Doug Cornell says Forbush Corner has been fantastic for skiing!
Agility training for cross country skiers
7/18/2011 - By Matt Whitcomb
The US Ski Team uses rollerski agility speed test to push the athlete outside their comfort zone so that zone can grow that much larger. When that ice patch surprises you in on skis, you're ready for it.
Start Wax & Poles enages Endurance Enterprises and Q-Outdoor
7/15/2011 - By Andrew Gerlach
Startex Oy, owner of the Start wax and pole brands, is launching a two-pronged U.S. marketing, sales and fulfillment program.
Swix moves to larger US digs
7/14/2011 - By Swix
The 65-year-old Swix brand has outgrown its current location in Wilmington, MA and is moving into an updated warehouse facility in Haverhill.
50k Rollerski race proposed for Oct 1, 2011
7/13/2011 - By Denny Paull
The town of Grand Marais, Michigan is contemplating hosting a 50 km freestyle roller ski race on Saturday October 1, 2011.
9 minutes to test your XC ski strength
7/11/2011 - By Mike Muha
This is a fast and easy strength test that takes only nine minutes. Compare yourself to Junior and Senior Standards. Just how strong ARE you? (Video)
87 hours to pick skis
7/7/2011 - By Rick Halling
US distributors of the top ski companies have made it a point to bring over their engineers and race directors from Europe to visit American retailers. The visitors have consistently been blown away by the attention to detail and the obsession with fit.
2018 Winter Olympics awarded to PyeongChang, Republic of Korea
7/6/2011 - By IOC
PyeongChang won in the first round of voting with 63 votes, against Munich (25 votes) and Annecy (7 votes).
New XC ski rules for World Cup
7/6/2011 - By FIS
Several new World Cup cross country ski rules were defined and approved by the FIS Council at the recent FIS Calendar Conference in Portoroz, Italy. Here's a summary.
NMU's Banerud gets NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
7/5/2011 - By Calvin Larson
Former Northern Michigan University Nordic skier Martin Stuge Banerud has been awarded a $7,500 scholarship from the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee.
Six Athletes sign NLI's with Michigan Tech
7/1/2011 - By Michigan Tech
Michigan Tech head coach Joe Haggenmiller announced that six athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to join the cross country, Nordic skiing and track and field teams.
Farra to leave USSA Nordic Director Post
7/1/2011 - By US Ski Team
USSA Nordic Program Director, John Farra, is leaving his post in order to accept the position of Director, U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing High Performance with the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Bounding Intervals
6/29/2011 - By Bryan Fish
Cross country ski bounding intervals from dryland camp in Salt Lake City.
UPCOMING
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
SAT, JAN 3, 2026
Winter Wolf Skiathlon
Hanson Hills Recreation Area, 7601 Old Lake Rd, Grayling, Michigan 49738 (989-348-9266)
Skate and Classic Ski Clinics with Jordyn Ross
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
SUN, JAN 4, 2026
Nordic Ski Junior Racers training session (Team NordicSkiRacer)
Huron Meadows Metropark, 8765 Hammel Rd, Brighton, MI 48116
Skate and Classic Ski Clinics with Jordyn Ross
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
US Cross-Country National Championships - 10 km Interval Start Classic
Mt Van Hoevenberg, 31 Van Hoevenberg Way, Lake Placid, NY 12946
Eric McDonald Live (2:30-4:30)
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
MON, JAN 5, 2026
Discover Michigan Cross Country Skiing Program
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
TUE, JAN 6, 2026
US Cross-Country National Championships - Individual Sprint Freestyle
Mt Van Hoevenberg, 31 Van Hoevenberg Way, Lake Placid, NY 12946
THU, JAN 8, 2026
US Cross-Country National Championships - Mass Start Freestyle
Mt Van Hoevenberg, 31 Van Hoevenberg Way, Lake Placid, NY 12946
FRI, JAN 9, 2026
US Cross-Country National Championships - Individual Sprint Classic
Mt Van Hoevenberg, 31 Van Hoevenberg Way, Lake Placid, NY 12946
SAT, JAN 10, 2026
Vasa Raptor Rush Classic
Hickory Hills Ski Area, 2000 Randolph St, Traverse City, MI 49684
Bob’s Bean Bomb at the Stone Turtle Cafe
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
SISU Ski Fest
ABR Trails, E5299 West Pioneer Road, Ironwood, MI 49938
“Pure Michigan” Winter Trails Day with the Great Lakes Winter Trails Council
Cross Country Ski Headquarters, 9435 N. Cut Rd., Roscommon, MI 48653 (800-832-2663)
Frosty Fest! Frosty Freestyle 5K/15K
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)
More events...
LATEST TRAIL CONDITIONS
FRI, DEC 26
Dunes Golf Club: A visit at the dunes golf club this afternoon found that striders were out.
Snow is thin but semi solid in the front area BUT great coverage through out all areas. Hopefully the forecast stiffens it up before we get more snow. The base is still there.
