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Tour of Anchorage Trail Today 3PM by Larry

Skate skied north half of Tour Trail. Nice fast groom that is firm enough for foot and most tires but enough grind for good edging. There are a few areas of cobbly results, particularly on the bypass trail around Birch Knob that was perhaps due to only a single grooming pass in that section. Tracks looked good.

Kincaid Park Today 12PM by Summer S

Classic skied the Mize in the fog. Great fresh grooming. A bit fast.

Government Peak Recreation Area Today 11AM by Ron

Fantastic fast skating on the fresh-groomed Matanuska and Susitna. Even the Pummeled Pioneer is pretty good. Classic waxing might be problematic. And if you like skiing on ice rinks that look like well-groomed Nordic trails, the Denali and Flattop are there for you. 32 degrees and the crust on the sunny side of snowbanks melting when I left at noon. Thank you thank you thank you Mat-Su Ski Club supporters for ponying up for that PistenBulley a few years ago.

Anchorage Parks and Recreation Today 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Chester Creek Trail:
- Chester Creek - Campbell Creek Connector, Tracks set
- Chester Creek Trail, Tracks set

Russian Jack Springs Park:
- Russian Jack South Groomed Golf Course Trails, Tracks set
- Russian Jack Springs Park Craig Drive Spur, Tracks set
- Russian Jack Springs Park Partial Lit Trails, Tracks set

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Today 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid:  All Lighted Loops, Lake and Horseshoe Loops, Raspberry Multi-Use, SML Stadium, Blue and Yellow Loops, Arlene’s Way and the Sisson are good to go with new track.  Enjoy!

Hillside: The TOA trail including Coyote, Birch Knob, and Campbell airstrip, has been groomed with new track and the Lighted Loops and Gasline refreshed. Have fun out there!

Beach Lake Trails: All trails on the Chalet side of Main St., plus Appendix and the Christy Loop, have been groomed with fresh track. The CHS Stadium has been softened but is still a bit cobby.  Have a good one!  We hope to have the issue with Bill’s phone cleared up soon and we appreciate your patience. He is still grooming the trails and we will continue to post updates here.

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Government Peak Recreation Area Today 8AM by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club (Mark) chewed up the ice/snow mix on the Mat-Su, Pioneer, Eska , and stadium area with the Pistenbully. Be careful, it's still pretty icy and fast. Think snow! Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Tour of Anchorage Trail Yesterday 9PM by Dbass

Surprisingly good skate skiing from the house!
Thanks NSAA!
Thanks Muni!

Hillside Yesterday 2PM by Greg V

Hillside Richter & Ridge loops are skiable but crusty, crunchy, and moose post-holed. Metal edges and fish scales were a good choice. The Besh loop is in much better shape as expected. Swix universal klister with a bit of red on top was definitely not the best klister choice for today. I should’ve waxed a little colder.

Bartlett High School Yesterday 1PM by EricFX

ATTENTION: The best skiing in town is at Bartlett, and it’s not even close. For whatever reason, last week’s Chinook left the snow as real snow and mostly clean. Bill’s groom is smooth and firm (lots of first groom softness in the stadium) on real snow, not ground up ice! If Bartlett isn’t too far out of your way, highly recommend giving it a whirl. Best skiing occurs clockwise staying mostly left on the track.

Kincaid Park Yesterday 1PM by Jfun

Skate skied elliots climb, roller coaster, Mize loop, and stadium.
Excellent grooming conditions fir skating this afternoon. Classic tracks look a bit cobbled .
Thanks groomers!,

Beach Lake Trails - Chugiak Yesterday 12PM by MaineiAK

First time trying the Beach Lake trails; we were rewarded with fantastic conditions! Smooth, even groom that’s very firm without being icy. Just enough loose sugary goodness on top for control. It’s fast and fun with quite minimal debris. We were a little daunted by all the intersecting loops on the trail map starting out, but quickly discovered that these trails are very clearly and thoroughly marked. We had a great time out there.

Hillside Yesterday 11AM by C. Crawford

The new groom is absolutely superior, both techniques.

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Yesterday 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid:  Fresh groom and track on Lighted Loops, SML Stadium, Purple and Yellow, Dark Alley, Elliot’s/World Cup, Raspberry Lot connector and Mize’s Folley. Have a great Monday!

Hillside: The Lighted Loops, Gasline, Double Bubble and Spencer have been refreshed with new track. Enjoy!

