, simply put payment in red fee box near parking lot or Creek Side parking spots. To reduce costs, the honor system is in place.
Trails are typically groomed daily by city employees or PXCSF volunteers. Everyone utilizing the groomed trails needs to pay the daily trail fee or hold a season pass even during mid-week and night use. Please be honest: The survival of the area depends on it. Wouldn’t you like to see the area get better? Leveler trails, grooming machinery maintained, new structures, lights…? The growth potential is endless, but we need your help. Grooming isn’t free even with volunteer groomers.
For those that haven’t put their skis away yet, I groomed the race course and Ermine and set a classic track. I then groomed Screamer, Water Trough, and High Basin without a classic. If it freezes tonight, as it is supposed to, and you time it just right tomorrow, it could be really good. The fact that it’s the first of April and we can still ski is wonderful. Enjoy.
Groomed all trails except upper Hallway and upper Canyon 2 passes skate. There’’s a short in the Ginzu so couldn’t set classic. Tomorrow could be really good plus we’re in our final 8 weeks of skiing.
About 2-3 inches of snow this morning. Everything but Creekside was groomed again after it stopped snowing.
Groomers – I replaced a fuse and got the Ginzu working but not sure if it’s the plug that shorts out the fuse. I left everything up just in case the fuse blew again.
Groomerd Mules Ear, Creekside, Race loop, Ermine, Screamer, Daily’s, Lost Groomer, High Basin, Water-trough, Lagamorph . Basically all trails except upper Canyon and Hall Connector. Started to set classic but Ginzu power went out so mostly skate 2 passes everywhere.
Groomers beware of soft edges especially where the UTV tracks drop down. It’s easy to get sucked in the low and soft trail and you can seriously tilt the Sherpa and get stuck. Better to stay on highest ground no matter the trail even if you’re leaving a narrower swath.
Groomed Creekside with connectors, Ermine and race course. 35F and cloudy at 8pm.
Groomed Creekside with connectors and race course. 36F and cloudy at 9:45pm.
This morning I groomed every trail for skate and classic. Unfortunately, it did not freeze last night, so the trails are quite soft. There is still plenty of snow, however.
I groomed Creekside and the connectors, Ermine and the race loop. Things firmed up fast and the skiing should be excellent in the morning to early afternoon. 28 when I left at 11:30.
Sunday evening I groomed all trails except the upper part of Daley’s. 26 degrees at 10pm. Great spring skiing available this week.
This morning, I groomed all trails. Everything now has a skate and classic lane. Did some blade work on a few trails to make them easier to negotiate. The Pisten Bully has a leak so sorry about the pink snow. The skiing is still fantastic!
Good News – The Sherpa is working fine. With prior grooming this week and efforts tonight, pretty much everything is groomed. There is a classic track that was put in earlier this week around the race course and Creekside but not up above on the higher trails. Still a lot of snow. Parts of the upper trails groomed had a wind blown crust but should now ski pretty well. Most all trails were soft. 16 degrees when I left. Have fun out there.
Bad news Sherpa has clutch problems and will be out of service for a while. Took city up on John Deer offer and groomed Creekside, Ermine and Raceloop for Classic and Skate, 29 and dumping when I left at 8:30. Could be good skiing depending on how much snow falls tonight.
From Dave: Groomed Creekside and Race Course, Skate only. 30 degrees and cloudy when I left.
Groomed Creekside with connecting trails, Ermine and race course. 34F and clear at 7:30pm
Groomed upper trails except Lost Groomer for skate and classic. Re-groomed Race Loop and Creekside Connector and Mule deer. Chilly 6 degrees F at 8:30 but will warm up rapidly.
About 3″ of new snow overnight. I groomed Creekside, Race Loop, and Ermine for skate and classic.
Since we haven’t had a grooming report since Wednesday here is a skiing condition report. I skated the race course this morning (Friday 3/8). It as well as other trails were groomed. Skating was excellent. A light snow was and still is falling. The new snow has softened the under icy layer to make a great smooth surface. Conditions can change as we all know but as of Friday morning, it was great. Have fun.
