Trail Conditions

Near Madison

BlackHawk Ski Area (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 8 2026	Good	Skate	Sarah Guillot
🔗	Skied in the morning. Icy on the hill, a little soft elsewhere but very good coverage and honestly great skiing given the weather.
January 2 2026	Excellent	Skate	Harry Read
🔗	The new snow has made for good, fast conditions.

Blue Mound SP (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 19 2026	Good	Classic	Kyle Richard
🔗	The trails firmed up quite nicely overnight, with some new snow covering up most of the thin spots I had noticed yesterday. The only truly sketchy areas are under the pines at Pleasure Valley, and that nasty area of brush right next to the trailhead. The campground is also felt a little thin relative to the other trails. Hikers had been out in a few spots.
January 18 2026	Fair	Skate and Classic	Friends of BMSP
🔗	We set corduroy for the entire trail system, save for a few cutoffs and the trail to/around the top of the mound (only rolled). The snow is extremely fluffy and compacted to only an inch or two. There are stretches that look great, but quite a few others where the groomer unfortunately brought up a ton of debris. The "base" was mostly bare ground, but there were some sections I slipped on at John Minix where some ice had survived the warm spell. A big thank you to the skiers who helped get me unstuck! As we were finishing up, it began to snow moderately, which should help.
January 18 2026	Fair	Classic	DarylH
🔗	Had been lightly groomed (thanks!), but is fairly thin tread. 90+% covered, but plenty of thin, bare or churned spots. So, have to keep a keen eye for bare ground and occasional gravel pebbles. Still, quite a nice ski, best is below the campground and through the hills. Lightly groomed and rarely used made it almost good, but still needed to watch.
January 17 2026	Good	Classic	G.Rae
🔗	A delightful wonderland for a waxable (blue/green) ski with nary a trace of my tracks. I was able to stay in grooves laid by groomer WVH who rolled beautiful wide lanes on all the trails -- with a warning of possible gravel at the bottom of the hill in the campground stretch due to no true base. I savored the medium (Willow Springs), short (John Minix), and Pleasant Valley loops in under 2 hours. This lightweight skier enjoyed kick and glide with ample coverage as lanes were constantly refreshed with a dusting of beautiful snow. Thank you to Willi for his persistence and expertise in helping keep BMSP a pristine paradise. If only hikers followed the "no hiking" winter signs and refrained from gouging newly groomed trails . . .
January 17 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Crew
🔗	We rolled all the trails. 6 or 7 inches of fluffy snow with no base under it.So,you will touch the ground .some.
January 4 2026	Good	Classic	Ann
🔗	I skied this morning. The snow cover is decent and trails are fast. The trails have not been groomed recently. It was worth going out.
January 3 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Crew
🔗	Regroomed this morning.
January 1 2026	Good	Classic	Caleb York
🔗	Got out after the snow but before the groomer. Made citizen tracks. Actually pretty good. Wish poling base in campground loop was better but take what you can get. Thanks to the groomers taking out the fallen logs.
January 1 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Friends of BMSP
🔗	We groomed most trails today. The 2 inches of new snow was very welcome. No tracks were set, but the flat deck is quite good. Best skiing is on the mound itself, but not the campground. Pleasure Valley has thinner coverage but still skiable. We did not touch the paved Military Ridge bike trail connector down to the plunge and Walnut Hollow.
December 31 2025	Fair	Skate and Classic	Razz
🔗	Much is fair to good .east and north sides better. New snow has merged with the base.ungroomedis ok also.
December 30 2025	Poor	Skate and Classic	Friends of BMSP
🔗	We set corduroy on the pool trail and most of the green loop (taking the cutoff to John Minix). It's thin and soft with an icy base. No tracks were set.

