Doug Cornell says Forbush Corner has been fantastic for skiing!
Alex Vanais wins WinterStart at Lakes of the North
12/21/2013 - By Mike Muha
Breaking news: Alex Vanais wins the WinterStart at Lakes of the North. Milan Baic was second and Dan Ynakus third.
Brumbaugh Cup scoring begins Saturday!
12/20/2013 - By Ernie Brumbaugh
The 2014 Michigan Cup season will begin this Saturday at the Lakes of the North Winterstart and Sunday at the Wintersonnewende. In order to make sure this happen, Team Captions should appoint one person from each team to assist in the scoring.
Wax Recommendations for this weekend's races
12/19/2013 - By Mike Muha
Wax Recommendations for this weekend's races: Winterstart and Wintersonnenwende
The plan to ski across Michigan...
12/19/2013 - By Dell Todd
Last winter Julian Kuz & I hatched a plan to ski across Michigan self-supported via cache resupply on a horse trail. Here is our story, enjoy reading.
US Nationals return to Houghton in 2015 and 2016
12/18/2013 - By Michigan Tech
The U.S. National Cross-Country Skiing Championships are returning to Houghton in 2015 and 2016. The Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center’s bid was approved based on its challenging trail system, according to a published report.
North American VASA welcomes Fatbikes to it's 2014 Festival of Races
12/16/2013 - By Pete LaPlaca
The King VASA Fatbike Race will be held on Saturday Feb. 8th at 2:00pm and will make one loop on the VASA Pathway for approximately 27 kilometers of beautifully groomed trails.
Winterstart and WinterSonnenwende Michigan Cup races this weekend
12/16/2013 - By Curt Peterson
The Gaylord and Mancelona area, right in the heart of the early season snow belt, will be the site of our opening ski races of the season on REAL snow. Yes there is snow, over a foot now, and the weather predictions are wonderful.
Video: Marit Bjorgen vs. Kikkan Randall - Sprint Davos
12/15/2013 - By Mike Muha
It does NOT get more exciting than this! Kikkan is blocked in several corners, nearly crashes halfway through the race, gets a good lead, then fights to the death at the finish!
Randall takes second in photo finish in Davos sprint
12/15/2013 - By USSA
World Cup sprint champion Kikkan Randall (left) finished second in the cross country skate sprint after a fierce head-to-head battle with Norway’s Marit Bjoergen (right) in the last stretch, which ended in a photo finish.
Video: Paull, Morgan, Tripp XC skiing on Buck's Run
12/15/2013 - By Mike Muha
Quick video of Denny Paull (Strait Striders) - down from Cheybogan for the weekend, Jon Morgan (Cross Country Ski Shop), and Lewis Tripp (Team NordicSkiRacer) skating up the new hill on Buck's Run.
Kikkan Randal takes 18th in 15K Davos Freestyle
12/14/2013 - By USSA
In one of her best races in the high-altitude venue, World Cup sprint champion Kikkan Randall skied into 18th place in the FIS World Cup 15k freestyle race Saturday, securing the top spot for the USA.
Headquarters wins Vote4theBest Award
12/14/2013 - By Mike Muha
The Cross Country Ski Headquarters was voted this year's winner for best Sports & Recreation Sporting Goods shop from Click on Detroit's Vote4theBest contest!
UPCOMING
SAT, DEC 20, 2025
Free Beginner Ski Lesson
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
SUN, DEC 21, 2025
XC Ski HQ Ski: George Frye Live
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
THU, DEC 25, 2025
SUN, DEC 28, 2025
XC Ski HQ Ski: JoeFrye Live
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
THU, JAN 1, 2026
More events...
LATEST TRAIL CONDITIONS
TUE, DEC 16
Vasa Trail: Fairly fast conditions on a firm deck this morning. Rex blue was the glide wax. Completed the 25k and 5k loop. Some dirt showing from the grooming effort. Would recommend B skis. Otherwise a good course and fun ski.
Independance Oaks: Start@ 10:00 AM. Trail hardpack with 1/2" of powder on top. No tracks. Swix Blue worked well. Snow softened up a bit after noon. Overall, a good ski with full coverage and minimal leaves. Get it while you can.
Crystal Mountain: Thanks to a significant accumulation of natural snow, we are currently sitting on a deep, solid base. Our grooming crew has been out in full force, and we are happy to report that the entire 25 km network is 100% groomed and in peak condition.
Classic tracks have been set and are firm, and coverage is excellent. We invite everyone to come out and enjoy these great conditions while they last.
Nubs Nob: All trails power-tilled flat with a classic track and wide skate deck. Conditions are very good.
