Duluth cross-country ski trails open

Here’s the much anticipated news release from the city:

Parks and Recreation has announced four of the six cross-country ski trails are groomed and ready for skiing.

Hartley Ski Trail: Groomed tomorrow 3/2/2012. There are three access points to the Hartley trails. The Hartley Nature Center parking lot, Fairmont Street, off Woodland Avenue and the intersection of Hartley and Woodhaven, off Arrowhead Road. There is a double looped 5 km ski trail that is groomed for traditional cross-country skiing at beginning and intermediate levels.

Chester Bowl Ski Trail: Open and groomed. Chester Bowl is located just off Skyline Parkway at 16th Avenue East in the center of Duluth. A 3.1 km loop groomed for traditional cross country skiing.

Lester/Amity Ski Trail: Open and groomed. 18 km of trails groomed for both traditional and skate-style skiing. Every evening a 5.0 km loop is lit from dusk to 11 p.m.. To reach Lester/Amity, drive east on Superior Street to Lester River Road, left on Lester River Road, parking lot is a block up on the left.

Magney-Snively Ski Trail: Groomed tomorrow 3/2/2012. The trail network consists of 15km of trails that are cut through beautiful hardwood forest. Groomed for both traditional and skate-style skiing. Access to the trail by traveling west on Skyline Drive two miles past Spirit Mountain. Parking lot is 1/4 mile beyond the old stone bridge.

Piedmont Ski Trail: Open and groomed. The ski trail is a 5 km double tracked loop that is appropriate for traditional skiers of all levels and include some scenic overlooks of the St. Louis River valley. Take Piedmont Avenue to Hutchinson Road (two blocks up from the six-corner intersection). Turn left on Hutchinson Road and follow to Adirondack Street. Trail starts on the left of Hutchinson Road.

Two other cross country skiing options in Duluth are Spirit Mountain which has a one, three and five kilometer trail (Groomed) and a 11 K trail which will be groomed tomorrow (3/2/2012) and Snowflake which is located off of Rice Lake Road.

The Great MN Ski Pass is required for skiers age 16+ on trails that receive funding through the DNR Grants-in-Aid system. Passes are available online, from DNR licensing locations, and at state parks.

In order to help maintain good skiing conditions for the fun and safety of all skiers, users of the ski trails are requested to follow good trail etiquette.

  • Ski in the indicated direction.
  • Leave pets at home.
  • Hikers and dogs are not allowed on groomed trails.
  • Try to fill any holes and smooth track if you should fall.

Maps for each trail are available on the City of Duluth Parks and Recreation Division web site or the Parks and Recreation office located at 12 E. Fourth St., Monday-Friday 8 to 4 p.m..

For current information on trail conditions, call the City of Duluth Ski Hotline at 218-730-4321 or go to the Parks and Recreation Facebook page.

9 Comments

moosetracks

about 12 years ago

Anyone know if the UMD trails at Bagley are groomed yet?

Conrad

about 12 years ago

Sweet.  I should get out there

brian

about 12 years ago

With Duluth schools closed again today (uggghhhhh) the Chester Bowl Chairlift will be open for downhill skiing and snowboarding from 11 am - 4:30 pm today.
No Thursday evening classes though.

brian

about 12 years ago

According to skinnyski.com, Bagley is groomed.

bluenewt

about 12 years ago

That's awesome. When will they plow my street so I can get to a ski trail?

Herzog

about 12 years ago

Stop me dead in my moosetracks if this sounds a little negative nancy, but, I don't know if you can groom a foot of slush, or if they make a wax blaze orange enough to handle it, special thanks to the DNR for trying though.  I'll give it a shot just for them.  Wave if you see me skiing in my shorts and t-shirt with the nipples cut out for core venting.

cork1

about 12 years ago

I have to nerd out here and assure Herzog (and anyone else who's thinking of skiing this spring) that there are indeed waxes "blaze orange enough to handle it." Klister is where it's at. 

Rex OU or OI (the yellow and orange ones, respectively), work quite well in wet slush and a great place to start. Rode Nera and/or Rossa and/or Silver (not Silver Extra) can be very good in slush, as well. Start's Universal Plus works awesome sometimes. Even Swix's K22n Universal (the non-silver one) can be great in crappy, wet snow. 

If it's warm out, you won't need to torch/iron/heat gun the stuff, and it's easy to remove if you cover it with toilet paper or some powder (cornstarch, baby powder, flour, wax shavings) before scraping it off. 

Grooming is another issue. And may I suggest Brynje mesh clothing, versus cutting holes out of your T-shirts?

Sorry. It is my job and my burden to know these things. /nerd

bluenewt

about 12 years ago

The stuff on the trails is not wet slush. We skied this afternoon and conditions were fantastic.

The Big E

about 12 years ago

If you should happen to see the morons who walked or snowmobiled on an otherwise fab trail at Lester, please smack them in the face and tell them it was from me.

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