Cherokee Marsh (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 3 2026	Poor	Classic	Ed Z
🔗	Some good areas but a lot of rough patches

CXC Outdoor Rec Center (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 19 2026	Excellent	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	The snowmaking loop was groomed for skating, and the classic track was reset in areas where it had drifted over. We started pushing the snow that was made over the weekend, and will finish pushing by the end of tomorrow.
January 18 2026	Excellent	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	The snowmaking loop was groomed for skating and classic using the snowcat. The far north section of the Upper Field Trail remains very thin for approximately 100 meters; please ski with caution in this area. Snowmaking will continue throughout the day and is expected to finish sometime after 3:00 p.m. Due to ongoing snowmaking operations, the Upper Field Trail will be skied out-and-back today: start counterclockwise, and once you reach the west end of the trail, return clockwise. Please note that trails on the Pleasant View Golf Course remain closed. The trails were rolled yesterday, but there was only enough snow to roll them lightly. We need to allow the base to harden, and with a little additional snow later today or later this week, we hope to open the golf course trails soon. The golf course has been a great partner, so please respect this partnership by skiing only when the trails are officially open and following trail report updates. Skiing off designated ski trails or on trails that are closed is prohibited.
January 17 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	Most of the snowmaking loop is groomed for skating and classic, using lightweight pull-behind grooming equipment as we continue packing fresh snow. Larger equipment tends to push snow off the trail, especially with the light new snow we received yesterday evening. The downhill section of the snowmaking loop is not groomed due to ongoing snowmaking operations, which will continue through the weekend. Please ski only on groomed sections. Attempted to groom the trail along the power line toward the switchbacks, but there was not enough snow to make it good. Trails on the golf course remain closed.
January 16 2026	Good	Skate	Brian Parks
🔗	Conditions quite soft and a tad slow today… including the skier 😂. One can ski the full upper loop without turning around. Yes, it is a bit thin and dirty out there at the far end, but quite passable. B skis recommended if you do that. With colder temps and snow production on the menu, conditions will just get better. Glad CXC survived the warm-up. No more of those please.
January 16 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	The snowmaking loop was groomed for skating and classic using lightweight grooming equipment to pack fresh snow. Please expect older, transformed snow at the base of the classic tracks, as there was not enough new snow to fully reset the track. The north end of the Upper Field Trail remains very thin. We recommend continuing to ski out-and-back on the west and east sections of the Upper Field Trail, with the suggested turnaround point where the classic tracks currently end. There was not enough new snow to groom any additional trails. Please note that trails on the Pleasant View Golf Course remain closed until we receive more snow. We are planning additional snowmaking over the weekend in the large open area (HyCite Field of Play) in front of the under-construction trailhead lodge (Middleton Nordic Center) to fill thin areas and create a stockpile to move snow to the north end of the Upper Field Trail.
January 15 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	Groomed for classic and skating. Classic tracks are shallow in some areas, but as we continue to soften the surface, conditions will improve. The final section of the snowmaking loop is now open. Please note that this section is recommended for advanced-level skiers only, as it includes a fast downhill followed by a steep climb.
January 14 2026	Good	Skate	Dan D
🔗	Cxc survived the big warm up. Solid base-thin in some areas with a mix of soft and crunchy fresh corduroy. Still have the bare section on the northwest end of the north loop. A couple avoidable icy patches. Was fast except for when heading into the 35mph wind gusts-great Birkie Lake Hayward crossing training. Best part is along the power lines and out of the wind
January 14 2026	Fair	Skate	Yuriy
🔗	Groomed for skating, with a primary focus on breaking up the icy, hard surface. There are a few icy spots, but they can be easily skied around.
January 13 2026	No Go	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	Trails are closed today
