Trail Conditions
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MadNorSki Trail Reports:
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. | ||
Blue Mound SP (Back to Top)
| Date | Condition | Style | By |
| January 21 2026 | Good | Classic | DarylH |
| 🔗 | Much improved since Sunday. Still a thin base, but mostly good coverage, the small thin-bare spots are easily available. I'd rate mostly good (maybe on a bit of a curve, given the current conditions!). If you're comfortable with the hills the best trail is beyond the campground and through the hills. Though I think I came through unscathed, given no track and soft, thin tread I'd recommend a wider "B" ski for stability and peace of mind. | ||
| January 21 2026 | Fair | Classic | Bue Mound SP Staff |
| 🔗 | Trails were groomed on Jan. 21st and in fair condition. The deck is about 2", but you can expect many thin areas as well. No track was set due to the lack of depth. Blue Mound State Park will have its Candlelight Ski & Hike on Feb. 7th from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. A 1-mile candlelight ski loop and a 1-mile candlelight hike loop will be available. Please bring snow.... | ||
| 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. | ||
Cherokee Marsh (Back to Top)
| Date | Condition | Style | By |
| January 21 2026 | Good | Classic | Denise |
| 🔗 | I was pleasantly surprised to find grooming in progress shortly after lunch today. They have packed the snow down, no tracks set. Most of the debris is covered now, what is left is easy to step around. | ||
| 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 22 2026 | Good | Skate | Cowboybob |
| 🔗 | Skied the golf course trails and CXC loop at 12:30 pm. Golf course trails are good mostly but very wind blown, several sections are thin, lots of grass, barely navigable, rock skis recommended. The CXC loop is in great shape, full coverage wide and very firm skate deck | ||
| January 22 2026 | Good | Skate and Classic | Yuriy |
| 🔗 | The snowmaking loop was groomed for skating and classic using a pull-behind groomer. Excellent conditions. Trails on the golf course were groomed for skating with the roller. There are some drifting areas, which is a good thing for now, given our thin snow coverage. However, there are also a few spots where the wind has blown snow off the trail; these areas are still skiable where there is grass. Fair conditions. There are a few locations where the trail crosses golf cart paths and the pavement is exposed, or snow coverage is very thin. Please ski with caution through those areas. | ||
| January 21 2026 | Excellent | Skate | Cowboybob |
| 🔗 | At 11 am the CXC skate deck was excellent. Firm base, wide and not bare spots. The golf course trails were only fair: loose and soft base. The colder temps coming will help firm up the golf course trails. | ||
| January 21 2026 | Good | Skate | Yuriy |
| 🔗 | The snowmaking loop and trails on the golf course were groomed using a snowmobile and a roller to pack down the new snow. Conditions should be good for skating. Classic tracks on the snowmaking loop remain in good condition from yesterday, with a light layer of fresh snow in them. Trails on the golf course have thin snow coverage, so please ski with caution. Use your rock skis or B skis. We may return this afternoon to pack the trails on the golf course again. | ||
| January 20 2026 | Excellent | Skate and Classic | Yuriy |
| 🔗 | The full snowmaking loop was groomed for skating this morning. Classic tracks remain in good condition. We finished pushing snow in the open area and will keep two stockpiles from last weekend of snowmaking (one on the east side and one on the west side of the field) in case we need to move snow to thin areas if Mother Nature challenges us again with warm weather or rain. Trails on the golf course remain closed. We will roll them this evening before the snow arrives and roll them again early Wednesday morning after the snow stops. We may keep them closed on Wednesday to allow the new snow to set up so we can begin grooming with heavier equipment without the trail breaking down from skiing or grooming. The forecast calls for temperatures to remain below freezing, so skiing should be great for the next week or so. | ||
| 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 | ||
Elver Park (Back to Top)
| Date | Condition | Style | By |
| January 22 2026 | Fair | Skate | Madnorski grooming team |
| 🔗 | We groomed all trails East & West, skate only, to thin for tracks. Blowing & drifting covers our grooming quickly in the open areas. | ||
| January 22 2026 | Good | Skate | TD |
| 🔗 | Really nice skating conditions, improved since yesterday's soft conditions. Grooming in progress again this morning. Nice work groomers! | ||
| January 21 2026 | Fair | Skate | Andrea |
| 🔗 | Great conditions for the little soft snow we have. Happy to be on the trails. | ||
| January 20 2026 | Good | Skate | daniel dudley |
| 🔗 | Nice to ski elver again- full coverage with parts of grass poking thru on open areas-in the northwest woods conditions were very good albeit very slow due to cold temps 3F when I started. Open area around ball diamond was even skiable-didnt make it to the southeast trails. After our forecast 2-4" snow-Elver should be back to "full strength" | ||
| 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 23 2026 | Good | Skate | Roger A Goppelt |
| 🔗 | Skied yestwrday right after it was groomed.Skate dwck good coverage but soft.classic tracks were better.DnR niw charges XC sking at Keginsa.Year pass is 25 dollars for XC and bike teails.Ranger station hours are only Thur and Friday. | ||
| 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 23 2026 | Fair | Skate | McCarthy Park Volunteer groomer |
| 🔗 | Groomed out the drifts today and smoothed out some areas with good snow, no go on the hills. you will find skiable areas, use cautions and Rock skis. | ||
| January 21 2026 | Fair | Classic | Roger A Goppelt |
