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Kids - the next generation of racers - line up to race the 2026 North American Vasa!

Wax recommendations: Muffin Race, Birkie, Kortelopet, Prince Haakon

2/22/2024 - By Mike Muha

Recommendations for Toko, Fast Wax, Swix, Rex, and Start!

FLASH RACE at XCHQ

2/20/2024 - By Mariah Frye Colie

We are hosting a flash race to help support Sarah and Reid Goble this Saturday Feb 24th. Join us for a race around the Trapper’s Cabin Loop, and support Michigan’s World Cup athletes!

Waxing recommendations for the Michigan Cup Championships

2/15/2024 - By Mike Muha

Wax recommendations for the this weekend's Michigan Cup Championship races!, the Forbush Freestyle and the Hanson Hills Classic...both at Forbush Corner.

2024 Birkie: Shorter distance, lots of laps

2/13/2024 - By American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation

The American Birkebeiner, traditionally a 50K race, will now be a 30K event. The Kortelopet, a beloved 29K race, will be condensed to a 20K distance. Additionally, the Prince Haakon, typically a 15K race, will be shortened to a 10K course.

Estimating snow temperature that's far far away...

2/13/2024 - By Iain Harvey

How can the typical racer who doesn't arrive on the snow until the day of the race know how cold the snow is going to be?

Cross Country Ski Headquarters leads Michigan Cup

2/12/2024 - By Ken Dawson

The Cross Country Ski Headquarters takes a commanding lead in the Michigan Cup, accumulating 13,600 points as of the Forbush Memorial Freestyle. Individual standings also available.

UPDATE: Hanson Hills Classic moves to Forbush Corner

2/9/2024 - By Mike Muha

Forbush Corner will be hosting both the Michigan Cup freestyle and classic February 17 and 18 on the man made snow loop. Start time 9:30. Bib pickup 8:30 - 9:15.

Updated Brumbaugh Cup scoring

2/9/2024 - By Ernie Brumbaugh

Team scoring for the Brumbaugh was based on rosters submitted January 1. The additional skiers added through January 31 are also scored and past Brumbaugh Cup race results have been adjusted to account for these additional skiers.

Michigan High School Championships wax recommendations

2/8/2024 - By Mike Muha

Fortunately, there's SNOW at the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming, MI. That's good news for the Michigan High School Championships! Now, get waxing...

Team NordicSKiRacer extends lead in Brumbaugh Cup

2/6/2024 - By Ernie Brumbaugh

Team NordicSKiRacer extends lead in Brumbaugh Cup in what is a tight race between NordicSkiRacer, Grand Rapids Nordic, and Hanson Hills/Cross Country Ski Shop.

RESULTS: Fast conditions at Marv Stevenson Memorial Classic

2/4/2024 - By Mike Muha

Absolutely beautiful skiing with Klister conditions, icy tracks, so fast!

RESULTS: Biac, Duclos (FS), Borton, Bianchini (CL) win White Pine Stampede

2/4/2024 - By Mike Muha

Totally climbing for the 10.5km race: 520 meters or over 1,700 feet! But snow conditions were good!

More News...

www.northboundoutfittersmi.com/xc-ski.html

UPCOMING

SAT, FEB 28, 2026

Michigan Middle School and High School Championships - Freestyle and Classic Pursuit
Hickory Hills Ski Area, 2000 Randolph St, Traverse City, MI 49684

Black Mountain 31K Classic
The Chateau at Black Mountain, 10621 Twin Lakes Road, Cheboygan, MI 49721

Free Beginner Ski Lesson
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)

SUN, MAR 1, 2026

Michigan Middle School and High School Championships - Mixed Relay
Hickory Hills Ski Area, 2000 Randolph St, Traverse City, MI 49684

Black Mountain 12km Freestyle
The Chateau at Black Mountain, 10621 Twin Lakes Road, Cheboygan, MI 49721

SAT, MAR 7, 2026

Nordic Ski Junior Racers training session (Team NordicSkiRacer)
Huron Meadows Metropark, 8765 Hammel Rd, Brighton, MI 48116

Free Beginner Ski Lesson
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)

Great Bear Chase
Calumet, MI 49913

SUN, MAR 8, 2026

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Spring forward!

Michigan Cup Relays at XC Ski HQ
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)

More events...

LATEST TRAIL CONDITIONS

SAT, FEB 28

Huron Meadows Metropark: Saturday 9:30am surprisingly firm for skate after yesterday’s 57°. Starting to soften up my last few laps. Very firm block ice along north/south section along driving range. Classic tracks looked good in most sections. Hope it makes it until next weekend.

Vasa Trail: Skied Bunker Hill trailhead to Headwaters to Timber Ridge, then to Special K and then back via the 10K. Skiing was fast. Snow conditions were really nice except for the section from the Ledge to the bridge. This section was icy with some portions almost boilerplate ice. The rest of the trail was well groomed with soft snow. It was great skiing!