January 12 2026	Fair	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	Trails were groomed this morning for both skating and classic. We worked to flatten the deck and cover a few thin spots where possible. The north end of the Upper Field still needs additional snow; we recommend skiing to that section, making a U-turn, and skiing back. Please do the same on the east and west sides of the Upper Field trail to avoid a short section that needs snow. After tomorrow’s warm day, we will evaluate options to cover this area with additional snow and work toward reopening the Upper Field as a continuous loop.
January 11 2026	Fair	Skate	Benjamin
🔗	Most of the loop is fine/passable, but the north end of the loop is really rough. There's a section that's ssentially dirt with some ice over top. I did one loop and decided to head back home.
January 11 2026	Fair	Skate and Classic	Chip
🔗	Groomed skating and classic.
January 10 2026	Fair	Skate and Classic	Chip
🔗	Chopped up everything and set some classic tracks with the Piston Bully and then used the Gator to smooth out the trail. On the north end there is a section of bare ground and in a couple of other spots we have some icy patches. From what I can see in the dark, everything looked pretty skiable although the classic tracks looked rough. Hopefully we get some snow today.
January 10 2026	Fair	Skate and Classic	Chip
🔗	Groomed for skating and some classic tracks. Started with the Piston Bully chopping everything up and then tried to smooth out the humps with the Gator. On the north end, there is a short area that is all dirt, and a few other icy areas. From what I could see (hard to tell in the dark), the skate trail looks pretty good but I have my doubts on the classic tracks.
January 7 2026	No Go	Skate and Classic	Brian Parks
🔗	I generally only comment on current conditions following a ski at the venue I'm reporting on. But in this case, I will chime in on the question previous to my response here. For CXC, it is pretty safe to say that if it is skiable snow on a given day, then Chip or Yuriy will groom it early that morning. If they have not groomed it (and thus not informed us of so), it is also safe to say that the snow is not groomable and therefore really not skiable. To ski there under the current conditions would do more damage to you (your pride and your skis) and the trail. I can't say for certain whether CXC is closed for skiing currently. But it is a good bet that it is and it is fair advice to caution you on venturing there to learn so first hand. Hopefully, it will cool down heading into this weekend and we may see accumulation on Saturday. So, cross your fingers and do the snow dance. Hiea! Heia!
January 7 2026	No Go	Skate and Classic	Craig
🔗	No reports since 1/5 - should one assume CXC is closed or can one still slide around from one slush pile to the next?
January 5 2026	Good	Skate	Dan D
🔗	Skate deck still holding up mostly, with a solid base except for an area on the west side of the north loop-getting really thin and soft there with stones poking thru. A small amount of snow relocated there would help immensely Hopefully the overnight showers forecast overnight won't materialize.
January 5 2026	Good	Skate	Chip
🔗	Groomed for skating.
January 4 2026	Good	Skate	Brian Parks
🔗	Deck is holding up well. Tracks also look stable but a bit dirty in places. The trail will take a hit this week. But if it doesn’t rain, it should survive. Break out your best snow dance moves folks.
January 4 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Chip
🔗	Groomed skating and some classic.
January 3 2026	Good	Skate	Chip
🔗	Groomed for skating. I'll set some new classic tracks tomorrow
January 2 2026	Good	Skate	Brian Parks
🔗	Conditions quite a bit better than two days ago. North end of the Upper Field is much cleaner on the deck. Tracks look good throughout the loop except for that north section of the Upper Field. Best to get out of them there for that short bit. Weekend should be quite nice before the dreaded warm returns. New snow and cold would be most welcomed.
January 2 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Chip
🔗	Groomed skating and new classic tracks.
January 1 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Chip
🔗	Groomed for skating and attempted new classic tracks.
December 31 2025	Fair	Skate	Brian Parks
🔗	Warmer than expected. Snow soft in places. Quite dirty at the north end of the Upper Field. Pick your line. Rocks fewer, but getting muddy. B or Rock skis today.
December 31 2025	Good	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	Groomed for skating and classic on a snnowmaking loop. Trails on the golf course are closed.
December 30 2025	Good	Skate and Classic	Yuriy
🔗	Groomed for skating and classic.

