Summer like weather moving in after a cool start to September which felt more like October! Leaves are starting to change more and more each day and with all the rain this summer, the woods are as lush as ever setting us up for a spectacular fall color season. Typically we hit our peak of fall color from September 20th-October 7th but appear to be on track a few days earlier this year.
Outside of all the rain, we have been mowing and clearing deadfall every day possible, grooming the trails as we prepare for the winter season to come.
A great weekend for the Laddies Loppet mountain bike race with favorable weather. Thanks to everyone that came!
Other trail work includes cleaning deadfall along the side of the trails and cutting firewood for next season for the wood burning stoves at Maplelag. We also planted nearly a 1000 trees earlier this spring and continue to plant potted pines.
We have also been working on the existing mountain bike singletrack clearing and removing deadfall and finished new trail build on Maplelag property near Bullhead lake. We will also be making new tweaks to select ski trails including Mother Hen and Double green for new beginner loops for next season.
Total snowfall this past season from November 1st at 96″ Total snowfall from October 1st at 102″. Opening day for the ski season on November 12th after skiing a few days in October and grooming in October. Last day of skiing on April 19th, 2019. Ice off the lake on Little Sugarbush on April 25th.
Fall color scene on the driveway, September 16th, 2019.Fall color scene as scene from the tower of the main lodge, September 16th, 2019.Fall color scene in the switchyard, September 16th, 2019.(check the changes below from 5 days earlier!)Fall color scene around the Orange caboose, September 11th, 2019.
Fall grooming on JibFly ski trail, September 11th, 2019.
Fall scene, September 11th, 2019. (same location as below five days later)
Fall scenes more prevalent each day, September 6th, 2019.
Mowing on Twin Lakes trail, September 6th, 2019.
Signs of fall on the mountain bike trail, September 7th, 2019.
With the all the moisture in August, the mushrooms have exploded in the forest and can be seen everywhere! August 24th, 2019.
Afternoon summer scene in the switchyard, August 14th, 2019.
Moon rise paddle, August 12th, 2019.
Another load of deadfall to be split for the sauna! August 6th, 2019.
First signs of fall! Aspen leaf on the bike trail, July 31st, 2019.
Another mowing on Suicide Hill, July 29th, 2019.
Calm evening for a paddleboard, July 22nd, 2019.
Wild rice on Little Sugarbush, July 22nd, 2019.
Fish in action! July 22nd, 2019.
Mushrooms exploding everywhere on the forest floor after all the rain this summer. July 20th, 2019.
Summer sunset, July 16th, 2019.
Great riding on the new mountain bike trail Tuesday evening, July 16th, 2019.
Lush green carpet on the ski trail forest floor! July 5th, 2019.
Clearing deadfall on ski trail, July 5th, 2019.
Wild iris flowers near Mother North Star ski trail, July 5th, 2019.
Summer scene along the bike trail, July 4th, 2019.
Beautiful evening to paddleboard, June 30th, 2019.
Summer sunset over Bullhead Bay (Skaters Waltz to the left). June 23rd, 2019.
Many mushrooms popping up in recent weeks thanks to damp conditions. June 24th, 2019.
Another gorgeous June evening for riding. June 18th, 2019.
Great dirt to work with on new trail “Bootleg” near Bullhead lake on Maplelag property, June 20th, 2019.
Fresh tracks on Mother North Star ski trail! June 17th, 2019.
Singletrack on the doubletrack! Rootin Tootin ski trail after clearing. Also part of the bike course. June 12th, 2019.
First mowing of the year on Suicide Hill. June 12th, 2019.
Yellow slippers along the side of the singletrack, June 12th, 2019.
Clearing mountain bike singletrack. Quickly overgrown! June 12th, 2019.
Baby snapping turtles on the move, June 3rd, 2019.
Cedar Waxwings making a rare appearance at Maplelag this week, enjoying the blooming “snow tree”. May 31st, 2019.
Beautiful spring scene at Twin Lakes crossing, May 20th, 2019.
Trail work on new singletrack. Thanks Denny and Peder for your help! May 17th, 2019.
