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Tony Knowles Coastal Trail Today 8PM by Randal Bladel

To the cyclist on the red Specialized road bike and jersey who passed me and many others at high speed without ever announcing his presence: Your cycling behavior is both very rude and dangerous, and does not adhere to accepted norms. You cast all other serious cyclists in a bad light. The coastal trail is used by many others, including casual cyclists, kids and tourists, who may suddenly dart in front of you if they don’t know you are there. A simple “Passing on your left” or “Heads up” is all that is needed. You may be surprised at how many reply “thank you”. And yes, if I encounter you behaving in the same manner again, I will again be a grumpy old man.

Bird to Gird Trail Friday 11AM by devo

Biked from Indian to Girdwood today - the trail is open the whole way, with some minor obstructions left. Counted 13 separate avalanche debris fields that had come over the trail. Thanks to the crews that cut thru, plowed out, chainsawed up the debris to make it passable - huge broken trees and tall snow banks remain beside the trail. A small stream and extended muddy watercourse covers a ~100 yd section of flat trail between Girdwood and the big hill - I was able to ride thru it. Also, where the trail goes thru an underpass under the Seward Hwy ~2mi. NW of Bird Point, a small stream appears to have jumped it's banks and flowed thru the underpass, leaving sand and gravel - slow down there.

Independence Mine Friday 10AM by Brian

Thank you to All the Mat-Su groomers for a excellent season

Independence Mine Thursday May 19 by Ed Strabel

Last Attempt to groom through the mine buildings. Snow had gone isothermal and the ATV tracks were sinking in deeper than the groomer. Probably not worth the trip. We will see you in the Fall. We should have skiable snow at the mine by 15 October. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Tuesday May 17 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club re-groomed the mine trails for classic and skating. Still a little rutty but lots of corduroy. Deep classic tracks. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Monday May 16 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club will re-groom the mine trails late Tuesday evening and, weather permitting, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Saturday May 14 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club re-groomed the mine trails for classic and skating. Pedestrians really chewed up the lower portion of the road. Did an extra lap trying to take out the post holes and ruts. It helped a bit. Should be pretty good skiing early Sunday. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Friday May 13 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club re-groomed the road and through the building area for classic and skating. The area got 2-3 inches of snow since last night. Tracks are deep and solid. Skate lane has ATV tracks deeper than the corduroy in many spots. The Hatcher Pass Rd was clear of snow, but damp. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Archangel Road Friday May 13 by Ashley Wise

Attempted to groom the road tonight. Trail had so much avalanche debris sticking out. That combined with the sub optimal warm snow, the decision was made to turn around and call it a season for Archangel Rd. Thanks all for the unforgettable winter. Likely still some good touring on the road for those willing to hit it early. Cheers! Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Archangel Road Friday May 13 by Ashley Wise

Attempted to groom the road tonight. Trail had so much avalanche debris sticking out. That combined with the sub optimal warm snow, the decision was made to turn around and call it a season for Archangel Rd. Thanks all for the unforgettable winter. Likely still some good touring on the road for those willing to hit it early. Cheers! Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Archangel Road Friday May 13 by Ashley Wise

Attempted to groom the road tonight. Trail had so much avalanche debris sticking out. That combined with the sub optimal warm snow, the decision was made to turn around and call it a season for Archangel Rd. Thanks all for the unforgettable winter. Likely still some good touring on the road for those willing to hit it early. Cheers! Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Thursday May 12 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski club re-groomed the mine trails for classic and skating. Classic tracks are full depth. Snowing while grooming about an inch in the building area. More coming down.
We will re-groom Friday and Saturday nights. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Wednesday May 11 by Ed Strabel

CORRECTION TO MY LAST POSTING. We will re-groom Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Should be good conditions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Wednesday May 11 by Ed Strabel

The Mat-Su Ski Club will tentatively re-groom the mine trails for classic and skating late Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Flattop Wednesday May 11 by Larry

Road to trail head is good other than normal roughness. Sunny side trail is mostly snow free other than traverse from top of switchbacks to the saddle. The traverse has deep rut for the trail. Lower trail gets very muddy by late morning.

