On Friday night, their prayers were answered with overnight snowfalls of one to three inches depending on where you are measuring in Door County. Heavier snowfall is reported to have blanketed the Sturgeon Bay area. None of the trails are in great condition yet, but there is more skiing than you might assume! Trail groomers have been out working some areas and these reports will continue to be updated as conditions change. Tuesday’s forecast is predicting much warmer temperatures, so make tracks while you can.

Potawatomi State Park
Conditions: Last night brought three new inches of snow to Potawatomi and trail groomers are out today, Saturday, January 28. Earlier in the week the trails were rolled after snow on Monday evening. Trail should be in fair condition again for both classical and skate skiing.

Whitefish Dunes State Park
Conditions: Last night brought new snow and the trail groomers are out right now working on the trails.  Main Red Trail was rolled Wednesday, January 25 so this new snow should help significantly.

Crossroads at Big Creek
Conditions: With the overnight snow of about three inches the groomer headed out and rolled all trails today Saturday, January 28. No tracks were set but the trails are very skiable. Even the open areas are now snow covered and there are very few bares patches.

Peninsula State Park
Conditions: Snow depth in the park is two inches with many bare spots. There is not enough snow to groom ski trails and snowshoe trails are in poor condition due to lack of snow.

Newport State Park
Conditions: Snowed 1″ this week but this has melted away. Not enough snow to groom, and trails are unskiable.

Visit Door County Silent Sports Alliance for more detailed information about trails and conditions.

6– 9 pm Friends Bake & Book Sale
Need a book for a cold winter’s day? A wide assortment of nature books will be on sale! Pick up some tasty treats. Choose one of each or a dozen. Sale for one day only, located in the nature center auditorium. Join the Friends for some great deals on all 2011 clothing designs.

6 – 9 pm Candlelight Ski
Come join the Friends of Whitefish Dunes State Park to enjoy their annual candlelight ski. The ski will be held on Saturday, January 28th from 6pm to 9pm. Over 2 miles of trails will be lit by luminaries. The shelter features a warming fire along with hot beverages and popcorn. No vehicle admission sticker is required to join in the evening event. The Friends are accepting donations in lieu of the required vehicle admission sticker. Please leave your pet at home, they are not allowed on the trails or in the shelter building.

Volunteer!
The annual Candlelight Ski is approaching fast, have you signed up to volunteer? Slots are still available for inside and outside tasks. Don’t forget the Book and Bake Sale at the nature center sponsored by the Friends of Whitefish Dunes. Delicious treats will also be available. Sign up today!

Whitefish Dunes State Park is located at 3275 Clark Lake Road (county WD), on the Lake Michigan shoreline south of Jacksonport. All programs are free to the public unless noted; a park vehicle sticker is required. For more information please contact the park by phone 920.823.2400, email carolyn.rock@wisconsin.gov , or check the on-line events calendar at the DNR website: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/

None of the trails are in great condition yet, but there is skiing! Trail groomers have been out working some areas and report the following conditions:

Crossroads at Big Creek
Conditions: All trails rolled Thursday January 19 in the afternoon. Trails in protected areas have a 2″ base and are okay for skate skiing. Trails in open areas are windswept with no snow.

Newport State Park
Conditions: One inch of new snow fell on January 18 and 19. Even with the two inches from last week, there is still not enough snow to groom, and ski conditions are poor, with bare patches in open areas.

Peninsula State Park
Conditions: Groomers plan to go out Friday, January 20 to roll some areas, but there is still very limited snow. There are lots of bare spots and nothing is groomed yet.

Potawatomi State Park
Conditions: All trails were groomed on Wednesday, January 18 and are in fair to good shape. The skate lane has been rolled and a shallow track was set on the trail. There are some lumps due to the general lack of snow but very skiable and worth getting out there. Recommend rock skis for now, as there is still a risk of hitting dirt, grass, stones and roots. Tracks look fairly good but may not last long. North Norway road is rolled and in outstanding shape from the Amphitheater to just south of the old ski hill. Enjoy the efforts of the volunteers.

Whitefish Dunes State Park
Conditions: Trail conditions are generally poor, but are now skiable. You will have to avoid the occasional rock or stone. Trails were last groomed Wednesday, January  18. The normally double-tracked portion of the red trail is probably in the best condition. The rest of the trails have been packed once, but much more snow is needed before a track can be set.  The red trail will be packed again Friday morning.

For more detailed information about trails and conditions, go to: http://www.doorcountysilentsports.org/skiing.php

All of Door County received the first significant snowfall of the season this week, but not with the kind of depth that skiers are hoping for.

