Snow and Trail Conditions Update
As of 1/30/2023:
(January 26th)- Groomers have been out steady all week. Trails are very good to excellent. With the lack of snow in southern half of the state you can expect heavy traffic again this week. Hawkins Sno-hawks Brat feed is Saturday, 28th from 11-4 and is a sure bet to attract A LOT of sleds. The groomer shed will be open for seating, eating and raffles. There will also be campfires outside to keep you warm!
*Ladysmith Driftbusters Snowmobile Club Trail 27 north of Cedar Lodge and Trail 99 north of Flambeau River Lodge remain closed. The trails tee into Winter Huskies Trail 5S so there is no connection to Winter at this time do to storm damage. We are hopeful to be ready by next weekend. Connections to Sawyer County Snowmobile ATV Alliance are on far west and east sides of the county near Birchwood on west and Flambeau River State Forest on east.
-Please check the Ride Rusk page for confirmation on your trail routes and for updates on trail maintenance and grooming.
Cross Country Ski Trails
Blue Hills Trails report:
(January 30th)- Packed powder conditions, very good skating and striding yesterday.
A very destructive mid-December ice storm (visit our blog for photos etc) initially shut down our skiing. We've been able to open about half of our East Side trails, and Excelsior Road is open on the West Side. Click here for helpful maps that show our open trails. Snowshoers, we prefer you use the Ridges Snowshoe Trail as your first option. If snowshoeing on the groomed ski trail, please snowshoe well to the side. On January 26, a great new loop was added to the Ridges Trail - the 'Highland Loop' - it climbs to the Ridgeline near intersection #12. Click here to learn about the 'Highland Loop'.
-Be sure to visit their website or Facebook page for more trail conditions.
Ladysmith Area Trails report:
(January 27th)- Sisters Farm Trail update. The crew was out grooming today. All trials were groomed. The East side ski trails should be excellent tomorrow. The west side trails are groomed, tracked and rolled. The track for skiing should be hard and fat biking should be excellent after everything gets set in with tonight's cold temps. Get out and enjoy! You're not going to let a little cold spoil your fun are you?
-For more updates, check out the Ladysmith Area Trail Association Facebook page.
Christie Mountain
(January 30th)- The Hometown Hill Program is hands down my favorite part of this season! We wanted to support our local school in growing smart, strong and healthy kids who see first-hand the benefits of being active and being outdoors, especially in the winter months. And with that end in mind the Hometown Hill Program was born!
We collaborated with our local school district to offer free skiing to all students enrolled in the Bruce School grades 3 - 12. The goal of this program is to invest in our community's youth. In reality, we are investing in the future of Christie in so many ways PLUS I get to see my local peeps on a much bigger scale which always makes me happy.
The past two weeks we brought grades 3 - 5 out to Christie to learn to ski and it was amazing! The students who already knew how to ski rose to the challenge of helping their non-skiing classmates. We had parents and school staff right alongside Christie staff encouraging and demonstrating and cheering them on every step of the way. I thank everyone who played a part in getting these kids out to Christie because building confidence on the slopes is integral to the success of this program.
When you live in a ski town you should ski like you live in a ski town and I hope that every Bruce student takes that to heart!
(January 28th)- Fresh snow on the mountain today! Open till 10pm.
-Check out their website or Facebook page for more updates.