Chose not to groom tonight. 36 and rain when I quit skiing. I doubt it will freeze tonight so conditions should still be soft in the morning. Skiing was good, all things considered.
Groomed Sunday night on Race Course, Upper Canyon, Ermine, Screamer, Lost Groomer, and the connector over to Water Trough. Very firm everywhere. Some track remains on Race Course, but I was not able to add any new classic track. 15 degrees at 8:30pm.
This evening, I used the Ginzu with the teeth several inches in the snow. I hope this is better skiing. The Race Loop and Creekside received this treatment. Classic lanes were attempted on the Race Loop, but the snow was so hard, they came out a little half-assed. Maybe better than none, however.
The snow was quite firm today. Some of the downhills were quite interesting. I groomed everything except Lost Groomer and Jack Rabbit. Since the ginzu was not really doing much to the snow, maybe ice, I took the Pisten Bully around. It has a hard time laying perfect corduroy, but should be a safer and more pleasant skiing experience.
More new snow up at the Nordic Center. Between the city and the foundation the ton of new snow this past week has been well groomed. There are still some interesting snow drifts in a few areas up high. It is still soft but with some colder weather it should start to firm up. I groomed the race course, Ermine, Screamer, Water Trough, High Basin, and Creek Side. There is a classic track on some of it but it is somewhat snowed in. The foundations track setter is not currently working.
From Dave: 4 inches of very wet snow. Groomed the Race Course for skate and classic. The City was out with the Tucker Sno-Cat demo, so expect additional trails to be groomed. 38 degrees when I stopped, we’ll see if it gets below freezing tonight.
groomed Creekside with connectors, Ermine and race course skate only. 30 F snowing lightly with gusty winds at 7:30pm.
Groomed Race Loop and Creekside. Snowing hard enough it was hard to see the drifts in the headlights. Figured it would be better to wait for daylight for the rest of the trails.
Last night I groomed Race Loop, Creekside, Deer Trail and Ermine.
Groomed Creekside, Mule Deer, the Connector, Race Loop and Ermine. Skate and classic. Lots of new snow! 33” on the snow gage!! 10 degrees and clear when I left at 12. Skiing should be excellent tomorrow!
Bluebird skies and fresh corduroy this morning! I groomed Race Course, Mule Deer, Creekside, Ermine, Screamer, and Lagymorph. All have classic track, except Lagymorph. Sunny and 20 degrees at 11:00am.
Groomed the race loop with 2 laps and put in a classic track. A few interesting drifts along the upper areas of the race loop. Also, groomed up and around Ermine for skating. A light snow rain mix when I started and it all looked good. Unfortunately, when on Ermine it started to rain hard and steady so I stopped grooming at that point.The rain lightened after a while but was still coming down when I left. What happens overnight to the track will be anyones guess.
$5 to the first person that can tell I groomed tonight… 2 Passes skate only on Creekside, Ermine and Race Loop. Crazy drifting and dumping, hard to navigate at the end. Sizable drifts downhill of Sage Loop. Broke through them but more work to do. Above freezing but serious snow when I left- hardly nothin’ in town when I came down.
About 4 inches new and lightly snowing at 5pm. Groomed Creekside and race course skate only, Expect soft conditions. 19F and mostly clear at 8pm.
Attempted to groom the upper trails. Lost Groomer came out well except for Pisten Bully berm down one side. While working on Dayley”s, the snow came down so heavily I had no contrast and started falling off the side of the trail. I called it day. Next groomer can finish it.
This morning, I groomed the Race loop and Mule Deer and set new lanes on both. Windy but very little new snow. Now I am heading to the upper trails with the Pisten Bully.
Re-groomed upper trails and set lanes on Screamer, Lagamorph, Deer Trail, Water Trough, the cutoff, and Lost Groomer. Upper Dayley’s needs a bit more blade work. Quite windy this evening with blowing and drifting snow. 12 degrees when I left.
