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

FIRST DAY OF WINTER

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

CHRISTMAS

SUN, DEC 28, 2025

XC Ski HQ Ski: JoeFrye Live
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)

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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.

SUN, DEC 14

Big M: All the Big M classic XC ski trails were groomed yesterday. There is plenty of gorgeous snow and the tracks are a little soft, but hopefully they will set up nicely in the next couple of days as we get a break from snowfall.

Unlisted trail: Pine Haven (out of Sanford MI)
Skied there on Sunday afternoon and it was perfect. It was groomed nicely for skating and there were no bare spots. Also, it had very limited traffic as the snow dust of the day before was still very visible.

Independance Oaks: Did a classic loop around the lake, then put on the skate skis for a quick rip around again, but also hitting the hills this time. Trails were being freshly rolled with the additional 1/2 inch or so of new show that fell. Great conditions for skating. Fair to good for classic with snow not deep enough to set tracks. Enjoy it before the thaw comes!

Bay City State Park: Skied the Tobico trail at Bay City State Park.
Almost perfect conditions.
A lot of walkers use this trail but are doing a good job of keeping off the ski tracks. Snow is 8-10” deep and crisp. As always oak leaves can be a challenge on 1/4 of the 2.8 mi trail.
Get out there before it deteriorates

Kensington Metropark: Excellent conditions given icy weather

Lost Lakes Pathway: About 15-20 inches of fluffy snow on this state forest pathway, with ~6" that fell earlier Sunday. This is a make-you-own-classic-tracks trail, but all three loops had been skied-in by others Sunday afternoon. We like to use our EVO fish-scale classic skis here, but other use narrower/faster skis.

Milham Park Golf Course: Milham was groomed this early afternoon after receiving approx. two inches of new snow over the past couple of days. Skiers should find fair to good conditions overall. No classic trail had been able to be set at this time still due to thin snow. None the less there were many people out enjoying themselves today. Hopefully we survive the warm up predicted for mid week.

Nubs Nob: Seriously great grooming and firm snow depth on Nubs upper Red & Blue loops . I wished I had LF6 instead of my LF7 as the temps were in the low teens : but it was a delightful ski in the sunshine .

Forbush Corner: 11° and partly sunny skies with a mild wind at 11:30. Given recent frigid temps, I switched to Rossignol XIUM C2 skis with 2 layers of Toko base grip and 2 layers Swix special green. This proved to be a perfect choice for the freshly groomed Pines Loop, West side 8-11 and hilly trails. Very minimal dry fresh snow blown into the track on a couple open spots on Pines. Especially lovely was section B-C where the terrain and scenery reminded me of Hakon Lien at Stokely. Temps rose to 14° by 230 and skies cleared, snow melt falling off the roof of the yurt. A great 9.7 miles (15.6km)

Huron Meadows Metropark: Bucks run groomed for classic and skate in great condition from building and back.
Coyote and Cedar trace groomed this morning for both classic and skate.
i did not ski Hawk hills.

Huron Meadows Metropark: This is the official report from Huron Meadows YESTERDAY:

"Bucks Run is open for classic and skate skiing as of yesterday December 13, 2025. For your safety and the safety of our staff please adhere to Bucks Run hours. Bucks Run is open Monday – Friday 12 pm – 7:45 pm and Saturday – Sunday 9 am – 7:45 pm, weather and conditions permitting. Bucks Run will be closed on Monday, December 15 and Tuesday December 16, 2025 until 2 pm so that our staff can continue to spread additional snow.

The golf course trails, Coyote Run and Hawk Hills, along with Cedar Trace were groomed for skate ski only on December 11, 2025 as there is not enough snow throughout the trails to groom for classic tracks. Classic skiers are still welcome to ski, just note there are no tracks set. No additional grooming has taken place in other areas of the park. These trails are open during normal park hours, weather and conditions permitting.*

No other update from the park as of 9:30am this morning.

Hanson Hills: Lodge and Trails open 9am.
Groomer Dan is out combing Red first thing this morning then cleaning up Yellow, Brown, Blue and M-93 Hills.



Note on Wilderness:
Wilderness has not been groomed and does not have tracks at this time while our grooming snowmobile is in the shop. Still wild, still beautiful—just not freshly set.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: Groomer Butch is out grooming the trails, and after 1-2" of fresh snow last night, the trails should be heavenly. The sun is shining and the temps will be a bit warmer today, so get out there and get after it! We have about 5-8" of packed snow on the trails, and 12-15" in the woods.

Forbush Corner: The fall cold and snow and consistent grooming are creating a solid trail system for winter. Pines connector and loop will get a fresh grooming this morning with additional trails on east and west, groomers choice. Check out Nordic Pulse on our website for the latest. Thanks to all the racers for participating in yesterday’s opener!

Forbush Corner: The fall cold and snow and consistent grooming are creating a solid trail system for winter. Pines connector and loop will get a fresh grooming this morning with additional trails on east and west, groomers choice. Check out Nordic Pulse on our website for the latest. Thanks to all the racers for participating in yesterday’s opener!

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