Marsh marigolds blooming in full force the past few days in local sloughs. May 16th, 2019.
Tuning work on new mountain bike trail, May 17th, 2019.
Another beautiful spring sunset, May 8th, 2019.
Slowly spring, May 8th, 2019.
Tree planting along the bike trail, May 8th, 2019.
Tree planting along the bike trail, May 8th, 2019.
Beautiful evening lakeside Twin Lakes mountain bike singletrack, May 7th, 2019.
Bloodroot flower trying to stay warm, May 4th, 2019.
Calm waters as seen on the south side of Bullhead Lake looking towards Suicide Hill, May 2nd, 2019.
MTB trail work on new trail near Bullhead lake. May 2nd, 2019.
Great time of year to clear deadfall for sauna firewood. April 27th, 2019.
Wild flowers sprouting up with warm weather. Back to dormant mode now with cooler weather in place. April 26th, 2019.
Little Sugarbush free of ice, April 25th, 2019. Loons returned shortly after as usual!
Poplar blooms floating on low area holding water. April 25th, 2016.
First wild flower of the season popping up along the singletrack, April 23rd, 2019.
Keith dropping in for the first dirt ride of the year, April 23rd, 2019. The east side loop now open for the season under early season conditions.
Clearing singletrack, April 22nd, 2019. Ideal drying conditions has allowed us to work on the mountain bike trail. Getting very close to having portion of the trail open!
East side of Skaters Waltz,April 19th, 2019 providing enough snow for the last ski of the year.
Top of Suicide Hill, April 19th, 2019.
Bottom of Suicide Hill, April 19th, 2019.
East side of Skaters Waltz,April 19th, 2019.
Flooded water at start of JibFly, April 19th, 2019.
Few ponds open water now. April 19th, 2019.
JibFly at dusk, April 19th, 2019.
Little Sugarbush lake, lake Maplelag is next to, still 95% covered in ice. April 19th, 2019.
Start of Sap Run ski trail, April 14th, 2019.
Denny and Aaron out for a morning ski. April 10th, 2019.
One more ski! Just Ski! April 10th, 2019.
Skirting across a thin area, April 10th, 2019.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz, April 9th, 2019.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz, April 9th, 2019.
Sapsicle. April 9th, 2019.
Grooming on Suicide HIll, April 9th, 2019.
Skaters Waltz early evening, April 7th, 2019.
North Loup early evening, April 7th, 2019.
Spring skiers! Glenn and Knute heading out to Twin Lakes for a late season ski, April 6th, 2019.
Nice section of trail on JibFly, April 5th, 2019.
Single green with plenty of coverage, April 5th, 2019.
Nice section of Skaters Waltz, April 5th, 2019. A few thin areas on the west side otherwise nice wet corn snow skiing. (Best to avoid the Kamikaze segment and use Poki Loki as a connector)
JibFly ski trail, April 5th, 2019.
North Loup, April 5th, 2019. 95% of North Loup with very good coverage. Always the last trail to lose snow.
Mary on JibFly, heading down the hill! April 3rd, 2019.
Mary on JibFly! Great morning on the trails. April 3rd, 2019.
Fantastic skate skiing, morning April 3rd, 2019.
Great crust skiing on North Loup, April 3rd, 2019.
Cutting new track on Rootin Tootin at dusk, April 2nd, 2019.
Snowy morning on Sukkerbusk, (S.Schumacher photo) April 2nd, 2019.
Rootin Tootin with a fresh dusting of snow, April 2nd, 2019.
Cutting new track on Sap Run, April 1st, 2019.
Combing skate lane on North Loup, April 1st, 2019.
Combing Skaters Waltz, April 1st, 2019.
North Loup, April 1st, 2019.
Fresh tracks! April 1st, 2019.
Sunset spring ski on Sap Run, March 31st, 2019.
Sunset spring ski on Sap Run, March 31st, 2019.
Striding on Sukkerbusk, March 29th, 2019.
Still some track definition on Sap Run, March 29th, 2019.
Feeder to Skaters Waltz with lots of snow, March 29th, 2019.
Setting new track on Sap Run, March 29th, 2019.
