Pilot Knob State Park

The road through Pilot Knob State Park has been groomed for both classic and skate style skiing.  The lake within the park has been groomed for just skating.  Both look to be in great condition!  It should make for some great skiing this morning before it gets too soft this afternoon.

Wickiup Hill Update

A skier came in today and advised that in the woods is pretty good, but the prairie areas are soggy. If you want to go tomorrow, morning would be a good time to go out.

Thanks!

Prairie Springs XC Ski Trails - Cresco

3" of fresh snow, conditions are very good!  All trails were groomed tonight for both skating and classical.

Waterloo Golf Course Skate Skiing

Mother Nature provided some of the best skate skiing possible, i.e. no grooming necessary.   Skied for 3 ½ hours on Gate Golf Course this afternoon and it was excellent skiing.  Should be good skiing all week, just catch temperatures in the 26F to 32F range to get edging but before the snow gets too soft.

Try to stay off the putting greens as ski tracks can be hard on the special grass in those spots on the golf course.

Prairie Springs Ski Trails

Ski trails groomed today. We rejuvenated the skating lanes and combed. They appear to be in good shape. Classic track is not as good. We are just tearing up base, so we can't go down too far into it. Some of the classic track was left alone where I thought it looked okay as is.

Great Conditions and all Trails Groomed at Webster City

About an inch of new snow, and not having lost our base during the brief thaw has led to the best skiing conditions in a long time. We added a skate lane to the 5K race course on the Briggs Woods golf course and regroomed all the trails. Try the new 1/2 mile up and back trail on the levy at the north end of the lake. I hope you like to share the trails with deer because they are everywhere!

Remember, ski rental for the family is available if you call Hamilton County Conservation before the weekend at 515-832-9570.

Pilot Knob Ski Race

Feb. 6, 2016, challenge yourself to ski the hills in beautiful Pilot Knob State Park on February 6th.  This is a freestyle race distance of 27 km or 9 km starting at 8:30 am and is a great way to prepare for the Birkie.  Lunch will be provided following the race in the warming shed.  Awards to the top three overall men and women in both distances.

For more information see http://forestcityski.blogspot.com/p/pilot-knob-ski-race.html,
or on facebook type in "Pilot Knob Ski Race".

Prairie Springs XC Ski Trails

All trails groomed for skating and classical last night.  Snow cover is good to very good and trail conditions as of this morning are the same.  Extreme cold expected for the weekend.

All Trails Groomed and Tracked in Webster City.

We lost very little snow depth with last week's thaw, and with the refreeze and another 1/2 inch of snow, the trails and 5k course groomed nicely. Note the new up and back trail on the north levy of Briggs woods lake.

Later in the week we hope to add a skate lane to the 5k, but for now it is just classic tracked.

For beginners we have tracked several loops in the field by the red barn at Briggs woods.
Everyone is welcome to attend our ski and snowshoe clinic Saturday the 16th from 2-4:30 at the conservation headquarters at Briggs Woods. Please call for reservations by Friday afternoon. 515-832-9570. Skis and snowshoes are available for free for the clinic.

Pilot Knob State Park

We were very fortunate this week that we did not receive any rain but rather gained a few more inches of snow!  The road through Pilot Knob state park was groomed last night and retouched this morning.  The skating deck is in excellent shape while the tracks are in good shape with some areas that are drifted in.

Pilot Knob state park

Wickiup Hill - Toddville

Just had several skiers come in and say that the trail conditions are excellent.

South Hills Golf Course - Waterloo

South Hills Golf Course was groomed this afternoon for both skating and classical.   The track and skate lane are quite soft as this is the first time this track has been groomed.  By morning it should be in good shape.

Webster City Trails and 5k Groomed and Tracked Today

In addition to grooming the Woodland Loop, Waterfall Loop and golf course 5k, we added a new trail we're calling the Wetland Trail. From the North end of Briggs Woods Lake, cross the bridge over the waterfall stream and turn right. The Wetland trail is a half mile up and back along the top of the levy along the lake water source bay. Go up to the railroad track boundary and then back. It is a pretty place and it is flat all the way.

The Ten Hills 5k is groomed and tracked, but no skating lane yet.

 From the lake parking lot, if the dam top is bare, we have groomed behind the dam too.

Snow conditions are terrific, and remember ski rental packages for all ages are available at the Briggs Woods Conservation office.

Freshly groomed at Irv Warren, Monday

Irv Warren groomed this morning. Skate skiing was great! I love the sign too. :) Enjoy!

Prairie Springs XC Ski Trails Cresco

Repacked and combed skating lanes tonight.  Left classic tracks alone.  Opened one new trail.  Classic tracks are good in many areas.  Bad spots can be bypassed by using skating lane.  About 8K of trails groomed.

Irv Warren Golf Course

Skied Irv Warren Golf Course yesterday (Thursday).   A 2.5 mile loop has been groomed for both skating and classical.  Both tracks are excellent.   The skating lane had been soft but by yesterday afternoon it was setting up nicely.   With 10" of snow the coverage is very good with only a few places showing a little grass in the bottom of the classical track.

Mines of Spain

The trail is rolled and pretty good for skating.  There isn't enough depth for setting a track.

The free moisture on the ground ran across the trail at two or three areas and made some ground visible for 6" widths as the water ran from left to right on the trail.