Bartlett HS:  The trails have been groomed with new track and are in great shape. Have a good one!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Hillside Sunday 5PM by devo

Hats off to the groomers! Skated all lighted loops - they have done a superb job turning the ice glaze into a nicely skiable surface. Coarse snow on top of a hard base - quick, but not scary. Thank you.

Chester Creek Trail Sunday 2PM by CC

Perfect skate ski conditions on upper Chester creek trail this afternoon apart from the occasional bottomless moose tracks.

Kincaid Park Sunday 1PM by Vava

Kincaid was fabulous fantastic fun skate skiing today! Firm fast good edging! Thank you groomers!

Government Peak Recreation Area Sunday 12PM by Ron

Firm, fast, and edgeable fresh corduroy!

Tour of Anchorage Trail Sunday 11AM by DVD

Classic skied from MLK to Service. Track was in decent shape with a bit of small debris (spruce tips, twigs, etc.) but nothing too bad. Good wax and technique were a requirement to get kick. Since I had neither, there was a lot of double poling involved. Blue extra base with a little Rex gold klister.

Government Peak Recreation Area Sunday 9AM by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club (Lucas) regroomed all trails for classic and skating last night. Northern Lights and Junior Nordic Races at 1 PM. 1K, 2.5K, 5K. Moose poop in the stadium! Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Sunday 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid:  The entire park has been groomed with new track. Have fun deciding which trails to ski today!

Hillside: Richter, Ridge and Bog classic only trails have been deglazed and double tracked and the Lighted Loops and Gasline have been refreshed and tracked. Should be great skiing today!

Eagle River HS and Yosemite Dr.: Trails have been deglazed, groomed and tracked. The first Middle School race of the season will take place here on Wednesday February 1 at 6pm. Have a lovely Sunday!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Hillside Saturday 4PM by JPG

Young bull moose hanging out on the lighted loop near the final climb back to the hillside parking lot. There were about 8 skiers, including myself, who waited for him to duck into the woods with no avail. He just kept coming towards us. Retreat! Retreat! Eventually he veered off the trail. Curious more than anything I suppose, but ya never know.

Moose Range Saturday 4PM by Rocky

Yarrow Loop.Yarrow to Wasilla creek,to Linguini with hills,to snow bridge,to secret trail,to Moose meadows,to Southern Traverse.back to Yarrow.

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail Saturday 3PM by Bart

Skate skied the Coastal trail from Kincaid chalet to Pt. Woronzof parking lot. Despite the posted report that the coast trail was groomed, there was little evidence of it. Trail was hard-packed, icy crust except for the last .5 km or so just before Woronzof. The hill descending from Kincaid was treacherous with little possibility of setting an edge (I walked it). The descent from the opposite direction dropping to the Woronzof parking lot was nasty-looking, lots of dirt. All that said, it IS skiable (or you can push yourself along with your poles). Classic track was mostly a shallow suggestion due to melting. Quite a lot of debris.

Talkeetna area Saturday 8AM by Jonathan Korta

Last weeks heavy snow, followed by rain and warm temps and a refreeze has trails generally hard and fast (and rutted in some places). Overflow present on most lakes and some holes opening up near springs and inlets/outlets. Most area trails were groomed on Friday. Classic tracks on Fish Lake Support grooming by the Denali Nordic Ski Club

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Saturday 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid:  The majority of the park has been deglazed (except for Dark Lekisch, Arlene’s and Sisson). Track on the dark trails will be shallow and chunky but the Lighted Loops have recovered nicely and have a full track. ASD-HS Skiathlon race starts today at 11 am. Double best line has been set on the entire Mize Loop and the skate course uses the first half of Margaux’s, Crossing Trail, Big Dipper, Stairway, part of Lekisch Lighted and finishes in the Stadium. Good luck to all racers and enjoy the trails!

Hillside: Ground the hard icy TOA, Abbott Multi-Use, Bivouac Trail and re-groomed Spencer, Double Bubble and Gasline. All with new track. Should ski nicely today!

Beach Lake Trails: Bill’s Nordic Pulse phone is on the fritz, but he was out and groomed the rest of the park with new track. The majority of the trails have been deglazed and are in good shape. Have a fun Saturday!