Grooming kamikaze hill section on Skaters Waltz, March 29th, 2019.
Peder A climbing Single Green trail, March 22nd, 2019. The Thursday evening groomed trails skiing fast until 11am or so.
Cruising on Skaters Waltz extension, March 22nd, 2019. Trails not recently groomed are best crust skiing from sunrise to 11am.
Crust skiing on Dry Lake off North Loup, March 22nd, 2019. The lakes and ponds great from sunrise to 1pm.
Twin Lakes ski trail, March 22nd, 2019. Still track definition from grooming last week. Still some great spring skiing to be had. Best in the morning.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz at dusk, March 21st, 2019.
Cutting new track on Sap Run, March 21st, 2019.
Cutting new track on Sukkebusk, March 21st, 2019.
Peder A. enjoying a spring ski, March 16th, 2019.
Heading down Eagle View, March 16th, 2019.
Spring skate skiing, March 15th, 2019.
Jonell enjoying the spring conditions on JibFly, March 15th, 2019.
Setting track on Twin Lakes, March 15th, 2019. All the classic trails groomed today singletrack except the two way segments.
Grooming on Skaters Waltz, March 15th, 2019.
Setting track on Sukkerbusk, March 15th, 2019.
Area ponds and sloughs should be some great crust skiing the next few weeks provided it freezes hard at night. March 15th, 2019.
Grooming Mother North Star for fat biking, March 15th, 2019.
Skiing in dusting of new snow, March 14th, 2019.
Late season ski fun with chef Deb! March 11th, 2019.
Afternoon ski on Sukkerbusk, March 11th, 2019.
Sunset grooming on Poki Loki, March 11th, 2019.
Skied in track on Mother North Star, March 11th, 2019.
Chef Deb out for a ski after last day in the kitchen for the winter season. March 11th, 2019.
Top of Suicide Hill, March 10th, 2019.
JibFly, March 10th, 2019.
Turning on Suicide Hill, March 10th, 2019.
Skiing through the skinny field, March 9th, 2019. Great winter scenes with all the fresh snow!
Grooming Saturday afternoon, March 9th, 2019. Didn’t take long for the grooming to get covered up!
Great groomed classic skiing today, March 7th, 2019.
Snow getting deep! March 7th, 2019.
Even though not recently groomed, nice skiing on Lucky’s Loype. March 7th, 2019.
Even though not recently groomed, nice skiing on Lucky’s Loype. March 7th, 2019.
Twin Lakes ski trail, March 6th, 2019. Single tracked for the weekend.
Grooming on North Loup, March 6th, 2019.
Combing North Loup for skating and fat biking, March 5th, 2019.
Combing Skaters Waltz for skating, March 5th, 2019.
Cutting new double track on Sukkerbusk, March 5th, 2019.
Fresh snow on North Loup before grooming, March 5th, 2019.
Grooming for skate and fat biking on North Loup, March 4th, 2019.
Setting double track on Sap Run, March 4th, 2019. Dusting of snow with areas of wind blown after grooming. Grooming on tap for more classic trails Wednesday and Thursday.
Lucky’s Loype March 3rd, 2019.
Wavy Gravy with 2-3″ new snow on top of recent grooming. March 2nd, 2019.
Twin Lakes February 28th, 2019. Double tracked until the main loop than single tracked on main loop.
Dr Bob finishing up a recovery skate ski, February 28th, 2019. Congrats Bob on the second place finish in the 70-74 age category at the Birkie 50km skate race. Bob put a lot of hours on the Maplelag trails this season.
Grooming Skaters Waltz, February 27th, 2019.
Grooming North Loup for skate and fat biking, February 27th, 2019.
Coating of gliss on the trail, February 27th, 2019.
Paulo and GiGi heading out. February 27th, 2019.
Skaters Waltz at dusk. Firm deck but slow snow with cold temps. February 27th, 2019.
Start of Twin Lakes filled in with snow after blizzard like conditions. February 24th, 2019. Trails not recently groomed will be good skiing with variable snow cover conditions.
A Family Owned and Operated Destination Cross-Country Ski Center