From Phil: Groomed the race course and Ermine last night. The city groomed with the Pisten Bulley on almost everything else.
Groomed the race loop and creek side along with the connectors both skate and classic. None of the upper trails have been groomed yet this week but i did get Ermine packed last night so that much is ready to be groomed. 15 and snowing when I left at 11:30.
Groomed and went over Race Loop 3 times and set track. Received at least another 12 inches overnight. City was out doing other trails when I left…should be great skiing tomorrow .
Greeted today with about a foot of new snow at the Nordic Center. I first had to pack the snow with the Gator as it was too deep for the Ginzu!. I did use the Pisten Bully, but the Gator does a better job. Since I basically had to do everything twice, I was able to groom only the Race Loop and Creekside for both skate and classic. That took over 7 hours. It was snowing heavily when I left. The temp was around 33 degrees. Yep, heavy, wet snow.
About a half inch of new wet snow greeted me this morning. Groomed Race course and Creekside. 38 degrees at 10:30. Better ski earlier rather than later.
Groomed Race Course, Deer Trail, Screamer, Lost Groomer, Connector to Water Trough, High Basin, and Creek Side for skate. All trails 2 passes. Even though we haven’t had much new snow lately, the skiing is still really good.
Groomed entire area for skate (minus upper Water Trough). Most trails 2 passes. Upper Daily’s still needs a little love but it’s better (ski counter clock wise). AM skiing should be quite nice. Newly repaired Sherpa drives like a champ. Go Skiing!
From Dave: Groomed the race course (skate only), 10 degrees and clear at 6:30pm.
Groomed creekside and connectors, ermine and race course. 32F and clear at 8pm
Last night, I groomed the upper trails with the Pisten Bully and Ginzu. Specifically, I flattened the drifts on Upper Dayley’s, did some widening on other trails, and set lanes on Screamer, Water Trough and the new cut-off trail.
From Phil: Race course and Creekside groomed.
I groomed Creekside, the Connector, Mule Deer, Ermine and the Race Loop. Classic and skate. We had 1 or 2 inches of new snow when I started grooming.
From Dave: Groomed the Race Course, Ermine, and Creekside. 32 degrees and snowing hard at 9:30pm. Great snow coverage after today’s warm temps.
3” of fairly light snow for how warm it was today. Groomed all trails except upper connector. Set classic lanes on Race Loop, Ermine and Creekside but not Upper Canyon or higher than Ermine. Should be great skiing if we don’t get the prophesied mix of rain, snow and locusts. 38 degrees and snowing fluffy flakes at 8:30 when I left.
The Race Course and Ermine were groomed tonight and are in really good condition. An apology to the classic skiers: With the Potato Cup happening this Saturday and it being a skate race, parts of the classic track along the race course are being groomed out, especially on the inside of the turns to accommodate the skaters. After the race the classic track will be put back in. Upper trails are still in good shape.
After yesterdays ice rink, I groomed this morning with the Ginzu teath scraping the surface. That generated a scuff of chewed up ice on the surface. Should be much better skiing on the Race Loop and Creekside. Upper trails are skiing well.
I re-groomed Creekside, Mule Deer, and Connector for skate and Classic. Touched up the Race Loop and all upper trails, leaving the Classic lanes alone.
I did groom last night. Creekside, the Connector and Mule Deer as well as the Race Loop. Both skate and classic. Judging by what’s coming down in town this morning, you probably won’t be able to tell that I was there last night.
Groomed race course and Ermine for skate and set tracks. Should be great skiing tomorrow.
5 to 6 inches of new snow, except where the wind blew. in those places, nothing. Groomed most everything. All trails above Deer Trail are groomed for skate and classic. The race loop has no classic lanes. Creekside is groomed for skate and classic. Only one side of Mule Deer is groomed, no lanes. Tomorrow’s skiing should be fantastic!
All the trails have been groomed after the fresh snow Sunday morning. Clear and 18 degrees Sunday night at 9:00pm.