Elver Park (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 18 2026	Fair	Skate	MadNorSki Volunteers
🔗	Groomed for skate only. Just enough snow for coverage but there is grass showing in open areas.
January 17 2026	Fair	Classic	Eric
🔗	Not groomed, plenty of tracks. Coverage is pretty good, but heard a little singing from the scales when I was under the pine trees. Glad I used rock skis.
January 5 2026	Fair	Classic	John
🔗	There is 1” snow on trails.mostly west. I hiked today. Skiable if rain doesn't come tonight. Waxless A skater and classic skier had been out

Kegonsa SP (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 17 2026	Good	Classic	Dave Ende
🔗	Dry fluffy snow, but not a good base. Ungroomed. However, paradise for those who want to break their own trail!

McCarthy Park (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 19 2026	Fair	Skate	McCarthy Park Volunteer Staff
🔗	Groomed the trails today, there are no classic tracks, too thin. Some nice spots to ski, some bad spots as well. You should be able to enjoy some skiing, bring your B or Rock ski's.
January 18 2026	Poor	Skate	Andrew Leaf
🔗	Trails were rolled Sunday morning. Many areas had good coverage but in many other spots the snow was thin and grass and other vegetation was showing through. Because of this, we decided not to groom today. The trails are still probably skate-able with rock skis if you want to get out.
January 2 2026	Poor	Classic	Roger A Goppelt
🔗	Just enough snow for classic skiing. Good glide in the back trails and the bif field.Avoid road.Nice sleddibg families made good tracks for classical skiing.Not enough snow for a skate deck Definitly a B ski day lots of grass and some gravel.Just enough to ski before it warms up this week.

Odana Golf Course (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 18 2026	Good	Skate	Brian Parks
🔗	Full coverage, but thin in spots with grass poking through. Couple more inches and we'll be much better off. It is groomed for skating, not for classic. But many classic skiers have set their own track. Very soft and slow snow today. Hard work.
January 17 2026	Good	Classic	Tom S.
🔗	Better today, thanks to several inches of new powder. Trails are still ungroomed, but classic skiers have made tracks. A few thin spots; otherwise, good cover.
January 17 2026	Fair	Classic	Connie D.
🔗	Fair for skier-made tracks. Well-covered, but uneven and soft in spots. Still great to be out!
January 16 2026	Poor	Classic	Arya Nielsen, PhD
🔗	Great to be out skiing but snow is shallow and the grass acts like a brake. Slow going. Need more snow.
January 3 2026	Fair	Skate	Tom Jeanne
🔗	Skated a few laps this evening. About half the system has fair coverage, and the rest ranges from OK to extremely thin. Grass stubble showing through in many places. Still worth getting out but don't use your best skis.
January 2 2026	Good	Classic	John
🔗	1 1/2 hrs of fun with no issues. Swix40 kickwax Good coverage. Thinning under trees of course Much better than you’d guess!!

University Ridge Golf Course (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 17 2026	No Go	Skate and Classic	University Ridge Staff
🔗	We will not be opening the cross country ski trails this weekend. We are hopeful that we can up all trails on Tuesday, January 20th if we get enough snow coverage. We'll post on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning to confirm. Thanks for your patience.
January 2 2026	No Go	Skate and Classic	University Ridge Staff
🔗	Groomer attempted this morning, but still not enough snow. All trails closed until next significant snowfall.

East of Madison

Greenbush Ski Trails (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 13 2026	Good	Skate	Dan D
🔗	Skied Greenbush very early this morning before it warmed up- and before the notice came out. Did one purple lap and a brown. Purple had solid base with some loose snow on top. very skiable until you reach the 1st set of pines -thin base and lots of pine cones-very similar conditions on the 2nd and 3rd pine area- in between was good skating. After the big downhill the purple trail was good except for a few areas exposed to the sun-still good coverage on the last part of the trail. The brown loop was the best-full coverage and even still had tracks. A couple inches of new snow could improve the trails significantly. In the future ,recommend trail closure notices the night before.

Lapham Peak - Delafield (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 11 2026	Excellent	Skate	Dan D
🔗	Was amazed driving in early from the Madison area-no snow to be found until a few miles from Lapham where probably at least 2" or more of fresh real snow still on the ground. Piston bully was just finishing up grooming in the new snow-solid deck with perfectly groomed trail except for a couple of speed bumps made from newly man made snow. Worthwhile drive- thanks groomers for the great job you do.
January 3 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Darren Blankenship
🔗	Man-made snow loop is now totally complete and was freshly groomed and tracked upon arrival early this morning. Joanie and I skated and strided the trails for a couple of hours. Very good conditions overall. Thanks to the snowmaking and grooming teams for making this happen. New shelter is a very nice addition to the trail system. Well worth the hour drive from Fitchburg.