Boyne Highlands: Unfortunately, The Highlands will have limited XC skiing available this season. There will be a trail on the golf course. Rentals will be available through the downhill center. The XC shop will not open.
Boyne Mountain: Lower trails are groomed and good to go! Upper trails need raspberries trimmed, which will happen soon. The shop and trails will open on Friday, December 19 for the season, from 9 to 5 daily.
Huron Meadows Metropark: I started skiing about 12:30, classic. Skate lanes were hard and fast - pick out your most stable skis of you plan to skate anywhere but Buck's Run.
There are classic tracks beside all skate trails. They vary from rock hard nice tracks (Cedar Trace / contractor's trail) to a mix of nice track/skied -in snow-blow track (golf course trails) to deep perfect tracks (Buck's Run). Connector trails did have track: the trail to Cedar Trace had no track, and the trail directly adjacent to Buck's Run had no track. No track was set where the snow depth wasn't there.
Overall, I had a good classic ski! It's was already 28 when I got to the park, but Toko Yellow kick wax worked pretty well on the mix of snow conditions.
Huron Meadows Metropark: I skied from 10-11:30 today. A very icy wind blown skate deck but still fun. Classic tracks were mostly intact on cedar trace and coyote run, but wind had filled them in on hawks hills. I had a very nice ski.
Hiawatha Highlands: Hey everybody....happy Tuesday :)
The groomer was out last night -- the entire Pinder system and the 2k Lighted were Piston Bully groomed both classic and skate.
We hope everybody has a fantastic day!!
Hanson Hills: Lodge and Trails Open 9am.
Fresh corduroy is laid down on Blue, Brown, Yellow, and M-93 Hills this morning.
Wilderness has fresh classic tracks set yesterday—prime conditions to get out and ski!
MON, DEC 15
Kensington Metropark: Excellent classic conditions on back loops. Good track set, I would not recommend skating…deck is hard and a little narrow. The dusting of snow made great kick with swix blue extra, what else? Golf course looked good for skating.
Crystal Mountain: We were blessed with about 10 inches of snow over the weekend which is a good thing except now the skating lanes are soft again. I got everything groomed and trackset but it was so windy a lot of spots got drifted over. This new snow will help us get through the predicted warm up and rain on Thursday. I will regroom everything again tomorrow. Did I mention that we widened all the hills? They should be better for the skaters and herringboning. We also have some nice retail items in the tent-sweaters, hats, gloves etc. Come check it out.
Dunes Golf Club: Fantastic classic conditions continue. It is a great that there is plowed at the entrance!
To really get out of the gusty winds the back half that is not visable from the road is fairly protected the way that the fairways situated.
Wilderness skiing on a mowed base.
still no charge or park pass
4mi east of empire on m-72 (the original m-22 bypass)
Sleeping Bear Dunes: Finally the friends group started posting trail/grooming on their website only, sbht winter page is where you can find semi current trail conditions.
Grooming is on Fridays only on the heritage trail as per friends group which is better knowing when to expect this activity. They also groom Palmer woods mid week. If you look Palmer woods shows up with Palmer woods ski trail report.
Both areas have had decent snows with Palmer woods winning on depth. For years I have tried the group post o NCR but no luck.
That said , Friday's groom lasted through today, monday. Strider tracks were nice while the narrow skate deck was doable but has the same challenges.
Too bad the weather forecast has not been positive and we'll see what develops of course. This is the best for early December ever and hopefully nature will repair this.
Sign up for e-mails from the friends site
Michaywe: Received a dusting of snow overnight. Groomed skate lanes and set track on the lake loop, maple ridge, herringbone, the river trail, and the front 9 loop. Conditions continue to remain good.
Cross Country Ski Headquarters: We received 1-2 of inches of snow last night. All trails have firm, deep classic tracks and snow-combed skate lanes. Prime conditions prevail! The Stone Turtle Cafe is open for lunch, snacks, and beverages.
Hiawatha Highlands: Good Monday Morning!
FYI: We've had machinery failure out on the Pinder 4K, so be careful as the groomers are out there retrieving the machine. They hope to be able to take the Piston Bully out afterwards, watch for further updates.
Have a great day :)
Hanson Hills: A light dusting of snow overnight was just what the trails needed. Conditions are dialed in, so we’re giving them the respect they deserve and keeping the big machine off for now.
Groomer Dan is out exploring and breaking trail on Wilderness, with hopes of setting fresh tracks.
Lodge & Trails Open at 9am
Smooth skiing, great coverage, and that quiet-up-north magic. Get outside and enjoy it while it’s this good
Forbush Corner: Mid winter conditions continue today at the Corner. No new grooming planned today as trails are in really good shape from efforts over the weekend. Open 9 to 5.
More trail reports...
