Snowmobile Trails:

Crow Wing County Snowmobile Trails Association Clubs 1/15/21: The Brainerd Lakes Area has received about 12″ of snow this season with 6″ of that coming the evening of 12-29-20.  We had an incredible amount of traffic over the New Year’s holiday and it shows on the amount of wear on the trails.  With no base and the warm temps there is not much the clubs can do with grooming at this point.  The lakes still have many thin spots and slush in many areas so use caution.  We have also had trespass issues on many of the trails, remember the landowners give us only permission for the trail not any of the adjacent land!! We missed out on the snow last night and received only about 1″ mixed with rain.

With the recent warm temperatures, along with the recent wet snow and rain, the ice conditions appear to have deteriorated in various locations on area lakes. Sheriff Goddard would again like to remind the public to use extreme caution when taking part in recreational activities on area lakes.

The Brainerd Snodeos maintain and groom 107 miles of trail from Brainerd to Riverton, to Crow Wing State Park, to Harding and towards Garrison.

1/15/21: Some accumulating snow on our easterly system between Brainerd and Garrison is around 4-5” but most of it is wet and will simply pack down. Per our club president we feel it may do more damage than good until it firms up this weekend not to groom at this time. If you are out, please pack the swamps best you can for future grooming success. Overall, we received 1-2” of slush that may continue to melt if temps don’t drop and we get more snow.

Fort Ripley Trail Busters

1/15/21: Not enough snow to groom.

Gull Lake Drifters

1/18/21: No updated report found.

Merrifield Marathons

1/18/21: No updated report found.

Baxter Snowmobile Club groom weekly on Monday Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

1/15/21: The snow we received didn’t amount to much, and on top of that it was followed by rain and freezing rain overnight. The trails are not any better than they were before the system moved through, and it’s safe to say they’re not rideable at this point as temperatures are still above freezing.

CROSS COUNTRY SKI TRAILS:

There are many ski trails in the Brainerd Lakes Area; many of which are groomed Grant-In-Aid funded trails. To “legally” ski any GIA funded trail, cross country/Nordic skiers aged 16 years and older must purchase a MN Ski Pass. A non-pass holder can be sited by any Conservation Officer if caught on these trails without a pass. The Annual and 3-Year passes can be purchased at any ELS (Electronic Licensing Station) station (if they sell fishing licenses, etc., they will sell ski passes) and the Daily can be purchased from a variety of non-ELS providers. The Northland Arboretum is one provider in our area that sells the daily pass.

The Northland Arboretum contains trails for all experience levels. These trails are groomed for classic and skate.

1/17/21: Hard base with a little lose snow on top in most areas. A few hard-icy sections, mainly near the trailhead and along the Paul Bunyan trail. Classic track has not been groomed in a while, but well skied-in and in good shape. Just a few small areas of dirty snow, could use good skis with caution. A half-inch of new snow fell while skiing which made for nice skiing, but a little slower snow.

The French Rapids trails are groomed classic and skate, include steep hills and are for intermediate and advanced skiers.

1/17/21: Trails groomed Saturday but track not reset. Surface was a somewhat soft granular to slightly icy snow. Ok kick with hardwax but it wore off after a while. Probably better skate than classic conditions out there now. In the afternoon about a half inch of new snow fell after I skied there so probably a little different conditions now. Could use good skis, only area of dirt is steep climb along river after first junction on outer loop.

The Larson Lake Trail system is a good mix of classic and skate trails.  Please note that the interior loops are classic only.

1/16/21: Beautiful ski at Larson Lake. Snow conditions almost perfect, grooming incredible.

The Wolf Lake Ski Trail is a classic only trail system.

1/17/21: A great ski day at Wolf Lake. Plenty of snow, deep classic tracks. A few of the tracks were wiped out on some of the tight turns, otherwise, almost perfect.

The Pine Beach Ski Trails are both classic and skate and include trails for all abilities.

1/15/21: The Lakes Area has received about 12″ of snow this season.  The West side of the trail system has been groomed twice this year but the trail that runs on the “Classic Golf Course” needs another 4″ to 6″ of snow to groom.  The trails are icy and not enough snow to groom.

Thank you to the Brainerd Nordic Ski Club, Skinnyski.com, Crow Wing County Land Services and Mark Kavanaugh for their reports.

Mount Ski Gull:

We offer skiing, snowboarding and tubing in one convenient location. Helping our community to become a better place to live has been our guiding principle for 50 years. Mount Ski Gull’s mission is to provide challenging activities in a fun and healthy environment which empowers youth to develop confidence, competency, and compassion.

1/18/21:

Skiing & Snowboarding: Lift Tickets & Rental must be purchased PRIOR TO ARRIVAL!

Runs Open: Super 8, Nisswa, Quarterdeck, Iven’s, Paul Bunyan, Terrain Park, Bunny Hill, & Tubing.
Lifts Open: All

Tubing (masks required): All tubing tickets must be purchased ONLINE PRIOR TO ARRIVAL!