Snowmobile Trail Conditions

Well, this is always a sad day for me. My last ride of the season! I’ll be busy during the month of March and unable to get any riding in. In my opinion early season and late season riding are by far the best. You get some very large snowfalls late in the season, and there is hardly any traffic. You pretty much have the trails to yourself and there is rarely a wait any place you stop. We decided to go against the grain today and start on the trails that are off the “beaten trail”. We took 6 West to 11 North and made our way into Wakefield.

Both trails were in excellent shape and we passed a groomer on trail 11. We got breakfast and then gassed up. It looked like the town was having an ice fishing derby and there were people everywhere (lots of fun!). We made our way past the ski hills and ran into our roughest section of trail for the day. Once we got past the rough spots we were on the park road and cruised into Silver City. We made our way through town and took trail 1 South to White Pine. This trail had some bumps in it also, but nothing too bad. We grabbed lunch at Konteka and then continued towards Bergland. Once we arrived in Bergland we gassed up again and headed down the East shore of Lake Gogebic to the Root Cellar. We got off the lake there and continued down trail 13 South to trail 2 East. Trail 13 was in surprisingly good shape and trail 2 was in great condition. We made a short stop at Rogers Bar and then hopped back on the sleds to Marenisco on trail 2 West. Then we stopped at Bambams in Marenisco for a pizza and a drink. After dinner we took trail 2 West (this part of trail 2 was a bit rough) and then we hooked up with trail 11 South. Trail 11 was still in great shape and made for a nice end to our long day.

Overall Trail Rating: 8 out of 10
Distance: 230
Previous: 1,770
Season Total: 2,000

My Dad arrived last night and we hit the trails early this morning. I wanted to try something different for breakfast so we headed East. We got gas in Presque Isle and then took trail 1 North to trail 2 East. Both trails were in perfect shape and we were the first sleds down trail 2 since they were groomed!

We took local trail 13 South and then crossed the Cisco chain. Trail 13 and the chain were also in excellent condition. The portages between the lakes were rough, but those are always that way. We rolled into Bents camp and then I remembered they only do lunch and dinner. Then we headed for Land O Lakes and got breakfast at the pine cone restaurant. Great food and service! After breakfast we left town on trail 3 North and got gas in Watersmeet. Trail 3 was also in very good shape. There were a few bumps from traffic, but nothing out of the ordinary. We left town on trail 2 East and then got on trail 107 North to Kenton.

After a short stop at UP Chucks for a bite to eat, we took trail 8 West and then trail 3 South to Watersmeet. On our way through town we saw a few snowmobile club members so we stopped to chat with them. Then we made our way down trail 3 South to Gateway Lodge and met up with all of the other Prairie Riders and had our club dinner. After dinner we took trail 6 West back to Presque Isle. 6 West was BY FAR the worst trail we rode the entire weekend! A large section is a paved road and they scrape it down very thin. Be sure that you go to the shoulder and get fresh snow under your machine or you will end up overheating it!

Overall Trail Rating: 8 out of 10
Distance: 190
Previous: 1,580
Season Total: 1,770

Today was our longest run of the year. We were out the door by 7 and on the trail shortly after. It was a bit colder than we expected so we made an early stop for breakfast and Fishtales Pub N Grub on Lake Gogebic. After breakfast we made our way up the lake then out of town on trail 8 to trail 13. We didn’t see another sled for the first 65 miles of our ride. The first traffic we saw was between Bergland and Rockland. All trails were in great shape and we were 2 of the first sleds on them since the groomer went through. We hooked up with trail 3 and rode that into Twin Lakes. After getting gas at BP and continuing east, the trails started to get very loose.

They had been groomed but the snow was very loose and made it more difficult to steer, other than that things were great. We rode across the bridge in Houghton and got to see the work of some idiots that give the rest of us snowmobilers a bad name. When you come through there, they have signs EVERYWHERE that say DO NOT ride on the ice. What did those morons do? They crossed the channel and dropped one of their sleds in! There were divers with air bags getting ready to go fetch their sled. Nice work idiots! I hope you got some good fines from the DNR and your sleds never start again! Anyways, back to our ride….. The closer we got to Copper Harbor the more ruts we saw in the trail, but that is to be expected that late in the day. We got lunch at the Tamarack Restaurant. The waitress rides her sled to work and is full of great information about the area. After lunch we gassed up and headed for home. On the way back the trails were more rough, and once we got past Twin Lakes things improved dramatically. I purchased a new tracking device that will show our route and I hope to have that online soon!