3″ of new snow this morning. Groomed race loop and Creekside for skate and classic.
Did a lap on every trail, which turned out to unnecessary as Bob’s grooming is still excellent. The classic lanes are superb. Looks like snow Sunday morning.
As Randy said yesterday, “All other trails are in very good shape with good classic lanes. Go skiing before it gets warm this weekend; it doesn’t get better” still holds true. Last night, groomed two passes on the race loop, all trails above the yurt, and the hill leading down to Creekside. Enjoy.
Groomed Mules Ear down to Creekside for skate (classic lanes are still in good shape). Groomed Upper Canyon/side loops for skate and added classic lanes. Plus one pass on race loop. All other trails are in very good shape with good classic lanes. Go skiing before it gets warm this weekend; it doesn’t get better!
From Dave: Groomed the Race Course (skate and Classic), Upper Canyon groomed for skate. Refreshed skate on Ermine, Lagomorph and Screamer, classic track in good condition. Added classic track and groomed the Hallway, Daleys, and Lost Groomer. 8 degrees and cloudy at 8pm.
From Dave: Freshened up the race course for skate. Classic track was looking good. Should be nice for tomorrow’s race.
Groomed Race Course, Mule Deer, Creekside, Ermine, Screamer, Water Trough, and High Basin. All have classc track set. 3-4 inches fresh on Sunday.
From Phil: Everything groomed including Upper Canyon. The skiing should be good to great.
Between us and the City, all Nordic Center trails are groomed for both Skate and Classic. Should be great skiing tomorrow. 5 degrees and clear at 8pm.
About 1 inch new snow. Groomed Ermine and race loop skate only. Cloudy and 26F at 8am. Merry Christmas!
Sunday night, no new snow. Monday morning, maybe 1 inch of light snow. Groomed ermine and race course skate only. Not enough snow for classic track. 33F at 9am.
Groomed everything except Creekside and Upper Canyon tonight. 39 and a few insignificant snowflakes when I left at 10.
Groomed creekside with connectors, ermine and race course skate only. Still good coverage. 34F and mostly clear at 7:45PM
Groomed everything except upper canyon, classic on most of it. Setting up hard, should be really good in the morning!
Groomed everything except Lost Groomer and upper connector. Also groomed upper Canyon and 3 side loops (thanks for packing Troy), these will get better with more grooming.
Skate only, I thought the Ginzu shorted but it had unplugged and didn’t figure it out until I was finished. 3” of new snow. Will be a little soft but should be good. Keep the groomers running!
Groomed Race Course, Ermine, Mule Deer, and Creekside. All have classic track set previously. Good conditions everywhere. Clear and 9 degrees at 8:00pm.
I touched up the race loop and packed and groomed upper canyon. I packed the side loops off of upper canyon but didn’t have the guts to try to groom them as they were too soft. They should set up nicely if someone wants to run the Ginzoo on them in the next day or two. Other than that, the entire area is groomed and skiing is excellent!
Monday night about 3 inches of new snow that had been skied pretty heavily through the day. Groomed race course ermine, skate only. 18F and cloudy at 7:30pm.. Good base no signs of melting.
We’ve got about 10” of snow at the yurt. I groomed the race loop and Deer Trail and the upper Connedtor. Creekside has been pack and rolled. Andria took the Piston Bully up high and groomed Ermin, Mule Deer, Daley’s and Lost Groomer. 23 and light snow when I left at 6. Tomorrow should be good skiing.
Groomed up to high basin and race loop (less chickadee) including ermine. Lagomorph has a large dirt spot, to reach high basin you’ll need to remove skis. Most of race loop and ermine are good, but some thin spots. Melting very fast. 28F at 8:30pm.
The Sherpa Abides: groomed race loop, Ermine, Daily’s, Lost Groomer, High Basin, Screamer and Water Trough 2 passes for skate. Should be excellent mid-morning pending how hard it freezes. It was 37 when I left a little after 10 with clear skies and some rain?? Considerably warmer in town. If it sets up at all tomorrow morning should be quite good.