Independence Mine Tuesday May 10 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club re-groomed the road and around the mine buildings for classic and skating. Colder temps and the little bit of fresh snow helped reduce the post holes and walker "trench" on the road. Crust skiing should be excellent Wed AM. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Kincaid Park Tuesday May 10 by ipickupmydogspoo

A reminder to folks that traditionally Kincaid is not open to bikes until June 1st. The giant ruts that a few selfish bikers have put into recently melted out ski trails is a reminder. Some sections of some trails are dry but all trails still have long soaking wet sections that are not ready for traffic. Soccer fields are dry.

Independence Mine Sunday May 8 by Chris

Crust totally dependable with a consistent corn surface. Skated 10 am to noon, still solid. Luscious.
(Groomed trail just hammered looking)

Hatcher Pass Sunday May 8 by Cathy

Crust skiing was great this morning- we started around 9:30 and by 11 it was still skiable but starting to get squishy. Went up the side opposite the mine and back down through the mine buildings and next to the groomed trail. Beautiful!

Independence Mine Saturday May 7 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club re-groomed Saturday evening for classic and skate. Still rough with post holes and tracks. Early morning crust skiing should be good. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Alaska Pacific University Saturday May 7 by Larry

Ski trails still pretty wet and muddy for foot or bike traffic without causing damage. Single track trails are fine with very few wet spots.

Independence Mine Saturday May 7 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club groomed/grooming this morning. Hard freeze. Skate lane through the Mine Buildings, Very thin classic tracks were put in where possible. Should be great crust skiing. Lots of walker’s misery post holds. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Saturday May 7 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club groomed this morning. There was a hard freeze. Skate lane through the Mine building area and very thin Classic tracks set where possible. Should be great crust skiing. Lots of walkers’ post holes. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Girdwood Ski Trails Saturday May 7 by SkiSpring

Girdwood's 5K loop is freshly groomed this morning for a record late-season groom! Thank you all supporters and APU for coming to ski the last two weeks for training.

Archangel Road Friday May 6 by Zack Steer

Groomed Archangel Road to the multi use intersection, skate lane and new classic tracks.
Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Bird to Gird Trail Friday May 6 by Greg V

AVOID!! The Bird to Gird bike path is covered in multiple piles of large trees and deep snow due to avalanches. It will take A LOT of work later in the summer to clear the trail. Indian to Bird is in good shape. If you want to ride south of Bird stay on the highway shoulder.

Independence Mine Friday May 6 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club groomed a skate lane up the road and through the mine buildings and the outhouse loop. Soft conditions, ATV tracks were not being taken out by the groomer. We plan on re-grooming early tomorrow AM. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

GPRA and Independence Mine Thursday May 5 by Ed Strabel

Black bear spotted near the Mat-Su junction Thursday afternoon. Please stay off the trails until they dry out.
Mat-Su Ski Club will attempt to groom the Independence Mine trails on Friday. We are not overly optimistic, but we will try. We will post results here. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Archangel Road Wednesday May 4 by Ed Strabel

BEAR SIGHTING! Just beyond the bridge on Archangel Rd. Earlier Wednesday. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Archangel Road Tuesday May 3 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club re-groomed the non-motorized section of the road for classic and skating. Some corduroy, some ruts, some woody avalanche debris. Next grooming session should be Friday night. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Government Peak Recreation Area Sunday May 1 by Carl

Matanuska and Susitna skated OK midday today. Not at all squishy or slushy. Icy patches were softened and edge-able. Fair amount of forest debris melting out. Multiple short grassy spots to ski walk across on the Su.