| 🔗 | En I ugh sn I w for classic and skating. I skied the outside loop but avoided diwnhills because if not enough giod snow. Still a great day and warm wxceot for wind.One more good day of warm weather.Get out and ski | ||
| January 21 2026 | Fair | Skate | Sarah Guillot |
| 🔗 | Recommend B skis, lots of spots with grass or leaf litter poking through the snow and some dirty spots, especially on the hills, but no real care patches and it had been groomed which I wasn't sure it would be so that was nice! The front loop had the best coverage except for right where you enter by the parking lot. | ||
| January 20 2026 | Poor | Skate | Roger A Goppelt |
| 🔗 | Hills no go toi much dirt.Outer loop had enough snow but often grass.Slow going.I saw three classic skrs they were okay.There is snow on the way so even a inch or two would be good skiing.Seceral inches would be needed for the hilly sections.Tommorow could nb e a goid skiday | ||
| 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. | ||
Odana Golf Course (Back to Top)
| Date | Condition | Style | By |
| January 22 2026 | Fair | Classic | YellowJacket |
| 🔗 | Did 2 laps mid afternoon. Here and there (~10%) remnants of nice, machine-set tracks, but the rest covered by blowing snow. So trackless shuffling next to the skate deck most of the course, good for balance, double poling and fresh air. | ||
| January 22 2026 | Good | Skate | Jeremy Todd |
| 🔗 | Good conditions and coverage, but I could hear poles making contact on the golf cart path in numerous spots, sounding like I was roller skiing. Ski made contact with the cart path on the incline back to club house, would recommend rock skis. | ||
| January 21 2026 | Good | Skate | Jonathan Patz |
| 🔗 | Skated this morning. Pretty good coverage (just minimal grassy spots) and by 2nd time groomer passed over, skate deck was firming up, though still on the soft side. If you can ski a flat ski, you'll be fine 🙂 | ||
| January 20 2026 | Poor | Classic | 2KSkier |
| 🔗 | No sign of grooming for either skate or classic. Shallow man-made tracks occasionally made me feel as though I were skiing. High winds have removed much of the snow, leaving grass to show in places. Someone with connections may wish to come take photos to demonstrate to the City the need to plant more trees, or to at least create a dedicated ski loop at Odana protected by conifers, which could double as a running/hiking loop in summer. | ||
| 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. | ||
University Ridge Golf Course (Back to Top)
| Date | Condition | Style | By |
| January 23 2026 | No Go | Skate and Classic | University Ridge Staff |
| 🔗 | Due to extreme low temperatures and thin snow cover, the University Ridge trails will be closed through Sunday. We will attempt to groom on Sunday and have a new report on Monday morning. | ||
| January 22 2026 | Fair | Skate and Classic | University Ridge Staff |
| 🔗 | We are going to hold off grooming until Sunday. The trails are open today until 4pm but there may be some drifting in spots. We’ll post again Sunday after grooming. | ||
| January 21 2026 | Fair | Skate and Classic | University Ridge Staff |
| 🔗 | Should have everything groomed by 10-10:30am. Conditions are soft. We’ll attempt to lay classic tracks on all trails, but it is likely that grass will be popping through in spots. Open until 4pm today. | ||
| January 20 2026 | Fair | Skate | University Ridge Staff |
| 🔗 | We were able to groom all trails for skate skiing but it was too thin for Classic tracks. Open 11am-4pm today. It's supposed to snow tonight and that might give us enough to put tracks down. We'll be out in the morning and post about conditions once we know more. | ||
| January 20 2026 | Fair | Skate | University Ridge Staff |
| 🔗 | We are out grooming this morning. Hoping to have all trails ready to go by noon. Not sure if we have enough to put tracks down. We'll report when we are finished. | ||
| 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. | ||
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. | ||
Nordic Trails - LaGrange (Back to Top)
| Date | Condition | Style | By |
| January 22 2026 | Good | Skate | daniel dudley |
| 🔗 | Skied the blue loop early morning 6F and 1" of new snow on groomed base. Full coverage on the trail with a few thin spots-trail was very uneven as snow consistency is very dry and light. Very slow due to temp and new snow Part of blue was closed do to icing as posted but sign up to follow a bypass alternate blue. Nice to ski Nordic again-one of my favorites. | ||
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. | ||
Mirror Lake SP - Baraboo (Back to Top)
| Date | Condition | Style | By |
| January 23 2026 | Fair | Skate | Aaron |
| 🔗 | The park recently groomed most of the trails. I did Turtleville on the 22nd. There are no tracks set, but there is a nice corduroy base for skating. Unfortunately it is not thick and part of the trail are in poor condition with exposed leaf litter and even dirt in a few areas creating by the grooming machine. The worst spots were the steep hill and the sections by the logging (so stupid that state parks are now open to logging). I still had a good time but the rough spots were disappointing. I understand the other trails should be in slightly better condition. We really need more snow. | ||
| 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. | ||
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| 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. | ||
Other Sources:
SkinnySki.com has complete and up-to-date collection of trails for a wider region. We recommend reviewing their website – in particular the South West WI map and South East WI map.
Blue Mounds State Park Trailhead Kiosk – Weather Underground Current Conditions & History
Close to home, check-out the City of Madison Cross Country Ski page. Check grooming status and buy your annual pass online for Door Creek, Elver and Odana Hills.
Nordic Pulse has detailed grooming reports for some locations including the CXC Outdoor Center.
The Skiwise App includes some grooming and trail reports for ski trails in Wisconsin.