I groomed the race loop and Ermine. It was starting to freeze as I was grooming. Should be pretty good mid-morning. 34 and partly cloudy when I left at 9:30. A few snow flakes were coming down but I doubt there will be any accumulation.
26 degrees and partly cloudy at 9:30pm. 1″ new today.
I groomed Creekside, Mule Deer, and Race Course both skate & classic.
I groomed Deer Trail, Ermine, Screamer, Lagomorph, Lost Groomer, Water Trough, and High Basin, skate only.
Creekside is thin, but it might hold out a few more days, depending on temps. Everything else looks great.
Trails were groomed Saturday night after several inches of new snow. Groomed trails were: the Race Loop, Ermine, Lagamorph, Water Trough, High Basin, Lost Groomer, Daley’s. The Race Loop has a classic track. It all looks real good so enjoy it while it lasts. With our erratic weather everyday things seem to change. Although the city operations are closed the XC Ski Foundation will continue to groom if we have snow.
The trails at the Nordic Center were groomed either last night or early this morning. They look fantastic! I urge everyone to ski while there is still skiing. The last official day is tomorrow, Saturday the 17th. Although, the snow will stick around longer with these cold temps.
Due to Kevin Marsh’s excellent grooming, I did the only thing that needed help: Creekside. Take advantage of the lower trails, because they are melting fast. Creekside may have only a couple of days remaining.
Sunday night, groomed Mule Deer, Race Course, Ermine, Screamer, Lost Groomer, Daly’s, High Basin, Water Trough, and Lagomorph. Race course has classic tracks. All others skate-only. 29 degrees at 8:30pm.
Groomed Creek Side, Mules Ear, Race Loop and Ermine all for skate 2 passes. Upper trails still good. Upper Canyon not groomed but everything else is exceptional. Go ski!
Groomed race course and Ermine. Clear and 20 degrees at 8pm.
18″ of snow at the Nordic Center! I groomed most everything except the Race Loop and lower Creekside. The top of Dayleys took quite a long time, but is now flat. I hope it skis better than earlier today. Take advantage!
Groomed creek side and race course. Lots of new snow from this storm. 18F at 8:30pm and clear.
Currently snowing quite hard. The groomer is out right now setting classic lanes. Heavy wet snow with air temp around 36 degrees. Everything will be groomed tonight.
14″ of new snow!! Everything was groomed this morning with the Pisten Bully. No Classic lanes
From Bob, Groomed The Race Course and Creekside.
Between Lance on the Pisten Bully and myself the entire nordic center has been groomed today, including Creek Side (with good coverage). Classic and Skate on most trails. 8 degrees and clear skies when I left. Tomorrow will be great skiing.
WOW! 7 inches of new snow! I groomed the Race Loop and Mule Deer with Creekside Connector. I did a couple of laps on Deer Trail and Ermine. It was snowing heavily when I left at 9pm. The trail is very soft but will hopefully set up nicely overnight.
I groomed race course, Upper Canyon, Deer Trail, Ermine, Screamer, and Lagymorph. 17 degrees with gusty winds Sunday night.
I groomed 2 laps on everything except Muledeer and Creekside. Most trails look great, however some of the upper trails, notably Lost Groomer and Daily’s, have brush poking through the snow. Beware!
From Tim: Groomed The Race Corse, Ermine, Water Trough, High Basin, and Lost Groomer. Skate and Classic.
Groomed Lost Groomer, Water Trough, and High Basin. With Troys grooming this morning, the majority of the trails are groomed and skiing well. Clear and -2 degrees when I left. It should set up firm for tomorrow.
Last nights storm was enough to cover up most of the ice and dirt. Still a little thin for classic track, I probably set more than I should have. I groomed the Race Loop, Ermine/Deer Trail, Screamer and Lagamorph. I skied a couple of laps after I got done. Cold, squeaky snow but good skiing. 12F and sunny when I left.
It’s amazing we can do what we do with so little snow!