Girdwood Ski Trails Sunday May 1 by Ski spring

Girdwood 5K loop was groomed this week and still skiing great! Ski ONLY traffic on the Nordic 5K. All Meadows are no longer being groomed for the season.

Independence Mine Saturday Apr 30 by JF

Cold temperatures last night and it was sunny and warming up quickly when I arrived at 10:20 am. There were several backcountry skiers, a couple of fat tire bikers, and one other crust skate skier. The steep south facing slopes were already getting soft and punchy, but everything else held up well until 1:00 pm, especially the north facing slopes. Conditions were just about perfect with about an inch of soft wet snow on top of stable crust and smooth edgeable surfaces pretty much everywhere. Weather looks like it is changing so not sure what tomorrow holds.

Archangel Road Friday Apr 29 by Zack Steer

Groomed Archangel Road to the multi use intersection for both skate and classic. It a little chunky on the skate lane, but skiable. A few sticks and trees that had been buried in the avalanches are staring to appear. Plenty of snow off trail, any night below freezing should set up well for crust skiing. Hatcher Pass Road is open, and the Archangel parking lot is cleared for vehicles. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Government Peak Recreation Area Friday Apr 29 by Peter Haeussler

I skate skied GPRA this afternoon in the heat of the day. Its still doable and OK skiing. In an hour of skiing I walked over grass and leaves perhaps a dozen times where there were short gaps between the snow. Much of the trail is pretty good, but it was soft. I was a little worried that I'd be going down a hill and then hit a blank spot, and come to a screeching halt, but I could see them all in advance. I was also worried I'd get into some soft snow and sink and fall over, but it was firm enough. So...I'm not sure we'll be able to ski in May but we're close!

Kincaid Park Friday Apr 29 by DBass

Skiing last night on the snowmaking loop was a blast! I was inspired by the late season skiing but even more so watching the next generation of skiers launching deep water gaps mid stride.
Pure joy.
Thanks NSAA! What a community you support!

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Friday Apr 29 by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid Park: There was too much melt off overnight to groom today so we are officially finished grooming for the season.  We hope you have a wonderful summer and we’ll see you on the trails!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Hatcher Pass Thursday Apr 28 by roandog

Any info on Mint Glacier trail, skiable or no??

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Thursday Apr 28 by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid Park: Things are getting pretty thin out there and Craig says tomorrow will be the last day of grooming. But for today, the Red, Green and Yellow Loops have been “refreshed.”  Have a good one!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Archangel Road Thursday Apr 28 by Ed Strabel

Temperature is 37 degrees, crust on top but snow has gone isothermal. Attempted to groom the non-motorized section but skis and tracks on the snowmachine were deeper than the groomer. Lots of other snowmachine ruts on the trail. Probably not worth the trip. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Wednesday Apr 27 by Still Skiing

Great skate crust 35 deg 8 am, scary fast down- a little softening would have helped. Supportable bike crust but I wish I had studs on full fat, bike tracks heading up towards Willow on machine tracks.

Eklutna Lake Wednesday Apr 27 by Bud Rice

Bruce Talbot and I skied across Eklutna Lake this morning. It was icy the first mile or so as we double-poled, but beyond that it was fast and fun. Bruce thinks one could ski out there all day long.

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Wednesday Apr 27 by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid Park: We know many of you have “moved on” and put your skis away, but for those who just can’t let go the SML has been groomed just for you!  Enjoy!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Archangel Road Tuesday Apr 26 by Ed Strabel

The Hatcher Pass Rd is now open. Mat-Su Ski Club will start grooming the non-motorized corridor soon. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

South Fork Eagle River Tuesday Apr 26 by Monty and Gary

Even at 8am the trail to bridge is punchy and venturing just 1/2 foot to either side will get you knee/ hip deep in soft snow. Last 2 weeks you could get to lakes off trail beyond bridge on snowshoes. This week not, even on snowshoes you go in almost foot. Perhaps wide skis. Lots of snow left to get down to summer trail. Oh, if attempting, bring your favorite foot traction devices for trail to bridge.

