Mother Nature has done her part, covering the Northland in a thick coat of white; now it’s up to you to take advantage of the relatively warm weather, groomed trails, and great cross-country skiing in Cook County.
Sugarbush Trails: Total snowfall for the season is 32”.
Groomers have been out rolling and packing the trails after the recent 6” snowfall. Onion River Road has been recently groomed for skate and classic skiing. Grooming will continue on the remainder of the trails.
The Minnesota Ski Pass is required to be able to ski on the Sugarbush Trails. This is available at any Holiday Station store or any other place that sells hunting and fishing licenses.
“The Oberg warming cabin is open for the season. The cabin used to be a U.S. Forest Service cabin and was moved to its present location in 2012. There is a wood stove, table, and guest book inside of the cabin. Enjoy!”
Details on groomed sections are at http//sugarbrushtrail.org/ski-trails.php.
Pincushion Ski Trails: With a base of 6 inches and new snow, all of the trails are now open for skiing.
The skate decks are in reasonable shape; classic tracks have not been reset since our last snowfall.
The stadium, West Overlook, Upper and Lower Snowmen and Lynn’s Loop were combed on Dec. 4. Skating on those trails is good. A bit more snow is needed to work the classic tracks into great shape, but classic skiing is OK. There are some icy spots so exercise care.
Banadad Trail: The groomer’s report said 7 kilometers of trail has been single tracked and skiing is “very good to excellent.”
The Banadad Trail System is a public ski trail managed by the Banadad Ski Trail Association, in agreement with the Gunflint Ranger District — USFS and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Minnesota Ski Pass is required to ski the trail.
Free public parking is provided at the Eastern and Western Trail Heads. The System consists of the 27-kilometer Banadad trail, a single tracked intimate trail through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), and another 14 kilometers of trails taking off from the Banadad’s eastern end.
For more information go to www.banadad.org/newsletter
Norpine Trails: Excellent packed trail conditions throughout the system. Trails are all groomed and packed and in good to excellent condition. Skiing is fairly fast. No cautions, so enjoy!
Central Gunflint Trail System: We’ve had lots of new snowfall lately, 7.5 inches over the last week. Frequent grooming has continued to fine-tune each trail. All ski trails are open and are in excellent shape.
For the most up-to-date grooming information, as well as specific trail conditions, please contact Golden Eagle Lodge (1-800-346-2203) or Bearskin Lodge (1-800-338-4170). Central Gunflint Ski Pass required.
Upper Gunflint Trail System: All the Upper Gunflint ski trails are groomed with gyro groomers and track setters. Most of the trails are double tracked for skier enjoyment. A few trails are single tracked; they are narrower and more remote but offer the skier a sense of being one with his or her environment. Resort staff are out on the trails every few days making sure everything is kept in the best shape.
There are 40 miles of trails on the upper Gunflint ski trail system, so there are plenty of places to explore.
Skiers must obtain an Upper Gunflint Trail Ski pass for usage. Funds raised from these passes pay for land lease fees, and grooming expenses.
Passes can be purchased at Gunflint Lodge (218-888-2294), Gunflint Pines Resort (218-388-4454), and Heston’s Lodge (218-388- 2243).
All of these resorts are located on the South Gunflint Lake Road. Daily, weekend, week, and seasonal passes are available.
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