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)

More events...

LATEST TRAIL CONDITIONS

MON, DEC 15

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!

SAT, DEC 13

Forbush Corner: Welcome to race day at Forbush! Racing will be on the east side trails from 10 am to 11 am. Trails on the west side will be available to non-racers. When parking, please be efficient. Grooming will be done as needed.

Huron Meadows Metropark: Good news. Bucks run is up and running with excellent skate and classic. The golf course was also regroomed, but still no classic tracks there. Very windy so there is lots of debris in the tracks. Skaters reported excellent conditions. Note that on Monday and Tuesday Bucks will not be open until 2:00 so more snow can be spread. Please respect this closure so that we do not create conflict with the park staff. There’s still lots of other areas at the park to ski.

Pigeon Creek: We had about 3"-4" of fresh lake effect snow and periodic snow all day. Temps were in low teens & windchill about 0 - perfect skiing weather :-) . Base is about 2" and hard pack or ice. The new snow made skiing great, however the trails have not been groomed since the snow fell making skating a bit harder. Classic appeared to be excellent. Expecting more lake effect tonight. I skied the north loops and it was quiet & beautiful. People were tending to ski the south loops.

Forbush Corner: 11° F and moderate breeze at 10:30 AM, strong wind by noon. Fresh groom on the west side trails, racers on the east. I started on Green Trail, beautifully groomed, deep firm tracks, Swix purple grip/Rex Blue glide from yesterday working great. So, I crossed parking and skied to Pancake. Beautiful fresh track and skate lane on the west side trail. After blustery exposure on the highway trail, I skied loop 8-11, then crossed over to A, made 1st tracks to D, then returned, with wind blowing me on the uphills. Back on the West, deadman drop, TJ’s, interval Hill and hammerhead were great fun in the tracks. By the time I crossed back into the East, snow squalls and wind were filling the tracks. I had to ski the snow off the kick zone in crybaby and roller coaster. Tracks at the bottom of roller coaster were completely filled with snow and it was so blustery at the intersection with Badlands. I made a beeline to lil coaster to get out of the wind and did a portion of that until it intersected with Linda’s link and back to the lodge. Overall, a wonderful 11.3 mile (18.8km) ski.

Forbush Corner: First race of the season at Forbush was a real winner ! Wonderful fresh snow, some wind but not excessive. New course included some of cry baby backwards. It was lovely. My prerace jitters were excessive and not merited. It was a perfect for me skating and Gary on classic. I used good old start green for glide and green mix for kick for Gary. Thank you Forbush!!!

Michaywe: Received another 2 inches of fluffy snow overnight. Skate lanes and classic track have been set on the lake loop, herringbone, the river trail, and both golf course loops. There is some drifting in the open areas, otherwise conditions are good. Full-service bar & dining located on the ski trail at Michaywe. "Inn the Woods" Restaurant is open Tuesday - Saturday. Visit www.michaywe.com for hours & menu.

Boyne Mountain: Groomed lower trails yesterday. This morning we have 4" of new fluff! Skiing is quite good--it's nice to be in the woods and out of the wind!

Vistas has not been groomed yet, but is marked.

Upper trails don't have enough snow for the big groomer yet.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters: Groomer Mike set fresh tracks last night so they could firm up in the cold temps, and snowcombed the skate lanes this morning and the conditions are excellent! We have about 5-8" of packed snow on the trails, and 12-15" in the woods.

Hanson Hills: Mother Nature sprinkled about an inch of fresh fluff overnight, and Groomer Dan wasted no time firing up the Pisten Bully this morning. He’s out combing skate lanes on Blue, Brown, Yellow, and the M-93 Hills, leaving things smooth, fast, and very ski-worthy.

Trail conditions: excellent.
Classic tracks: holding beautifully and skiing even better.

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.

Grab your skis, enjoy the fresh fluff, and thank Dan when you see those perfect lines out there. Winter is doing its thing.

Forbush Corner: Welcome to race day at Forbush! Racing will be on the east side trails from 10 am to 11 am. Trails on the west side will be available to non-racers. When parking, please be efficient. Grooming will be done as needed.

More trail reports...