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

Frosty Freestyle and Krazy Klassic registration opens at midnight

12/29/2020 - By Mike Muha, Ken Roth, Adam Haberkorn

Huron Meadows Metropark in Brighton, Michigan is already preparing the race course for the Frosty Freestyle and Krazy Klassic races on Saturday and Sunday, January 9 and 10.

5th annual Midwest Nordic Rendezvous to train coaches

12/28/2020 - By Amy Powell

Come and learn consistent language, teaching model, and skiing fundamentals through the Professional Ski Instructor of America (PSIA).

Hiawatha Highlands Lodge closes for at least two weeks

12/23/2020 - By Mike Muha

Hiawatha Highlands Lodge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario will be closed to the public as of December 26th, 2020 to comply with lockdown orders. Trails will still be open to season trail pass holders.

Brushes: what/when/why?

12/22/2020 - By Ian Harvey

Confused by what brushes to buy? Get an honest opinion by wax guru - what to get and what not to get - by Ian Harvey!

Registration is open for the 2021 Great Bear Chase!

12/17/2020 - By Angela Luskin

Things are going to look different, much like everything else this past year, but one thing that will not change is the top-quality grooming and friendly nature of the Great Bear Chase.

2021 White Pine Stampede goes virtual

12/16/2020 - By White Pine Stampede

Current executive orders prohibit an in-person race event, and we wanted to keep the spirit of the race alive (we all just want a race!), so the race committee to make the difficult decision to make this year’s race virtual.

The 2021 North American Vasa is Cancelled

12/16/2020 - By North American Vasa Festival of Races

The North American Vasa Festival of Races Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to cancel this season's planned races due to the high number of COVID cases in the community and statewide.

CXC cancels Duluth and Mt. Itasca events

12/6/2020 - By Joe Haggenmiller

As many of you know, Governor Walz of Minnesota issued an Executive Order on COVID Mitigation, which has paused athletics in the State of Minnesota for 4 weeks. This impacts our first 2 CXC Cup events - Duluth and Mt. Itasca are not viable as scheduled.

Patience and flexibility required for racing this season

12/6/2020 - By Joe Haggenmiller

With the recent pause orders from the governors of Michigan and Minnesota and various local community health organizations also issuing recommendations and regulations, each of us needs to recognize the need to be both patient and flexible.

Forbush Time Trial cancelled due to COVID restrictions

12/2/2020 - By Ann Agar

The Forbush Corner Nordic time trials are cancelled due to the state health department’s restriction on organized sporting events that are scheduled through the 8th. It is likely that the state will extend that ban into January.

Nordic Glide Wax Box - A Recommendation of all that you need and nothing more

12/1/2020 - By Ian Harvy

Holiday shopping? Here is all that you need for glide waxes and tools and nothing more. This recommendation is for the passionate skier, fitness skier, or fluorine free racer.

Lakes of the North Freestyle cancelled

11/30/2020 - By Mike Muha

Unfortunately the Dec. 12th Lakes of the North Freestyle race has been cancelled. Not knowing if the health order would be extended after Dec 8th and the need to purchase materials prior to that date are the main decision drivers.

More News...

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

Forbush Corner: Posting today for tomorrow March 1st. The whole system was groomed this morning. Conditions were pretty good, skate deck fast and held up to the heavy traffic, especially on the 240 loop. Tracks were deep and fast, accumulating some debris in the wooded area. We will be re- grooming the east, west and pines loop once again tomorrow morning to take advantage of the snow we still have. Open at 9. Trails and buildings close at 5.

Vasa Trail: A thaw on Friday and cool temps on Saturday with a Saturday morning grooming produced medium to good conditions. Fine and fast for skating; dicey for beginners. Seven inch base with 1/2 inch of corduroy and softer snow on top. Icy patches near parking lot and bridge but good snow elsewhere. No gravel showing and just a bit of forest debris (needles and twigs). I am glad I made the drive from Grand Rapids for a last ski outing.

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!