Think snow
Elk Rapids Golf Course: Fastest grass I've ever skied. With the Vasa lacking snow, and with 1/4" of ice on my front sidewalk from today's freezing rain, I decided to give the ERGC across the street a try. It was essentially bare grass conditions, but the 1/4" of ice on everything made the grass, the leaves, everything nice and fast getting at least 1 foot of glide from each ski. I had a thin residue layer of SkiGo Blue Skate wax on these classic waxable rock skis that was previously put on weeks ago for anti-clumping, so maybe that wax contributed to the free speed. It was like frost skiing on steroids
Cross Country Ski Headquarters: We are currently in the midst of an ice storm, which is much better than rain! The ice should give way to snow around 11am, and we are hoping for a little accumulation on top of the micro-hail. The base is holding up well and this bit of frozen precipitation (whatever for it takes) will certainly help the trails. Our plan is to groom either later this afternoon after the snow, or to let it set up overnight and groom early tomorrow. Either way, we should have pretty darn good skiing tomorrow!
Forbush Corner: Update. No new grooming today. Will just have to wait out the rain, freezing rain and warmish temps.
Hanson Hills: Groomer Dan is out this morning with the PB 100, laying fresh comb on the skate lanes where conditions allow.
We’re keeping a close eye on the forecast today. A wintry mix is possible, and if it shifts more toward rain, grooming operations will pause for the day to protect the base.
Classic tracks are a few days old and currently glazed. We have not reset them due to concern that, once removed, we may not be able to re-establish them. Tracks are thin in spots.
The good news: the base is holding strong. We’re really just a little fresh snow away from refreshing the entire system.
THU, DEC 25
Forbush Corner: Posting a day early so you can make your plans tomorrow!
We are entering our Holiday stretch. Open tomorrow, 9 to 5, December 26 through January 5th. Then back to normal, closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Trails are in good shape and there is snow in the forecast. The entire trail system is open, tracked throughout. We have been out clearing leaners and face slappers. Expect some thin spots and some tree debris in the wooded areas. Due to the weather forecast tomorrow for sleet/freezing rain, the man made snow loops might be the only grooming undertaken.
Hickory Hills:
Merry Christmas to all. Bay Meadows at Hickory Hills was groomed today and if you like fast, controllable conditions, it's the best its been all year!! They didn;t groom everything, but was groomed was outstanding. Get out and Ski! Cliff Onthank. PS Sign up for the Vasa ski race.
WED, DEC 24
Crystal Mountain: We’re still seeing good coverage throughout most of our trail system! The flats are ready for you, though we’ve had to put the hills on pause for just a bit. The great news? Next week’s forecast is calling for more snow, which should really help us dial in those conditions.
If you're heading out, the morning sessions are definitely the way to go. Our grooming crews have been hard at work, and the trails are at their best when the temperatures are still crisp. See you out there!
Hanson Hills: Though not perfect the trails were wonderful to skate on this morning. It was 30 degrees and they were fast even on my rock skis waxed with scraped storage wax. (Sad I Know ). Trails were freshly, lightly groomed so control was excellent. Skating was best at least on all trails as track icy though Wilderness looked better. Some dirt sticks and leaves but avoidable. I did yellow brown and blue both ways. So much fun. My early Christmas present. Saw skiers from Vasa and Forbush, smiles abounded to be on such lovely trails.
Stokely Creek: Perfect rocket fast skating with enough control for the eye watering downhills on Baas Bypass. Classic track firm and deep too. Not the whole system open yet, but enough to tire out my old legs.
Huron Meadows Metropark: Buck's Run still has complete coverage! But you'll have to walk a bit to get to it: the clubhouse is closed as is the clubhouse parking lot. Classic tracks are very hard pack or ice but still deep enough to stay on the track. The skating lane is hard pack but several people were skating without any trouble. Me? Klister. But my Rex "Oi" just wasn't working very well, probably because of the rushed job of waxing. Great day to doublepole!
Cross Country Ski Headquarters: After the warmup yesterday, things cooled back down overnight and the grooming team is out there this morning scraping up some of the glazed over sections. Some areas in the shade are still quite nice, but there are also some slick sections out there that would respond well to metal edge skis. Looks like snow Friday morning, so we should have nice skiing this weekend!
Hanson Hills: Warm temps yesterday, but everything firmed back up overnight and the trails are holding up well. Groomer Dan is out with the PB 100 this morning, scratching up the skate lanes on Yellow, Brown, and Blue to freshen things up.
Lodge and Trails open at 9am.
Get out and enjoy it!
Hiawatha Highlands: Good Christmas Eve Morning Snow Lovers!!
The groomer was out this morning -- the Pinder system, Red Pine system and the 2 km Lighted have all been Piston Bully groomed for both classic and skate.
Reminder: We are open today until 3 p.m. and closed tomorrow (Christmas Day), back open Boxing Day 10 a.m.
Come on up and take advantage of our beautiful trails -- no noise, no stress, it's just you, the snow, and the sound of your skis. Even a short loop can feel like a retreat from the busyness that this season can bring :)
The staff at Hiawatha Highlands wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas....have fun on the trails!
Huron Meadows Metropark: Question- If Bucks was not groomed this morning, will it be too icy to skate today seeing how cold it got last night?
More trail reports...