Monty & Gary

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Tuesday Apr 26 by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid Park: The SML Red, Green and Yellow Loops have been groomed. Have a nice day!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Anchorage Parks and Recreation Tuesday Apr 26 by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Chester Creek Trail:
- Chester Creek - Campbell Creek Connector Trail Scraping has commenced
- Chester Creek Trail Trail Scraping has commenced
- Goose Lake Trail Scraping has commenced
- Tikishla Park Trail Scraping has commenced

Russian Jack Springs Park:
- East High School Loop Trail Scraping has commenced
- East High to Russian Jack Unlit Trail Scraping has commenced , Conditions Warning
- Russian Jack Springs Park Partial Lit Trails Trail Scraping has commenced , Conditions Warning

Campbell Creek Trail:
- Campbell Creek Trail Trail Scraping has commenced

Hatcher Pass Monday Apr 25 by Adam

As of 2:30pm this afternoon the Hatcher Pass road was still barricaded by DOT at mile 10.6 (Skeetawk). The Skeetawk gate was also closed. There were about a dozen cars parked at the barricade, I assume they were skinning up the mountain although I saw some folks with snowshoes at another pullout.

Government Peak Recreation Area Monday Apr 25 by Carl

Mother nature's auto thaw groom smoothing machine doing just fine. Did a lunchtime Pioneer and Denali. Perfectly good skate conditions. Amazingly still not super soft or slushy, but is getting dirtier and more variable. Changing fast, there will be some trail wide bare spots on the Pioneer soon.

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Monday Apr 25 by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid Park: We’ve refreshed the skate lanes on the SML Red, Green, Yellow and Little Dark Alley…and it’s melting fast!  Have fun out there!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage
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About This Site

The Alaska Outdoor Reports website is a community of outdoor enthusiasts who share information about the areas where they recreate. Thank you very much to everyone who takes the time to post reports. You are what makes this site so great!

The Alaska Outdoor Reports are developed and maintained by Cory Smith, out of his desire to always know where the best skiing is. Special thanks to Resource Data, Inc. for contributing to this project.

If you have any questions, or are interested in having the Reports on your website, check our admittedly meager help section for more information and/or contact info.

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By using this website and the information it contains, you acknowledge all of the following:

Reports in this forum are the opinion of the reporter only. They are opinions only, and should not be construed as fact or professional assesment. The information may be inaccurate. Reports are not the views of this organization, the website owner, or the forum moderator(s). These reports are intended to supplement your existing knowledge of the area being reported, and the outdoors in general. The reports are not comprehensive. Hazards will undoubtably exist that are not documented here. These reports should not be your only source of information. The reports are simply one more piece of information to help you make better decisions in the outdoors. Those decisions are still yours alone.

Have fun and be safe!

Grooming Reports

In pursuit of our mission to provide a state-wide platform for all trail conditions, and to support the grooming efforts of the clubs that make those trails possible, we are excited to now include automated grooming reports provided by the Municipality of Anchorage's (MOA) Nordic Grooming Map.

When MOA, NSAA, or Girdwood NSC update the grooming status on the MOA Map, it is automatically displayed here as well, thanks to our "Friendly Trail Bot". Each new grooming update is displayed as a text report, similar to our usual user reports, including the names of the trails groomed as well as any groomer comments. The groomed trails are also displayed on the map, color-coded based on how long ago they were groomed.

This is a new feature, and we'd love to get your feedback on how we can improve it. Please send me an email: cory@snowio.com And, of course, we still want to see all of your first-hand reports posted here as well!

Thank you to the Municipality of Anchorage, Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage, and Girdwood Nordic Ski Club for making this possible! Please support these clubs' grooming efforts!

If you'd like to get your local club's grooming updates on this site (automated or otherwise), please get in touch. We'd love to make it happen!