Went looking for groomed track in Cedar Rapids right before sundown today. The CR Parks and Rec Department is reporting grooming at many parks as I posted previously but they haven't updated their notice since Jan. 4. I checked Seminole Park and could see a rolled lane for what I assume is fat bikes? Some ski tracks but nothing groomed that I could see from the road.
Over at Ellis park I found groomed tracks that started behind the maintenance buildings but I doubt they expect one to park there to ski. The essentially 1.5 mile loop seems to have a beginning at what I assume is the golf club house parking lot. This is some of the most difficult skiing I have done in awhile. There has been relatively little foot or snowshoe traffic on the groomed tracks. There are various grass spots but they are relatively easily avoided. I was skiing mostly on ice this evening. And there are a few hills with sharp turns that when you are skiing in rough, ice tracks are very difficult to navigate. I would not recommend beginners try to ski these tracks at this point. That doesn't mean that a beginner wouldn't have space to ski off track. I also expect my skis got a little wear from just scraping against the icy, torn up tracks in various places, FYI. If you are a talented skater you may be able to get something done out there at midday even though there isn't any corduroy for you?