Coyote Trails at Mirror Lake MS: The entire system has been deglazed, groomed and tracked. Enjoy!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Anchorage Parks and Recreation Saturday 12AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Coastal Trail:
- Coastal Trail, Tracks set

Campbell Creek Trail:
- Campbell Creek Trail, Tracks set

Government Peak Recreation Area Friday 9PM by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club groomed the Flat Top and Mtn Streams Loops. Zack and Ashley actually groomed the non-motorized section of Archangel Rd LAST night (not tonight). It should be in great shape for the weekend. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Hillside Friday 5PM by Randal Bladel

Greg: After the complete m;et, refreezed, and grooming, the kick wax needed will almost certainly be klister. I’d probably try some multigrade on a good klister binder, and add some dots of red mixed in if more kick is needed. Some of the stickier hard waxes might work a bit for a a while, but will not last long. There are some good videos on You Tube about using klister if you have never dealt with it.

Hillside Friday 4PM by Greg V

Kick wax recommendations for the Anchorage groomed trails this weekend? I’m new to waxable classics and still learning the game.

Hillside Friday 4PM by Bart

Skate skied the Besh & Gasline multi-use trails. Trails are hard-packed and clean with a layer of fine-ground snow on top, fast and somewhat icy-crusted toward the edges. Good overall for skating. Climbs were not scraped down to ice. Classic tracks were in excellent shape, deep and hard, with a glazed base that was very fast.

Government Peak Recreation Area Friday 2PM by Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers

VMBaH grooming crew was busy this morning grooming all the fat tire single track trails at GPRA. The trails looked great when we were finished! The trails are fairly soft. So if the user groups can wait until tomorrow to use the trails they should be in great shape after tonight’s cooler temperatures.

Chester Creek Trail Friday 2PM by Larry

Skate skied upper Chester from Goose Lake to Ambassador Dr. I think that the MOA groom was on Thursday since they seem to post a preformated message at the end of the day with a time advanced to midnight or next morning. Skating is fast and good where trail is uniform but more challenging where the trail is bumpy from use when soft, such as the stretch along the medical campus. Summary of condition is good for advanced and poor for beginners.

Chester Creek Trail Friday 12PM by Happy Skier

30 degrees. Classic skied APU to east end of Westchester. Recent groom (this AM according to the report). Track was present the entire way. It ate my boot a handful of times where the track was too deep and stopped me abruptly but otherwise was decent. Skate skiing or biking look like they would be fair to good overall. Conditions were better toward APU. I was very pleasantly surprised by how decent the conditions were overall given our recent weather. Thank you groomers for establishing a great base that seems to have survived the warm up!

Government Peak Recreation Area Friday 11AM by Ron

Another perfect crackly-sounding fast groom on the Denali Loop. If the sun warms it just right this afternoon it could be outstanding!

Far North Bicentennial Park Friday 9AM by Finn's Human

Rode the Tour Trail (solid and fast) from MLK ball fields to Rover's Run (firm, but pretty sporty and rutty). Abbott multi-use was in good shape, but we got turned around by a moose. Also checked out Black Bear (firm, but very rutty) and Panda Bear (also firm and slightly less rutty). Hillside ski trails looked fun and fast!

Anchorage Parks and Recreation Friday 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Chester Creek Trail:
- Chester Creek - Campbell Creek Connector, Tracks set
- Chester Creek Trail, Tracks set
- Goose Lake, Tracks set
- Tikishla Park, Tracks set

Russian Jack Springs Park:
- East High School Loop, Tracks set
- East High to Russian Jack Unlit, Tracks set
- Russian Jack South Groomed Golf Course Trails, Tracks set
- Russian Jack Springs Intermediate North Trails, Tracks set
- Russian Jack Springs North Trails, Tracks set
- Russian Jack Springs Park Craig Drive Spur, Tracks set
- Russian Jack Springs Park Partial Lit Trails
- Russian Jack Springs Park Partial Lit Trails, Tracks set
- Russian Jack Springs Park South West Loop

Campbell Creek Trail:
- Campbell Creek Trail, Tracks set

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Friday 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid:  We are recovering from the weather event and the trail base is saturated with moisture and will take a few days of freezing temperatures to stabilize. Two snowcats, one following the other, were out grinding the icy trails into a skiable surface which is a very slow process. Our goal was to deglaze the skate lanes on the Lighted Loops, SML, and Raspberry Multi-use. Setting a perfect track, at this point, was not a priority so expect to find them a little shallow and chunky. They’ll improve with future grooming. The Stadium has been groomed and set with double track. All other trails will be hard and icy so ski with caution!

