U.P. Snowmobile Trail Report 1.6.14
Upper Peninsula Snowmobile Trails Officially open December 1st and Close March 31st. Please check this report during the season for trail condition reports across the UP!
Western Upper Peninsula - By County:
Gogebic County & Ontonagon County: (12/31) Bitter cold today. Right now it feels like -29. Our high today is -6. Few snow showers are in the forecast. We have a chance for snow for the next 10 days. Our weekend will be warmer with highs in the teens. We need more snow to get the trails in great shape with all the traffic we had this past weekend.
Gogebic Range Trail Authority Trails: Reports all groomers are fixed and will be out grooming. Trail 2 between Ramsay to Wakefield snow is thin and is in fair condition, from the junction of trail 8 and 2 to Great Lakes Rd. expect some wet spots. Trail 8 is groomed expect some rough spots with all the traffic it is in fair to good condition. Trail 160 was groomed on Saturday, we need more snow to get this trail in good shape. Condition on trail 160 are fair and expect early season riding. Trail ll N was groomed as much as they could due to the swamps which are still not frozen, so please use caution. We have gotten word from the DNR trail 11S will be closed due to logging this winter. Use caution on hills and corners they may be icy.
Lake Gogebic: Grooming is ongoing as long as the temps don't drop way below zero...to be safe grooming will stop. Conditions are good in most areas. The good news is the wet spots are firming up with all the cold weather we have had. More snow is in the forecast. Watch for signs posted on the bridge out on Trail 8, east of Bergland, it will be rerouted over the dam at the north end of the lake. This is marked so use caution in this area. The gas station in Bergland has reopened and is renamed the "Bergland Outpost" this is great news.
Watersmeet: Groomers are out every day and trails are in good to very good condition. Trail 3 N from Land O Lakes is in great shape, Trail 2 E to the intersection of 107 is in great shape, Trail 2 W to Trail 13 is in great shape. Trail 13S to Cisco Chain of Lakes is in good condition and Trail 3 S is in good condition. We have some trails which are starting to show some gravel under the pines on Trail 2 and Trail 3 through Bond Falls We need more snow in this heavy traffic area.
Ontonagon/Silver City/White Pine: (12/26) Another 8-10" of snow last night, we know that there's snow everywhere this year, but that's exactly when its the best time to come up here, we have a lot more snow, and nobody riding. Trails are being groomed daily , with very light traffic.
Bruce Crossing: (1/1) 7" base.We are on a normal schedule now and will continue as long as the snow holds up. We will try and not overgroom the trails and cause less than desirable riding conditions.The cold weather has really hardened up the trails. The Bruce Crossing to Ewen trail is in good condition, groomed.Trail 3 North to Rockland is in fair to good condition. Groomed with some bumpy areas. Watch for some brush, drivers will trim some each trip.The Sidnaw to Bruce Crossing trail is in good condition, groomed.The Sidnaw to Sturgeon trail is in good condition, groomed.Trail 3 south to the CC road is in good condition, groomed with some thin spots. Remember the GROOMERS have the right of way on the trails! Please slow down near them.We will groom every night if the snow allows.Please take your oil bottles and blown belts with you and dispose of them properly. Have a fun and safe trip!
Twin Lakes/Greenland: (12/29) 36+" cover. I haven't been updating every day-couple inches here & there & keeps settling in. Conditions for riding are exceptional the riders are reporting. All grooming is done every night. Knock on wood-all 4 groomers are running-few blown tires but mechanical parts are all good. Getting rather cold out again and prediction of big snowfall ahead. As that happens I will write daily. Biggest problems lately are downed trees due to heavy weight of snow on them-but sure makes for beautiful scenery.
Houghton County & Keweenaw County: 39-52" cover. The snowmobile trails from Twin Lakes to Copper Harbor are open. The groomers are out and working on the trails and conditions are very good. Remember to watch out for the groomers when you’re out on the trails, they have the right of way!! Watch for a temporary reroute on Trail 3 north of Mohawk because of logging. The protective mat on the Portage Lift Bridge between Houghton and Hancock has been installed. The Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau asks that you stay on the trails, STAY OFF THE ICE, respect private property, do not drink and drive, and above all else, please, drive safely. The signs on the snowmobile trails are there for the riders’ safety. Please, DO NOT remove or destroy these signs. Please be aware that if you snowmobile on U.S. Coast Guard property you could face federal trespass charges.
Baraga County: (01/02) We are so far ahead of last year!!! While opening the trail we do groom during the day so please look out for the groomer.
