Irv Warren Golf Course - Waterloo

Skied Irv Warren Golf Course today.  A 4k loop has been rolled but not groomed for classical.   The skating deck is a little soft but otherwise good skiing.

Prairie Springs XC Ski Trails - Cresco

Groomed most of the ski trails this afternoon, and these are the best conditions of the season!  Should really set up well tonight with cold temps.  Supposed to be 17F tomorrow and nice and sunny!  Fresh snow, great tracks, go ski.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Morgan Creek Park and Wickiup Hill Learning Center

Both areas have been rolled and groomed! Enjoy! At Wickiup - gates close at 4:30 on weekdays and 4 on the weekends. If you want to use the trails after that time, please park across the road in the DNR lot and walk in. 

Thank you!

Ashton Field Groomed and Tracks Set

Ashton was rolled, multiple tracks set and skate lane groomed. I rolled the entire course in order to keep as much snow as possible from blowing and drifting. Some of the tracks are a bit thin in spots but there are rows of two, three and four so pick one that works. Also, utilized the snowmobile to make a trail around the entire area to accommodate walkers, runners and snowshoers. Please let those folks know that is their very own trail. Also, as a reminder, all dogs are to be on a leash no less than six feet long on University of Iowa property. Any issues with dogs causing a dangerous situation should be dealt with by notifying campus police.

Iowa City area grooming report

The gods of snow have given us just enough to play with!!! It's a little thin out there in places so be carful. Jason groomed Brown Deer Duthman did Ashton and I did mcbride!!! So get out there and enjoy!!! With more snow in the ten day things are looking good. Thank you again for all of the Nordic momentum and congrats to all the Birkie finishers last weekend!!!

Geoff Perrill

Irv Warren Golf Course - Waterloo

A new loop was groomed today at 3:30 PM avoiding the old icy trail in preparation for the CVC Bike Club X-Country outing planned for tomorrow (Saturday) at 10:30 AM.  The loop is 1 km but will be in excellent shape for both skating and classical.  The grooming broke up the crust and brought good snow to the surface.

Note:  The new loop does not come up to the parking lot.  It is west of the parking lot and south of the maintenance shed.

Iowa Games Preview

There's a good base of snow for Saturday's Iowa Games at Mines of Spain.  Parish is going out Friday morning to groom again.  It will be full coverage snow with a firm deck and fast conditions.  Classic race is in the morning and skate race in the afternoon.  More info at iowagames.org

Mines of Spain

Parrish is out grooming the snow and scarrifying the crust back to some decent, soft top layer.  I took him out some extra weights so that he can dig down a little deeper. It should be set up good for the Iowa Games this weekend, which are rescheduled from January 24th.

Brown Deer GC CLOSED till further notice

Brown Deer GC is CLOSED until further notice. Do NOT ski at Brown Deer GC until the groomers give the OK.

Decorah Parks Trail System

Skied Van Peenan Park Thursday evening and this morning (Saturday). Single and double classic tracks set and are in fair-good condition. Was re-groomed yesterday. Some wind blown areas are thin, so use "B" or rock skis, but track is solid and firm. I also skated on Trout Run Friday morning, which I would not recommend at this point, as it is groomed over pavement and although the snow is firm, it is not stable and you will push off onto the pavement easily. I also skied and then kicked off the Decorah Barnelopet this morning with 50 youngsters at the Decorah Prairie. Very good classic track set this morning and fun was had by all participants. Palisades Park is also groomed and tracked with skate lane, but I have not skied that one yet and have only done a drive by view.

Irv Warren Golf Course Waterloo

A 4 km loop has been groomed for both skating and classical.   The skating lane is in good shape with sufficient snow the entire course.   The classical tracks are also good other than a few spots where the groomer cut through to grass.   Those spots can easily be bypassed by hopping out of the tracks for a short distance.

MNRA (MacBride) North Liberty Groomed

MNRA - North Liberty has been groomed, still need help with snow laden trees so pick up a branch or shake some snow off a tree to lighten the load. Thanks Geoff for grooming and Jay Herman for tree therapy.