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: After the warm temps yesterday, a lot of sections in the trail network are pretty glazed over. There is still full coverage, but many very hard areas. Grooming Mike is out chewing things up and trying to soften up the ice. Use caution at the trailhead. Once you get about 100 yards out onto the main vein, the ice does turn into hard packed snow, which should actually groom up ok. We recommend walking your skis out onto the trails until there is snow instead of ice. The tracks will be too glazed over, so classic skiing down on the skate lanes is recommended. The Trappers Cabin trail will be the first one we try to chew up and make skiable, followed slowly by the rest of the trails. The practice field is in good shape for demos and lessons, and the sun is coming out! Time to 'make the most of it'!

Hanson Hills: Lodge and trails open at 9:00 AM
Groomer Dan will be out cleaning up skate lanes on the entire trail system. Tracks are set on RED, YELLOW, BROWN, BLUE, GREEN, M-93 and Easy Return.

FRI, FEB 27

Forbush Corner: Posting early for tomorrow, Feb 28th. Well, that was a warm one today. However cold temps are returning and normal winter conditions will be returning the next few days. Some melting but trails are in great shape. Pines loop and east side trails will get the fresh groom for skate and classic. All trails are tracked. Open at 9. Gates close at 5. Worth the drive.

Hiawatha Highlands: Happy Friday Morning!! It's a perfectly gorgeous morning up here, sun is shining, wind is mild and temperature is perfect.....currently at -5 C.

The groomer is currently out -- the Pinder system and the 2k Lighted have been Piston Bully groomed for both classic and skate. He is currently on the Crystal system, and the Red Pine system will be after that.

Mabel Lake Flats and Hills were groomed as of yesterday afternoon at 2 p.m.

We hope everybody has a fantastic day enjoying this weather :)

Hanson Hills: Lodge and trails open at 9:00 AM
Groomer Dan will be out cleaning up skate lanes on the entire trail system and plans to set track on Wilderness later this morning! Tracks are set on RED, YELLOW, BROWN, BLUE, GREEN, M-93 and Easy Return.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: It's another sunny morning over here! Fresh snowcombing will make skiing in the morning the best. Things will warm up later in the day, softening the trails. Our recommendation is that the most ideal window for both skate and classic will be 9:30 - 12:30.

Huron Meadows Metropark: The classic tracks in Bucks Run were very well defined considering the sunny conditions they have been subjected to. The skate deck was mostly icy with a small portion of mashed potato - I am concerned about what today's warming temps will do. The connector to Buck's Run is at best very thin hardpack - no tracks.

Forbush Corner: West side trails and a few more of the well used trails yesterday on the east side will get the fresh skate and classic groom today. The short warm up today will not hurt the trails much because we have plenty of base. Open at 9. Trails and building close at 5.

West side trails and a few more of the well used trails yesterday on the east side will get the fresh skate and classic groom today. The short warm up today will not hurt the trails much because we have plenty of base. Open at 9. Trails and building close at 5.

THU, FEB 26

Huron Meadows Metropark: Skied Thursday evening. With the slightly warmer weather, the snow was slightly soft, which was actually from the somewhat icy conditions we've had lately. Skate deck was still very skiable. The classic tracks had a few parts that were getting a little thin, but no bare spots yet. Good skiing.

Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail: 5" of sunken, heavy, transformed snow at the Rte. 653 area (I purposefully avoid the ridiculous laurel-everything nomenclature of the laurel highlands). Fine, Klistery skiing on the ungroomed xc ski trails. Is your klister creosote based? Effective, but Phuew, stinky--don't bring those skis in the house!

Stokely Creek: Continuous light lake effect since the last system snow passed through Tues night. Erling Strom, Hakon Lien, Trappers and Pickard Lk were all freshly tracked this morning. Kinda slow downhills but on the plus side never had to get outta the track on even the steepest climbs. Should be great for a while depending on the grooming schedule.

Michaywe: Groomed and set track on the south side of the lake loop, herringbone, the river trail, and the front 9 loop. Conditions are good.

Forbush Corner: Shaping up to be a wonderful 5 day stretch of xc skiing at the corner. We have plenty of snow on the trail system. The brief warm up into the 40s on Friday will be short lived with colder temps returning overnight and into the weekend. The east side trails will get a fresh groom today including the crowd favorite Pines Loop. Need some advice on how to improve your skiing? Head to our website and sign up for a lesson under the ski school tab in the drop down menu. Open at 9. Gates close at 5.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: It's a beautiful sunny morning out there with fresh snowcombing and nice firm tracks on all trails. Get out there and enjoy the rest of this winter while you still can!

Hiawatha Highlands: Soooo, we got more snow overnight, and it's still coming down ever so lightly.....it's absolutely beautiful!! The temperature is -9 C.

The groomer is currently out -- the Pinder system and the 2k Lighted have been Piston Bully groomed for both classic and skate. He is heading to the Red Pine system, followed by the Crystal system. Note: Nordic Pulse live tracking seems to be having issues so may not show green on the map.

Come on everybody, get yourselves up here....it's going to be a glorious day with all this new snow!

Hanson Hills: Lodge and Trails open 9am. Groomer Dan will be out with the PB100 Setting fresh track and Comb on Red and Jugivny, first thing this morning.
Senior Thursday: (65+) $13 Trail Passes!