Latest Updates

BHP was again busy today. Wow, it got warmer than was forecast this afternoon. Shoulda gone in the a.m. But Esker trail still had more good-enough-to-keep-going spirit than my kids did. We gave it 5/10. A mix of sticky and slushy with a bit of slippery and occasional grass etc. No ponds or big muck though. Lift a ski here, swing off the trail a…[Read more]

Hi all!
Pumpkin Creek trail system is now closed for the season. The creek now flows thru the valley as all the crossings. Thanks to all skiers, volunteers and groomers. Thanks to the landowners who allow us access in the wintertime! See you all next year! Stay safe everyone!

Trails are skier tracked, for the most park. We parked on 404 and saw a set of tracks heading towards the main trail area. We stuck to the opposite side of the road, and tracked in Yellow (plus some side branches). Saw grouse, deer, purple finches, snow bunting, juncos, wolf tracks, a black-backed woodpecker… As we headed out on our second lap,…[Read more]

From Duck Lake Ski Club on Saturday noon:
We were out testing the new groomer. Not all trails were done and not all trails done are skiable. Duck lake trail was done but is much too wet to use. The corner at the the bottom of Sunshine is also wet but passable, from there go up the Bear to the Chalet, back down the Bear from Chalet thru the bush…[Read more]

Skied Lime Kiln and Esker on skier set tracks today along with a bunch of other people enjoying the day. The tracks are fair with some dirt and slush showing so recommend rock skis. Should be good for the rest of the day and tomorrow morning. It was worth the trip. Just nice to get out 🙂

There are skier-made tracks on all the classic trails, and they will likely still be good tomorrow morning. The Chickadee parking lot was busy.

From Karen Nilsson, President of the Lac du Bonnet Cross Country Ski Club on Saturday morning:
The Skandic was put away for the season, so trails will not be groomed. However, I cannot resist trying to go out and plow my own trail today. Dug my skis out of the closet. Someone figured us skiers needed a covid break! Hope everyone is healthy.

For those wondering, sadly no we aren’t grooming this weekend. Snow machines and grooming equipment have had their year end maintenance and are put up for summer storage. Stay safe everyone. See you next winter!

From Joanne Podolchuk, Park District Manager, Birds Hill Provincial Park on Friday morning:
There has been a few inquiries about grooming with the recent snowfall. The District will not be grooming at this time, equipment is down for post season maintenance. The Park remains open, the ski community can continue to ski, please continue to practise…[Read more]

I skied late in days Sunday 3-6-pm-ish and only hit lime kiln. The ski to the cabin was near perfect for spring skiing conditions. The flooded parking lot and rough conditions At start (lots of pine tree debris, melted track) almost had us turning around but we plowed on and we’re shocked at how wonderful the trail conditions were! No boot p…[Read more]

Sunday morning 7:15 to 10:00, -2° to 0°, sunny.
The Group Use Road has a gazillion footprints. It was icy the entire time I was skiing on it. You just adapt after awhile.
The snow is still contiguous, although one very short section on the SW internal bay will be completely bare (impassible) by the end of today. Other than that, it should still b…[Read more]

Friday morning 7:15 to 9:30, -1° to +1°. Fortunately, clouds didn’t fully clear until 9:30.
Classic: Bluestem and Aspen are still fairly good. Icy-fast, but “soft-icy” at this temperature. There are a few places where the track has melted away, but it was a minor inconvenience. Very enjoyable ski.
Skate: The Group Use Road was very good. Like c…[Read more]

Thursday 11:30-1:00 – it was snowing when I started, and a light layer had settled in the tracks, but it was still a fast ski. Aside from evergreen debris on the return stretch east of Chickadee, Bluestem was in very good condition, and well skied in by the time I finished.

Thanks for the update Harvey. I’d never skied at Wildwood so gave it a try. Some places were too icy, others too soft, others too watery, but some stretches were just right. Classic tracks looked done. Skating will probably be done after tomorrow. Saw two others skate skiers out before dinner too.

Classic trails (Esker, Lime Kiln, Chickadee, Aspen), Wednesday 11:15 to 1:30, -5° to -3° and bright sun.
All classic tracks are still fairly well-defined, but they are widening. I encountered two bare spots of less than 1 metre long and only one track wide — on Lime Kiln and on Aspen. For the first hour, the tracks were ice/icy and of course e…[Read more]

Went skating today at noon. It was very icy, bald spots, river is water now and the xc tracks are looking rough

The skating track was soft but quite lovely to ski. The classic track “looked” somewhat melted. Thanks to all who supported the trails at the Wildwood Community Centre this season with your donations. Cheers.