Ashton Field Groomed and Tracks Reset

Groomed Ashton Field this morning and reset the classic tracks. The bike path skate lane was groomed down to 28th Ave. Watch for sticks. Also, if you encounter the person who is snowshoeing down the middle of the skate lane, please ask them to go to the side. They have made some very deep ruts that will not do well with warmer temps coming on Saturday. Enjoy!

Prairie Springs XC Ski Trails - Cresco

We had a couple of inches of new snow yesterday.  We groomed this afternoon and evening. Groomed a skating lane and set a classical track.  Got to use the new Ginzu and the trails look very good.  The conditions on all the wooded portions appear good.  The Minear Field loop and trail and entry area off the bike trail into the Minear Field area are marginal, I suggest using your B skis.  I am posting a picture of the new groomer and a shot from the river trail.  A special thanks to the Chamber, the Trails Committee and local contributors for making the new track setting equipment happen! Also, a special thanks to the HCCB crew for doing all the electrical work and groomer set up!

Linn County Update 2-4-15

Matsell Bridge has been rolled and groomed.
Pinicon will be done by the end of the day today.
Morgan Creek is rolled and groomed.
Wickiup Hill is rolled and groomed.
Squaw Creek should be done on Thursday.

Thanks!
Any questions call 319-892-6450
Mandy

Iowa City area grooming

Iowa City area grooming; Ashton groomed and classic track set, Brown Deer GC is groomed, and MNRA MacBride a mess with tree debris all over the place. If you're skiing MNRA please help out and pick up a limb or two.

Van Peenan Park Trails groomed and tracked

Per Decorah Parks and Recreation, Van Peenan Park Trails were groomed, along with portions of the Trout Run Tail from Dug Road to the Fish Hatchery. http://www.decorahia.org/pdf/Cross-Country%20Ski%20Trail%20Map%20-%20Decorah,%20IA.pdf

Big Creek

The disc golf loop is groomed and tracked. Other than some sagging branches conditions are pretty good. The lake loop is not as good but is skiable.

Pilot Knob road near Forest City is groomed

Pilot Knob road is leveled and groomed for both skating and classic skiing.  We received about 6" of snow Sunday.

Pilot Knob State Park road

Webster City Briggs Woods trail and 5k groomed and tracked Monday

With 8 to 10 inches of snow we were able to groom and track the Woodland loop (enter by shelter #2) and a single classic track on the 5k golf course. The wind caused drifts and shallows, but since the initial inch of snow formed a crust, the whole course is covered. In the woods, watch for buried branches. Come on out and finally enjoy our sport! Off the groomed area, the drifts make for interesting trail cutting and would be fun for snow shoes too.

Linn County Update

Squaw Creek - will probably not get done for a few days. The groomer is up at Matsell's and they will do Pinicon Ridge after that, also ITC is putting in poles this week so about 200-300 yards of trail is tore up.

Matsell's - They are rolling today and will groom tomorrow.

Pinicon Ridge - will be done after Matt's

Morgan Creek/Wickiup - Grooming is taking place at Morgan Creek should be done within the hour. They will then switch over to Wickiup. I have seen some people out here skiing today so there may be a trail busted.

Thank you!
Mandy
Clerical specialist
Linn County Conservation

Prairie Springs XC Ski Trails - Cresco

The snow was good, but the strong winds did create some bare spots. Everything was rolled to try to hold what we received and to trap blowing snow. I have uploaded a map showing what was combed. These are the trails with the best conditions. The Bike Trail is good to the Meadow Cut Off Trail, then there are some bare spots. I would suggest taking the Cut Off and skiing the Meadow, Campground, Campground Road and Campground Trail, all good. Also, the Hill Trail is good, but you will probably want to do and out and back. The Dry Creek Trail is very good, and you can ski it to the Gully Cut Off that goes back up to the Meadow and Campground Trails. The Nature Center Trail and Loop are also combed. It's supposed to snow some more on Tuesday, so hopefully we can get the big equipment out then and set some track. Here's a map of the trails that are combed.  All trails have been rolled (not shown on this map) but there are marginal spots where the wind has blown them off.