Esther MacKinlay

Feb 23rd. The trails held up well post warm weather yesterday. However, they are indeed very icy, and are covered in a lot of pine needle and leaf debris. It was still a lovely fast ski, with plenty of icy snow cover.

Skied to Pumpkin Creek from Birch and skied two loop portions of the Blue Moon before returning to Birch. Only a few bare spots that were easy to avoid. Otherwise we enjoyed a lovely classic ski through these trails. Thanks.

Sunday Feb 21. Trails were fabulous. We classic skied but skate tracks looked great too. Only a few bare spots that were easy to avoid on some uphills. The trail to Pumpkin creek is a pure joy to ski. Great grooming and the new washrooms are impressive. Thanks

We skied the perimeter of the orange, black, green and blue trails this morning using our skin skis. The black portion was definitely the most challenging trail technically that I have skied, at least in Manitoba. Luckily there was lots of soft snow for some padding on the frequent crashes. We felt as though the trail had been developed by Dr…[Read more]

Had a lovely ski on the Agassiz forest trails. It’s our first time skiing and we really enjoyed the fairly firm tracks through the forest. The relatively flat terrain was a nice relaxing way to ski away the mild afternoon, through snow covered trees. The trails have plenty of snow, and the varied terrain and pits provided lots of i…[Read more]

We basically skied the perimeter of the trails, green, yellow, blue and black. We found the tracks were firm and fast and we floated through the trails on our skin skis. There were a couple of thin spots on some of the steeper hills, but overall we found the conditions were excellent. We saw no evidence of snow machine or walker damage.…[Read more]

Classic skied the Compound and Lake Katherine trails this morning. Freshly tracked trails through snow covered trees. Can’t think of a better way to spend a morning. There is lots of evidence of wildlife in the area with interesting “dining” spots and lots of tracks.
There are few thin spots on the trails but it’s very easy to step out of…[Read more]

We classic skied the Moose Lake trail this afternoon. It was a beautiful ski through the hoar frost covered forest. There was plenty of snow. The tracks have seen quite a bit of skiers, and could benefit from another grooming, but nevertheless, it was still a wonderful ski. Thanks to the Moose Lake ski club for grooming this beautiful trail.

Classic and skate skied the Deep Lake road this morning. The double classic tracks were pristine. Firm, fast, and zero debris. Lots of snow cover. Likely the best classic ski conditions we have seen this winter.
The skate skiing was very good as well, although there was sometimes a small ridge running down the middle of the skate path.…[Read more]

Beach Ridges seemed to have better snow coverage than Broadleaf. Nice firm classic track with much less woody debris poking through compared to Broadleaf. However, this trail is seeing lots of foot traffic, and many are walking right on the tracks. It was still a very fun ski, and the firm tracks are holding up despite the heavy foot traffic.

Broadleaf could use some more snow. The track is firm and fast but there was a lot of short roots and thick weeds poking through the tracks. We had to step out frequently to avoid these, and some rocks.

The Edwards Creek trail was in good condition this afternoon. Firm tracks, and fast conditions. Encountered many walkers but at least they were staying off the groomed track. The only rough section was the bog crossing near the end of the loop. The tall reed stalks can really stop a ski so be careful on the short crossing.

Skied the Crawford creek trail this afternoon. The classic track is firm but there is a lot of tree debris that has fallen onto the tracks. The fallen leaves made it easier to grip going uphill, and actually did not cause us any problems descending. What a fast and fun descent we had.

Skied the Hilton trail this morning. It is in really good condition. Minimal debris on the firm classic track. Just had to step out of the track a couple of times to avoid pine cones.

We skied the Grey Owl trail on the afternoon of Jan 6. Despite the RM trail report classifying the trail in poor condition, we were pleasantly surprised. Likely the first km was definitely in poor condition and necessitated stepping out of the tracks a lot to avoid numerous debris. The trail has seen a lot of foot traffic up until the first…[Read more]

Classic skied all of the trails today. All trails were groomed but the east side trails have seen quite a bit of foot traffic. The west side trails were also groomed for skate and the foot traffic was almost non-existent. Lots of snow and no crowds relative to Winnipeg . Worth the trip.

Classic skies the Teulon trails today for first time. What a gem. Great snow coverage, firm classic tracks ( also groomed for skate skiing). and surprisingly, great hills!
Don’t forget the $10 per person trail fee. Totally worth it for excellent groomed trails with no walkers. Thank you!!!