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

Liebner autumn coaching program begins August 1

7/12/2018 - By Andy Liebner

Andy Liebner's autumn coaching program begins August 1 and runs through November. Sign up: Now's the time to get in shape for ski racing season!

Swix Sport Group Rebrands as BRAV

6/19/2018 - By BRAV

Swix Sport Group announced that it’s changed its name to BRAV—reflecting the group’s evolution into a house of brands with a total turnover of over one billion NOK. The market outside Norway now represents half of the company’s sales.

End of an Era: Jack McKaig passes away

6/17/2018 - By Mike Muha

Jack always tried to do his best for skiers, by putting on the best event he could, and for the community, getting wide-spread support from volunteers and from the folks at Shanty Creek.

www.northboundoutfittersmi.com/xc-ski.html

Final team standings in the Michigan Cup

4/25/2018 - By Mike Muha

Ken Dawson and Ernie Brumbaugh have calculated the overall Michigan Cup Team Standings for 2018.

FOR SALE: Sno-Master 48

4/19/2018 - By Randy Kessler

Nordic Ski Racers, I'm looking to sell my Sno-Master 48" groomer. Includes Sno-Razor. Great light weight, low drag groomer for a narrow skate lane.

New 24 hour World Record set!

4/18/2018 - By Mike Muha

Two Finnish skiers broke the record for the the most kilometers skied in 24 hours: over 472 and 375 kilometers by Teemu Virtanen and Anni Angeria.

Andy Liebner revises coaching program for 2018

4/15/2018 - By Andy Liebner

Andy Liebner announces his revised coaching program for the 2018-2019 season, May 1, 2018 through April 29, 2019.

Overall 2018 Michigan Cup Winners

3/20/2018 - By Mike Muha

Ted Roe, Mary Lyon, Rebecca Davis, Sam Holmes: Champions! Plus classic, freestyle, total points, and the 10% Club!

Hanson Hills / Cross Country Ski Shop 2018 Brumbaugh Cup champions!

3/15/2018 - By Mike Muha

Hanson Hills/Cross Country Ski Shop has won the 2018 Brumbaugh Cup as the strongest senior team in the Michigan Cup Series. The Vasa Ski Club was second overall, with the Grand Rapids Nordic Ski Team third.

Results, Photos, Video: 2018 Michigan Cup Relays

3/15/2018 - By Mike Muha

It took a week of hard work, but the folks at the Cross Country Ski Headquarters hauled snow over a 2 kilometer section of trail to make sure there were great conditions for the 2018 Michigan Cup Relays held this past Sunday

Wax recommendations for the Bear Chase and MI Cup Relays!

3/8/2018 - By Mike Muha

Toko, Fast Wax, and Swix wax recommendations for the Great Bear Chase and Michigan Cup Relays!

Huron Meadows Groomer Appreciation Party, Sat, March 17

3/6/2018 - By Ken Roth

Greetings fellow skiers and winter sports fan. Here are the details on the Huron Meadows end of season/groomer appreciation/snow making gratitude party...

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!