Just North of Madison

9-Mile - Wausau (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 17 2026	Excellent	Skate	Dan D
🔗	Took a drive up to nine mile -well worth the trip. Did the 20km loop. Solid base that was groomed yesterday with about a half inch of new snow. making downhills easily manageable. tracks looked good as well. Surprised that skiing the whole 20km-I did not run into another skier.

Iola Winter Sports Park (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
December 31 2025	Excellent	Skate	Dan D
🔗	Arrived early to 1" of new snow-groomer was out grooming the trails. Skied blue green and purple loops-all freshly groomed-the black still closed due to downed trees. In all full coverage-a tad slow due to fresh snow . Tracks looked very good and intact s well. a great skiing venue-definitely worth the trip

Mirror Lake SP - Baraboo (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 17 2026	Fair	Classic	Aaron
🔗	There is enough snow as of Jan 17th, but the trails haven't yet been groomed. I don't know when this is scheduled or if anything will be done Saturday. Skiers were making their own tracks on Fern Dell which kind of worked, but kind of didn't. Hopefully the park grooms tomorrow.
January 6 2026	Good	Skate	Dan D
🔗	Surprised on conditions early this morning-survived the rain showers. Skied Ferndell, parts of Turtleville, Hastings and Pioneer. All with solid base with just enough top snow to get a good edge, slight ice topping early morning to make in fairly fast. Ferndell and Hastings had best coverage except for some leaf debris-thin areas under the pines with roots and bare spots sticking thru. avoided the hills on Turtleville and pioneer due to bare spots. Really started to soften up mid morning. hopefully will survive until the snow forecast Saturday. tracks varied to good to washed out.
January 3 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Brock
🔗	Conditions were good for their torchlight ski Saturday night. Solid skate deck with leaves/detritus only under densest trees where snow is also thinnest. Only skier set tracks, most of which were groomed out before the torchlight ski after dark for safety reasons. They do a nice job with this event, so if snow in February, the second one could be great.
January 2 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Aaron
🔗	Hastings was groomed today and is in good condition (skate only no tracks). A bit of leaf/litter here and there but not bad. I understand Fern Dell and Turtleville were also groomed, and supposedly the rest of the trails should be done by tonight. Park should be in good shape for skiing on Saturday.
January 1 2026	Fair	Skate and Classic	Aaron
🔗	There is enough snow in Mirror Lake for skiing but trails aren't yet groomed. I talked to the park office and there is a chance they groom Fern Dell and Hastings this afternoon. They said if they do, they'll post an update on Travel Wisconsin. Once groomed the trails should be in good condition.

Standing Rocks (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 4 2026	Good	Skate and Classic	Darren Blankenship
🔗	Thanks to Josh Nemec's report on SkinnySki that the trails were groomed early this morning, Joanie and I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to make the 1 hour and 45 minute drive here from Ftichburg. The trails had just enough snow to be in very good condition overall, with solid skate decks and tracks. We strided all the trails and then did a short cool down on skate skis to finish the day. Thanks again Josh for the early morning grooming report!
January 3 2026	Excellent	Skate and Classic	Ben Neff
🔗	1" of fresh snow fell Saturday morning, Jan 3, on top of set tracks, and a good skate deck base of corduroy. Overall terrific skiing conditions for both skate and classic. Fresh snow did not slow things enough to diminish the experience as cold temps kept things fast. Fat biking looked great, too.

Other Locations

Other (Back to Top)

Date	Condition	Style	By
January 3 2026	Excellent	Skate and Classic	daniel dudley
🔗	Tower Ridge Eau Claire Skate skied early morning 10 km loops on recently groomed trails- solid base with enough fresh snow for good edging. 10f calm winds Took granddaughter out at noon to do some classic skiing- tracks were in very good shape with no icing-granddaughter- only her second time out kept repeating. this is a lot of work but lots of fun-did 6km with her. she had fish scales I used skins both worked really well.