Current ski trail conditions: Gunflint Trail and Cook County’s west end
The sparse snow conditions have been the talk of the town as the new year begins in Grand Marais and along the North Shore.
Trail conditions closer to Grand Marais, such as Pincushion Ski Trails, have more ice than snow as of Jan. 10. However, ski trails farther inland are in relatively good condition.
To assess trail conditions, WTIP ventured into the field to chat with a Gunflint Trail lodge owner and the Sugarbush Trail Association Board Chair near Tofte.
“We’ve had about 22 inches of snow so far, but we’ve had two meltdowns, and so that’s compressed the base,” Greg Fangel, board chair of Sugarbush Trail Association, said. “So the base right now is real solid and hard, although we’ve used our groomers to try to break it up.”
Fangle said the best conditions within the network of Sugarbush ski trails are the 11-kilometer out-and-back trails along Onion River Rd. “That’s the best condition right now because it is on a road, and it’s a little more level.”
“The rest of the trails are a little more lumpy,” Fangel said. “A lot of the trails are scalable, but there are some hazards out there, like flowing water that’s frozen and there a few bare spots.”
Despite the minimal snowfall received in recent weeks, Fangle said the Sugarbush Trail Association is continuing to groom the trails, and so far, “it’s been holding up.”
Over at Golden Eagle Lodge, owner Ruth Wagner and her husband Zach Wagner share grooming responsibilities for the central Gunflint Trail system with Bearskin Lodge. Wagner said trail conditions near mid-Gunflint Trail are relatively good. “Everything was groomed earlier in the season a couple weeks ago. We had really good snow, and we were able to groom everything at least once since the warm-up.”
While most trail conditions are good, Wagner said the Moose Ridge trail has been closed for safety. She said, unfortunately, there are exposed rocks and rutting, so safe skiing or grooming operations are not feasible.
However, the rest of the trails are in good shape. “I think one of the things that makes this trail system unique from some of the others is that both ourselves and the groomers at Bearskin are major skiers,” Wagner said. “We try to groom them so that they can be skied at a really high level.”
Although the trails are good, the snow conditions on the frozen lakes are a different story. With the recent warmer temperatures, Wagner said, “We lost all our snow on the lakes due to the slush. So the lake crossings aren’t great.”
She said many skiers are not able to ski the lake crossings as of right now, and many people are walking across the lake to reach the different ski trails on the central Gunflint network.
Golden Eagle Lodge
WTIP’s M Baxley spoke with Ruth Wagner, owner of Golden Eagle Lodge about mid-Gunflint Trail ski conditions.
There might be some reprieve in the immediate future as a low-pressure system will arrive this weekend, beginning on Saturday, and is expected to bring some much-needed snow to the area.
“Presently, we’re looking at a 50% chance of 2 inches or more of snowfall,” Woody Unruh, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service based in Duluth, told WTIP on Jan. 9. “Every little bit helps and to make it look a little bit more winter-like out there.”
Kalli Hawkins January 11, 2025