Hillside: Same story at Hillside…two snowcats working in tandem to grind the top icy layer over an inconsistent moist base and a half inch of new snow. The temperature is still in the upper 20’s and the trails have yet to freeze hard, but when they do they’ll be rocket fast. Fresh groom and decent track set on Lighted Loops, Double Bubble, Gasline and Spencer. All other trails will be icy so ski with caution and have a great weekend!

Beach Lake Trails: It was slow going last night and didn’t get as cold as forecasted, but the icy surface on most of the flatter trails on the Chalet side of Main St. plus Appendix, CHS Stadium and the Christy has been ground, groomed and tracked. Again, all other trails will be hard, icy and best avoided for now.  Enjoy!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Government Peak Recreation Area Friday 7AM by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club regroomed all trails for classic and skating last night (Multiple passes with the Pistenbully), after the temperature dropped. We hope it stays cold today. Archangel Rd will be regroomed tonight. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Government Peak Recreation Area Thursday 6PM by Dave

A bit icy this evening on the ski trails. I wonder if it was really nice earlier in the day before it cooled off...

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail Thursday 5PM by wayne

Unsurprisingly awful skate skiing from W Point to Sisson. Super icy and rutted from a bike at a number of spots. But skate-able! Sisson was glazed ice with tree bits

Archangel Road Thursday 4PM by Ron

Skier set tracks in deep soft snow, deeper the farther you go.

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail Thursday 12PM by Nat Herz

Surprisingly non-terrible — some icy sections but generally fine/firm skate skiing between Westchester and the airport.

Kincaid Park Thursday 10AM by Gavin Kentch

Copy and paste of NSAA update for today for folks only checking here: "No new grooming today. As Craig put it, “It’s best to leave the freezer door shut so the ice cream won’t melt.” As of 6:30 a.m. it was 39 degrees at Kincaid, 41 at Hilltop and 36 in Chugiak/Eagle River and all locations received rain yesterday and in the wee hours this morning. The trails will be hard, icy and scary fast today. The forecast is for temperatures to cool off tonight so be safe out there and we’ll keep you posted!"

Chester Creek Trail Thursday 7AM by User

Trails getting punchy for fat bikes and feet (you could probably classic ski ok). To minimize ruts and such, recommend avoiding until temps cool. This also applies to the Coastal Trail.

Government Peak Recreation Area Wednesday 4PM by Ed Strabel

Mix of rain and snow all day. MSSC will not groom until the temperature drops and the snow has a chance to dry out. Archangel Rd has 4-5 inches of heavy wet snow. No grooming. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Government Peak Recreation Area Wednesday 3PM by Ron

Skiing is still pretty good, with loose snow on a solid surface. Conditions could change to stay-off-the-trails-wet-smush at any time though. Temp right near freezing, off and on precip is mostly snow.

Tour of Anchorage Trail Wednesday 2PM by Bart

Skate skied from Martin Luther King intersection to the old (now gone) radio tower site. Snow is hard-packed, crusty-surfaced and fast, with quite a lot of tree debris; edging is tricky. The weather is supposed to continue warming; that may make the surface slushy instead of crusty. It was also drizzling a little on the way back. If temps cool enough, the trail could become icy. Classic tracks were also fast & crusty. Use caution. (Biking/walking should be nice on the hard-packed snow.)

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Wednesday 8AM by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Kincaid: Due to the warm temperatures and rain, the grooming efforts called for a lighter touch on the trails to preserve the base, so we groomed with the snow machines today. The skate lanes are soft ice but skiable on Margaux’s, Jodhpur, Lekisch Lighted, Arlene’s and Sisson. The Stadium, Biathlon area and Mize are hard packed ice. No new track today. Ski with caution!

Hillside: We’re in recovery mode from the warm temps and precipitation. The ski surfaces are frozen to partially frozen with inconsistent track and uneven skate lanes. The Lighted Loops, Double Bubble and Gasline are skiable, but cut-offs will be icy and rutted. Be careful out there!

Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Government Peak Recreation Area Tuesday Jan 24 by Ed Strabel

Recommend staying off all trails in South Central AK until the temperature drops and we can regroom the trails. A good time to read a book. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Chester Creek Trail Tuesday Jan 24 by Nathan

The sidewalk plows in-between Goose Lake and the APU overpass where the bus stop and pedestrian cross walk is went a little too far and removed the snow on the ski trail. Watch out if you are moving fast as there is 1 foot drop to pavement and followed by a 1 foot step back to the snow.
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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!