Big Bay Trail #14: 3-12" base. Trails are groomed and in good condition.
Alston Trail #15 to #8/15 to #109: 3-10" base. Water holes are getting better.
Nestoria Trail #15 to #8: 3-10" base. Trail is in fair condition. Well the groomer made it to Moose Mountain. There is alot of spongy areas on this trail so it will not be groomed again until we get some colder temps and some snow. Please be careful while riding this trail.
Chassell Trail #15 North: 3-14" base. Trail is in fair condition.
Groomer made one pass to Chassell - still has water issues but should freeze up with the cold temps we are having. Will be groomed in a couple of days.
L'Anse: 8" base. Depends on the trail you want to for conditions. We have groomed trail #14 Big Bay and the Alston trail has a couple of water holes on it so becareful. We did groom the Nestoria trail and that what has alot of wet spongy areas so it will not be groomed until we get more snow and colder temps. The Chassell trail did get one pass on it so we are going to let it set up for a couple of days before we groom it again
Sidnaw: (1/1) 7" base. We are on a normal schedule now and will continue as long as the snow holds up. We will try and not overgroom the trails and cause less than desirable riding conditions. The cold weather has really hardened up the trails. Check out our Facebook page; Sno Valley Riders Snowmobile Club Sidnaw/Bruce Crossing, Mi. The Bruce Crossing to Ewen trail is in good condition, groomed. Trail 3 North to Rockland is in fair to good condition. Groomed with some bumpy areas. Watch for some brush, drivers will trim some each trip. The Sidnaw to Bruce Crossing trail is in good condition, groomed. The Sidnaw to Sturgeon trail is in good condition, groomed. Trail 3 south to the CC road is in good condition, groomed with some thin spots. Remember the GROOMERS have the right of way on the trails! Please slow down near them. We will groom every night if the snow allows. Please take your oil bottles and blown belts with you and dispose of them properly. Have a fun and safe trip!
Iron County:
Iron River: (12/31) 8" base. All of the groomers have been out on the entire trail system. All of the trails are in fair to good condition. This is the first time in a few years that we have had rideable snow between Christmas and New Years so get up here and ride our trails!!! Please be sure to stay on the trail where the signs are up. The land owners give us permission to cross their land, but they can also take it away!! All of the officers and members of the Iron Range Trail Club would like to wish you a very Happy New Year! Be safe on the trails and keep the track side down!!
Crystal Falls: (12/30) 4" base. The North & South trails to Iron River are in good shape. The swampy area of the trail heading to Sagola just outside of Crystal Falls is not good - go around it (our groomer almost got stuck). There is plenty of parking at our plowed trailhead located at 9 Superior Avenue (at the bottom of the hill) in Crystal Falls next to our quonset hut. We also have 2 porta-jons there for your convenience. You can access all of our trails from that parking lot (there is a trail map display board there as well). Have fun! And Merry Christmas!
Central Upper Peninsula - By County
Marquette County:
Marquette Trails: Fully groomed
Gwinn/Sawyer/Little Lake: Fully groomed
Crossroads Trails: Fully groomed
Harvey Trails: No report
Deerton/Sandriver Trails: No report
Clowry Trails: Fully groomed
Ishpeming Trails: Fully groomed
Silver Lake: Partial groomed
Big Bay Trails: Fully groomed
Dickinson County: (12/27) 4" base. We hope to get enough snow to groom next week. All trails are packed by the Pisten Bulley and windfalls have been removed. Trail #2 is temporarily closed on the North side of Lake Antoine. Logging is in progress. Trail 2 is rerouted for .7 mile to the edges of Indiana Mine Rd just West of the Fumee Lake Natural Area and East of Lake Antoine. Please use caution and follow the temporary signing.
Menominee County: Trails are groomed and in good condition.
Alger County:
Munising: (12/31) 6-8" base. Groomers are running daily. Lots of snow and Lake Effect advisory in effect thru New Years Day. Cold temps and snow in the forcast thru the weekend..Happy New Year....Drive Safe
Grand Marais: (12/30) 6" base. Gotta bundle up and layer if you're out riding the next couple days. 11 to 18 inches of fresh snow predicted but the wind chills are going to be wicked! If the kids are with you, remember, they are colder than you are so check on them frequently and make sure they have hand and feet warmers. Trails are all in great condition and we are grooming every trail, every night!