Hopefully, you haven’t given up on winter yet. Mike Krumberger resurrected the Mink Creek Nordic area last night. I snuck in 15K on my lunch today and it was surprisingly good. The race loop as well as Ermine/Deer Trail are all groomed right now and are ski-able. Portions of the trail are really good, other spots are barely ski-able, so be careful! If we get more snow, I’ll go over the race loop again tomorrow night and maybe the upper trails as well. If we don’t get more snow, I’ll probably still go up and groom the upper trails tomorrow night (Screamer was fairly deep today).
Remember, even though the skiing is marginal, dog rules still apply. The snow is so thin right now that dog tracks will be almost impossible to repair.
Skied Ermin, was good except for only 1 thin strip left on top. No grooming until things change. Think happy thoughts for snow and cold.
46 degrees at 2:30 today at the yurt. Most trails have melted out. Others are water ice. There is good skiing on Lagamorph and Water Trough, provided one can get there.
Decided not to groom last night. The Race Course is loosing snow especially on Sage Loop and Chickadee. The base is a mix of snow and ice with some of the lower and sunnier section being all ice. All and all it is skiing pretty well. The best conditions are on Ermine, Lagomorph, and Water Trough.
Groomed The Race Course, Ermine, Lagomorph, Water Trough and High Basin skate only. Everything came out looking good considering the high temps. clear skies and 39 degrees at 7:00pm
From Tim: Groomed The Race Course and Upper Canyon skate and classic.
I groomed everything except Creek Side and Upper Canyon last night. Creek Side needs more snow. 28 and clear when I left. Should be great skiing today.
The 3 inches of new powder groomed quite nicely. It still is a little too thin to set decent lanes for classic skiing, but the skate skiing will be awesome. I groomed the Race Loop with 3 passes and Deer Trail and Ermine with 2 passes each. Sorry dog lovers (me included) but the lower trails are just not deep enough. I tried to groom down to Creekside, but it’s kinda ugly.
Did three passes of Ermine and Race Course. Some icy spots but mostly very good skating conditions. !0F and clear at 7:30pm.
From Bob, groomed two laps on the Race Course and Ermine with a little shoveling. It looks real good.
Groomed skate only; The Race Course (thin in the most sunny sections but still skiing well), Ermine (great coverage great skiing), Lagomorph (good coverage watch out for the ice dam about half way), Water Trough (getting thin at the intersection with the new trail otherwise looking good), and High Basin (watch for thin spots on the north side). Lost Groomer is skiing well if you are willing to take your skis off and walk across the dirt.
All trails above the yurt groomed very well last night, which made for good skiing today. Tonight, I groomed Race Course, Ermine, Water Trough, High Basin, and Lost Groomer. Should be good for MLK Day, with softening conditions in the afternoon.
The good news is that the snow pack held up pretty well for after last night’s monsoons. Bad news is it’s firm or icy (if you’re not from the Midwest). I Somewhat smoothed out Race Loop and Ermine 2-3 passes for skate only. If it warms up and softens tomorrow it could be decent but be careful.
Sherpa is stuck on ice just below the grooming shed; I’ll park it tomorrow mid-day. Don’t crash into it.
I did my best to smooth out the stadium area for the kids. I made one pass around the race loop and decided it was raining way too hard. In spite of all this, the skiing is still remarkably good! Do your snow dance though. 39 and raining when I left.
Groomed creek side, ermine, and race course skate only. Classic tracks set Saturday after wet snowfall. 18F and clear at 8pm.
Tried putting classic track in upper trails starting on lost groomer but snow was too stiff. Did one pass on most of upper trails and then two passes on Ermine and race course. Conditions very good. 5F and clear at 8pm
All areas groomed with Piston Bully, two passes. New track on core trails. Above Ermine needs track still. Snow has firmed up well overnight and has not transformed significantly. 20 degrees at 10am, full sun.
From Bob; Groomed the Race Corse, Ermine, Screamer, Water Trough and one lap on High Basin. Lots of snow up high.