Ski trail photo by Travis Novitsky.

We’ve been getting snow every day, even on days when no snow was forecast. We’re continuing to groom trails every day, preparing for the busy post-Christmas week.  We consistently have snow over the holiday break, but some years have been better than others.  This year is looking good!

Local photographer Travis Novitsky was here to ski a few days and posted this report:

“Cross Country Ski Heaven”

Ski conditions along the Gunflint Trail are heavenly right now! This past week we made it up to Bearskin Lodge for a couple of days of skiing and not only were the trails in prime condition but we had them almost completely to ourselves. We only saw a few other people out there. There is plenty of snow on the ground for the majority of the trails to be groomed and most of the trees have a thick blanket of snow on them which makes for a winter wonderland!

Couldn’t have said it better.  Check out Travis’s work on his Facebook page here.  He specializes in North Shore photography and gets some stunning pictures.

Current snow statistics from Golden Eagle’s Measuring Guys:

Central Gunflint Ski Trail Conditions on December 18, 2017

New Snow Last 7 days:  5 3/4”
Trail Base, Staked:  Average 3” – 4”
Snow in Woods, Staked:  Average 7” – 10”
Groomed with classic track:  ~49 km
Groomed with skate lane:  ~43 km
Surface Conditions:  Fresh groomed snow
Total snowfall since snow stayed:  30.00”

Comments:  We have 49km of ski trails groomed. This includes all trails except Moose Ridge, West end Logging Camp, Poplar Creek, BWCA Logging Camp, and North-South Link. Groomed trails are in good shape with plenty of snow for skiing. The remaining trails are snowmobile packed. Lakes are safe to cross, but have not been groomed or packed

Pisten Bully groomer going over the “bump” for the first time this year on the Bear Cub Trail

We’re back in that cycle of new snow falling every day, which is what makes Bearskin such a predictably reliable cross country ski center.  Quinn groomed Summer Home, Campground, Lit Loop, Upper and Lower Beaver Dam, and Ridge Run again today with the Pisten Bully.  Quinn and Kate have skied the trails several times over the past few days and they’re pretty happy with the results of the early grooming.  Summer Home and Camprgound have been groomed many times now since our first snow in late October, so they are by far the best trails at this point.  But the other trails on the above list are coming along nicely.  This evidently will not be a Christmas season with low snow conditions on the trails.

Two other trails, Bear Cub and Oxcart have been Pisten Bully groomed once. Quinn will continue to go out on those whenever it snows.  Poplar Creek Trail has been packed and in amazing news, the wet areas that always cause problems on that trail finally might be frozen.  It shouldn’t be too long before that trail is also groomed and ready to enjoy.

Lake trails are not open yet.  All other trails are in the process of being packed and prepared.  We will keep you updated on progress.

After an amazingly early start to the ski season, a few days of warmer temps and blowing snow created very icy conditions.  We didn’t lose much snow, but the snow that remained had more in common with ice cubes than with snow flakes.  It was possible to ski, but the trails weren’t great.

Lots of fresh snow this week made a huge difference!  Quinn took the Pisten Bully groomer out on Summer Home, Campground, the Lit Loop, Upper and Lower Beaver Dam, Ridge Run, Oxcart, and Bear Cub trails.  Summer Home and Campground are the best of course, as they already had a very firm base from several weeks of previous grooming. The other trails all have a few spots of stubble and in places the tracks are a bit on the soft side, as usual for a first round of grooming; but everyone who has skied on the newly opened trails has been very pleased with the conditions.

All other trails are being packed and prepared. More trails should open soon.

The trees are coated in snow, so all the trails are very photogenic now. Bring your camera!

Ski passes for the Central Gunflint Trail system are available at Bearskin Lodge and Golden Eagle Lodge. All pass fees go towards the grooming and never-ending maintenance of trails through the deep woods.

The Central Gunflint Trail system is the only area ski system groomed and maintained by long-time, experienced groomers. We own some of the best and newest grooming equipment in Minnesota. The groomers at both Bearskin and Golden Eagle are good skiers, both classic and skate, and they often head out after a grooming session to test the trails themselves. Their expectations for the quality of our trails is very high.

Come on up and enjoy the experience of skiing on our beautiful, north woods trail system. We’ve done a lot of work to make your ski experience here one of the best you’ll ever have.