AuTrain: (01/01) 8-10" base. Not many riders braving the cold, cold today, but they are happy with the conditions and happier with soup and cocoa in them. The lake effect should continue through the night, but not expected to be heavy.
Delta County: (12/26) Trail 2 from Rapid River to Gladstone is being groomed and is in decent condition. Have a wonderful day and pray for snow!
Schoolcraft County:
Seney: (1/1) 8" base. Anywhere from 14 to 8" of snow as fallen in the last two days. The trails are in great shape and the groomers have snow to work with and that makes the boyz smile. We are groomin south of town on trail 43. Have not done that in a few years this early. See you here Where Friends and Trails Meet.
Manistique: (12/31) 5" base. Good news on our east sector, Bear Creek Swamp is about completely froze in. All trails are in Good+ condition. We do have a groomer broke down but are running the others longer hours to try to make up. There is a wet spot behind 3 Mile Supper Club, so watch for that if your in the area. Northern sectors are good to very good with a Lake Effect advisory thru New Years Day.
Eastern Upper Peninsula - By County
Luce County: (12/30) We are currently grooming three trails with only two groomers. Our third machine has been in the shop for repairs and hopefully will be returning on January 8th.
Trail 9: 8-24" cover. Trail is in good condition. Watch for wet areas along CR 407 in the ditch areas.
Trail 45: 8-24" cover. Trail is in good condition. There is a couple of wet spots between CR 500 and the upper falls.
South Trail 9/2 to Epoufette/Trout Lake: 8" cover. Trail condition is good. The trail is groomed to Epoufette and part way to Trout Lake Trail. We cannot get all the way to Trout Lake until the swamp freezes.
Trail #473 to Trout Lake:
Chippewa County:
Sault Ste Marie: (12/31) Trails are in good to excellent shape. Some flowing water on the Spile Dam trail yet, Kinross to Raco. All the rest of our wet areas are frozen over. We will be grooming the Bay Mills Trail groomer is down.
Trail #8 - Brimley to Sault: 3-5" base. Trail is in good to excellent condition.
Trail #8 - Brimley to Raco: 3-7" base. Trail is in excellent condition.
Trail #8 - Raco to Naomikong: 3-8" base. Trail is in excellent condition.
Sault Ste Marie City Trail: Trails #497, #449 parts of #8 & #49: 2-5" base. Trail is in Good to Excellent Condition. City curfew is from 1am - 6 am. Remember most City streets are open to traffic, 20 mph, stop at all intersections, and ride the right hand side of street not on side walks. Watch for closed streets that are posted, mainly around the hospital, university, and state trunk lines.
Trail #49 - Sault to Kinross: 2-5" base. Trail is in good to excellent condition.Condition. When the trail is running along roads make sure you go with the flow of traffic on the right side of the road. All wet spots frozen.
Trail #49, #494, #472 Kinross loop & South to Pickford: 3-5" base. Trail is in good to excellent condition.
Trail #480 & #472 Kinross to Raco/Rudyard: 2-5" base. Trail is in Poor to good to Condition, the only bad spot is one water hole before the bridge but you can get around it on the sled. The trail has been groomed completely. Watch for deer!
The downtown trail: Has not been groomed, but it is marked.