Light snow is currently falling in some areas and more light snow is in the forecast. None of the trails are in “good” condition yet, but any of Door County’s 11 golf courses are in excellent condition for anyone who wishes to get started now. With short-clipped grass and no rocks, the golf course fairways are perfect for beginning to get in shape for trail skiing later on. And then, there’s always the skating alternative:

Some of the local cross-country ski trail groomers have been out checking or working up the new snow and report the following Door County Ski Trail Conditions:

Crossroads at Big Creek Conditions:
Very limited trails available for skiing. The wind has cleaned off much of the snow and too much grass and gravel is now showing. I did roll the sheltered trail areas and they turned out nice. Need another 3″ to 4″ of snow.

Newport State Park Conditions:
2-3″ of new snow. Bare spots in open areas; conditions are not suitable for skiing just yet.

Peninsula State Park Conditions:
2″ of new snow. Lots of bare spots. Nothing is groomed yet.

Potawatomi State Park Conditions:
Groomed Friday morning. We have about 2″ packed base. Trials were rolled but no track set. No bare spots but grass is sticking up and the high spots on the trail are thin. Also rolled the road leading from the Red trail to the Fire Tower. This looks really good for skating and if it hardens up, it will be nice. There isn’t much moisture in the snow so the packing isn’t great – anyway it is SNOW!

Whitefish Dunes State Park Conditions:
New snow depth – Approx 3″ with moderate moisture content. The double-tracked portions of the Red trail were rolled Friday afternoon. Barely enough snow for the snowmobile and roller to “float” on the new snow. Rolled snow compacted down to approx 1″ of compressed snow, but not firm by any means. While there is nice looking ‘cord’ skiing is not recommended at this time, not even with rock skis. The rest of the trail system has been left alone until we get more snow.

Cross-country ski trail grooming in Door County

Several inches of snow is predicted to fall on Thursday and Thursday night in what’s expected to be the first significant snowfall of the winter season. Temperatures also will drop back down to typical January readings, with the 10-day outlook showing high temps generally in the 20s and low temps mostly in the teens. That also means we will get to feature our first Door County ski trail conditions report on Friday…

I have been looking for information about Wisconsin’s snow cover, both current and over time. The weather report for the upcoming week has talk of rain on Wednesday. Ouch!

Here are some useful resources that you may wish to bookmark, especially if it ever snows.

• Travel Wisconsin provides an online cross-country skiing snow conditions report that covers the entire state, listing base depth and date of the most recent trail grooming. Sad to say, Door County is still marked as closed.
• Weather Street provides Wisconsin’s 6-Hourly Snowfall Forecast for Next 2 Days, but as of this post we are batting zero… with no snow expected statewide. They also publish a handy Wisconsin Snow Depth Analysis Report (updated hourly).
• Wisconsin State Climatology Office provides an extensive set of Wisconsin Winter Climate Reports that cover: temperature, heating degree days, precipitation, snow, ice, frost depth, severe winter weather, sunrise/sunset and more.

January should be the snowiest month, typically bringing the state an average snowfall of 14″ according to State Climatology records, but this year something is missing.

Wisconsin's monthly snowfall normals from 1971-2000

I took my skis and poles out of the storage loft and got out my boots… ready to go, if we just get some snow.

Gun deer hunting season is still almost two weeks away. Sometimes, we’ll have a layer of tracking snow by the time the season opens , but usually not. Right now, I am using an old, torn, nylon spinnaker as a leaf hauling bag. I can rake a huge amount of leaves into the slippery old sail. Then, I can easily drag it out of the yard and down the ski trails, dumping the leaves wherever there are rocks to cover. Just a little snowfall over the leaves and any rocks that could not be extricated, will all but disappear.

I have also been brush cutting, manually, using a classic weed cutter. My little backyard trail system is starting to shape up. I have been working on these trails for several years, cutting firewood and refining the loops as I prepare for winter.

This Website is also part of my winter preparations. I plan to work on it throughout the fall as I wait for the snow. Throughout the winter we will post the latest weekly ski trail reports and I will start building a complete collection of Door County ski trail maps. You can expect to see a calendar of Door County Winter activities like festivals and candlelight ski events.

The recent windstorm dropped so many old trees that there is an abundance of fuel. It’s just a matter of cutting and hauling. So, this may be the first winter in a long time that I will have all of my winter wood cut and stacked by the furnace before the first snowfall. For now, I will publish this first post as my opening entry in the new SkiDoorCounty.com Website.