Overall Trail Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Distance: 380
Previous: 1,200
Season Total: 1,580

Today was our longest ride of the week. We hooked up with trail 11 North and rode into Wakefield. We gassed up in town and then rode west on trail 2 towards the ski hills. We got breakfast at the Kinda Kountry Cafe. They had large portions and decent food. You’ll find it if you follow their signs. After breakfast we made our way through the ski hills and continued on trail 11 North. Once we passed the ski hills, this was by far the worst trail of the week. It was rough all the way until we reached the park road. I’m not sure if the groomer was broken or what, but it was ROUGH! Once we got on the park road, we cruised into Silver City and hardly felt a bump. We got lunch at Porky’s. They had good food and friendly wait staff (unlike the helmet police at Foothills). We left Silver City and took trail 1 South. This trail saw it’s fair share of traffic this weekend, so it was a bit chewed up, nothing unexpected for weekend conditions. Once we arrived in Bergland we gassed up at Mobile and headed for the lake. This trip across the lake was less eventful and actually kind of warm. The sun was out! We joined back up with trail 1 and took that to trail 2 West out of Marenisco. Then we got on trail 11 South to trail 6 East back home. Other than the rougher trails to the north, it was a great day of riding and capped off a fun week!

Overall Trail Rating: 9 out of 10
Distance: 185
Previous: 1,015
Season Total: 1,200

We started out on trail 6 East into Presque Isle. Fortunately the groomer was out last night and got the ruts cleaned up! We cruised into town, gassed up and got breakfast at The Outpost Cafe. I’ve said it in the past and I’ll say it again…..if you like french toast, be sure to order that here. You won’t be disappointed! After breakfast we took trail 1 North to Lake Gogebic. We ran the lake from the south end to the north end. About half way there, the belt on my buddy’s sled let loose so we stopped and changed that. Note to self…..carry a pocket knife at all times while riding! The cords in the belt got wrapped around the clutch pretty good and it took us a while to get it all out of there. A knife would have come in very handy! Once that was all taken care of, we stopped at the ski-doo dealer for a little work and then headed to town to gas up. On the way home we took trail 8 West to Wakefield and gassed up there. We stopped at Bingos for a pizza and then headed back home. We rode trail 8 East to trail 11 South. Most of these trails were in excellent shape which made for a quick trip home.

Overall Trail Rating: 9 out of 10
Distance: 120
Previous: 895
Season Total: 1,015

We rolled out today around 10am. My buddy flew in last night from Cleveland and was ready to hit the trails! We took trail 6 East and stopped at Skyview for breakfast. They have great food, but in the morning they seem to be short on staff, so plan on spending at least 1 hour in there from when you arrive until you leave. After breakfast we hooked up with trail 1 North and then took trail 2 East. All of these trails were in great shape and plenty of snow! As we got further east on trail 2, it was pretty obvious that they had less snow in that area. We started to see a few rocks in the trail, etc. They had plenty of snow to ride, just not as much as they got to the West. After arriving in Watersmeet we gassed up and headed down trail 3 into Land O Lakes. The conditions were the same as on trail 2, smooth, but a little less snow. We took trail 6 West out of Land O Lakes and stopped at Bents Camp for lunch. They have EXCELLENT food there and a great view too! After lunch we headed across the Cisco Chain and got on local trail 13 north. This trail was in fantastic shape and took us to trail 2 West. Trail 2 was a bit chewed up from the traffic but got better as we got closer to Marensico. We got gas in Marensico and then took trail 2 West out of town. The gas station just reopened, but did not take credit cards yet, cash only! This portion of trail 2 was also pretty chewed up, that lasted until we hit trail 11 South. Once on trail 11 it was smooth sailing all the way to the Wisconsin state line, then we hit the bumps again. We rode trail 11 South to trail 6 East back to Birch Lake.

Overall Trail Rating: 8 out of 10
Distance: 140
Previous: 755
Season Total: 895

Today was a pretty fun ride. I had the chance to take an old school snowmobiler and show him the latest and greatest sleds. He lives in the area, but rides a 70’s ski-doo. I put him on the 1996 ski-doo mxz 670. We started out the day on trail 6 East into Presque Isle to gas up. After getting gas we took trail 1 North to trail 2 East.

All of these trails were in great shape, with a few icy corners. We then hit trail 13 North and it was in PERFECT shape! It probably helped that we were the first sleds on the groomed trail and it stayed that way for 15+ miles until we crossed paths with the groomer. Even after we passed the groomer, the trail was still in good shape. We arrived at the Root Cellar to have lunch. My buddy couldn’t believe how much better the mxz rode than his 1970’s model. After lunch we hopped on lake Gogebic and headed for Bergland to gas up. On the way there, I had my buddy ride the 2005 mxz renegade 800. After we got to the gas station, he was raving about how much better that machine was. We then headed out of town on trail 8 towards Wakefield.

Along the way, I had my buddy ride the 2009 mxz renegade. I think he died and went to heaven LOL. We met up with trail 2 and took that back towards Marenisco. Both trail 8 and trail 2 were in very good shape for mid day riding. Normally these trails see a lot of traffic and can get bumpy quick!
We then took trail 11 South and trail 6 East. If you like to get “off the beaten path” be sure to check out trail 11. There are no bars, gas stations, resorts, etc out there, but you will experience some of the best riding in the north woods. Smooth wide trails that run through some very beautiful scenery.

We made it back home before 5pm and the guys couldn’t stop talking about how much fun they had.

Overall Trail Rating: 9 out of 10
Distance: 132
Previous: 623
Season Total: 755