Paradise: 6" base. I haven`t updated in the last few days....sorry. I`ve been busy blowing and shoveling snow!!! We`ve had a foot and a half to two feet of snow since Christmas!!! The temps have been close to zero also....dats COLD!! It is supposed to remain that way for the forseeable future with alittle snow too.All trails are in great shape. Some of the drivers are pushing me to call them excellent, but, I`m sticking with just great for now until we get just alittle more snow. Don`t get me wrong, if you go off trail you might get stuck cause we have about 3 feet on the ground but we need alittle more on the trail to call them excellent...thats just me.Sled traffic has been light....where is everybody? You are missing out. The trails have been holding up great for the entire day cause of this. Soooo....come on UP!!! Groomer Chris
Eckerman: 4" base. The weather report for the next ten days can be summed up in one word, cold. A bit of a warm up coming on Friday and Saturday if you consider a high of 20 degrees a warm up!! Dress warmly! The wind chills this week are supposed to be nasty. Looks like the big winter storm they are predicting will stay south of the U.P. We could use some system snow but will have to be satisfied with lake effect. Plenty of that forecasted for the next several days. You should know that we groom at night if at all possible for the following reasons. 1. Less sled traffic. (I wll discuss sled traffic another time). 2. It gets cold at night so the trail will freeze after grooming. 3. A groomed trail that has a few hours to set and to freeze without sled traffic lasts longer. 4. A snowmobiler riding a smooth trail is a happy snowmobiler! 5. Happy snowmobilers come back. There still is a rule that I cite when someone asks me about trail conditions. The early bird gets the smooth trail. If you stay in the sack until ten or eleven and ride late in the afternoon the trails will be rougher than in the morning. The amount of roughness depends on the amount of sled traffic. Except for this week which we affectionately call "hell week" the sled traffic is always heavier on weekends! Stay warm and enjoy the trails. The Soo Club still reports that there is water running over the Spile Dam trail between Kinross/Rudyard and Raco. St. Ignace reported that 5 miles south of Trout Lake and North of M-123 on the RR grade they have water running over the trail. There is a drop in the trail there of about a foot. They have caution signs there but be careful. Things mentioned above are only to give you a heads up and should not be regarded as the latest and greatest information Enjoy the trails but most of all be careful! We want you to return to friends and family in good condition and ready to come back and enjoy our trails again. I am posting a special advisory for all snowmobilers using our trails. A portion of our trail to Trout Lake runs along some power lines parallel to M-123. Cloverland Electric is replacing lines and poles along this section, which is about 3 miles long. Work will not be finished until sometime in early January 2014. The area has been signed and you are cautioned to use lower speeds and caution when riding this stretch. Watch for powerline equipment and workers!
Drummond Island: (12/30) 4" base. The West end of the trails are Fair to Good shape. Water holes on this end of the Island are frozen now. We have a nice base right now and it wont take much more snow to make them really good! East end ... Still having problems with major water holes and Very Little snow on the far east end although conditions are improving! Ride this end with CAUTION.Have a safe and Happy New Year! Both Groomers up and running now!
Mackinac County:
St Ignace: Trails are in pretty good shape right now. There is a solid hard base of 6" or so, and we have worked it and widened things out to the limits, and are waiting for some new snow to top things off and make it perfect. There have been some stutter bumps develop. Typical rideable and not a big deal but they are there, especially on the RR grade. We were working them last night, but didn't make much progress - see below. Off trail is in better shape, things are softer then I would expect, and look to be in fun shape. Still no major base under there, so watch for obstructions and be careful for hidden ski-smashers. It is seriously cold around here. Yes the Island ferry has quit running for about a week. There was open water over last weekend, so no ice bridge as of yet. Things are looking good for a stable ice bridge this year, I will post when the treeline goes up. Did I say things are COLD? Hasn't been a great new year so far around here. Me and Randy had to tent the tractor and put a heater on it to get it going for last nights run. We warmed it up for over and hour and Randy headed out to get a run in. An hour into the run the fuel froze and we had a dead tractor. Top it off with a broken part, and we had to tow her in last night. Parts are on the way, and we have it scheduled to go into some heat tomorrow night. Iggy tractor is down for now, should be back on-trail Saturday evening. Brevort tractor is covering the core of the system today, and probably tomorrow so we should be in decent shape. Don't fear the stutter bumps, head on up and put down some miles! Happy New year everybody.
Curtis: (12/28) 6" base.All our trails are open, but some are needing clean-up work (see below). We have snow and getting more each day. Warmer today, however extreme cold temperatures start again tonight. Trail 45 to Newberry - Groomed and in good to fair condition. Trail 2 to Gould City, Engadine & Naubinway - Rough, working on swamp areas now that they are frozen. Trail 43 to Germfask - Rough, in need of limb and debris clean-up.
Les Cheneaux/Cedarville/Hessel: 4"base.
New Bridge is in place, THANKS TO THE DNR PARKS & REC AND DNR FIRE, Groomed across bridge into DeTour today, base is packing in nicely. It is still early season riding so Stay Alert. THE NEW REROUTE IS IN PLACE ON TRAIL 491. IT goes NORTH OF PICKFORD, instead of THRU town. IT SHOULD be SAFER and better for your CARBIDES. OUR TRAILS SHOULD ALL BE GROOMED BY THIS WEEKEND COME UP and ENJOY THE BEAUTY of the EASTERN U.P. ALL TRAILS ARE NOW PASSABLE, THE TRAIL BETWEEN CEDARVILLE & PICKFORD (10 MILES) is very rough due to swampy areas that make it IMPOSSIBLE TO GROOM at the present time THE rest of the system is MOSTLY GOOD> PLEASE BEAR WITH US, WE DON'T LIKE IT EITHER> WE NEED MORE SNOW !!!
