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Trail Report – : Western UP, Michigan – January 8, 2020

Reporter:Western U.P. Snowmobile Report
Trail Conditions: Good
Snow Cover: 20"
Date of Report: January 8, 2020
Area Report:

Western U P Snowmobile Trail Report— 1/8/2020

Gogebic Range Trail Authority – Snowmobile & ORV Club Trail Report

  • Trail Condition: Good To Excellent
  • Last Groomed: January 08th, 2020
  • Base Snowfall: 36″
  • Reported On: January 08th, 2020 @ 8:17am

Groomer Report 

Overall Story:

Wednesday 1/8 7:30 am CST:   Grooming continues across our system as normal, groomers will be on the trail today during daylight hours to catch a break from the night runs.  The temps are perfect and we saw about 2-4″ of fresh snow overnight.  Trail 8 traffic pattern changes noted below, PLEASE OBEY SIGNAGE.  Trails remain full of snow and it good to very good condition!  GOOD NEWS:  TRAIL 11S HAS BEEN APPROVED TO REOPEN!  We will send the groomer down it ASAP to get the freezing started!

WARNINGS AND NOTICES:   We are begging riders to ride off trail legally as there are 1-million acres of public land east of Wakefield to off trail ride on – please only ride legal areas!   

Trail 2 from Hurley to Ramsay US-2 Crossing:

Overall rating:  VERY GOOD

Last groomed 1/8/2020.    Please do not ride on sidewalks near Holiday and try to keep noise down in town.

Trail 2 from Ramsay Crossing to Wakefield:

Overall rating:  GOOD TO EXCELLENT

Last groomed 1/8/2020.  The entire stretch is in excellent condition!  Featuring a brand new section to enjoy this season, the club eliminated Prospect road route and moved the trail completely into the woods eliminating 1.5 miles of road route.  PLEASE STAY ON THE TRAIL AND RESPECT THESE LANDOWNERS!

Trail 2 from Wakefield to Marenisco:

Overall Rating:  GOOD TO EXCELLENT

Last groomed 1/8/2020.  There is logging 4 miles east of Wakefield.  Please yield to logging traffic, they are working and you are playing!

Trail 8 from Wakefield to Tula Crossing:

Overall Rating: GOOD TO EXCELLENT

Last Groomed 1/8.  There is a new traffic pattern on the northern end and as of 8am 1/7 the county is plowing up the northern 2 miles of Old M28.  The grooming A-team cut in a new trail under the powerlines for the remainder of this season to keep the ride quality high.  Gogebic Area Grooming is working to freeze in their water holes today to eliminate the final headaches this trail can cause.  Please ride cautiously!

Trail 160 from Walmart to Montreal River (WI):

Overall Rating:  GOOD TO EXCELLENT

Last Groomed 1/7.  Open but with temporary reroutes.  The crew eliminated one reroute yesterday, but Hampston’s marsh remains closed.  Follow Detour on Airport Road (204) to Sarri Lane, it’s a short 1/2 mile max reroute.  STAY ON THE TRAIL!!!!!!   This is our most scenic trail and is a treat to ride!  There are several scenic vistas on the trail such as Bald Mountain “NORTH” lookout viewing Madeline Island/ mouth of the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior,  the Bald Mountain “SOUTH” lookout viewing Gogebic Range (Powderhorn, Copper Peak), the Montreal River Gorge look out and finally the amazing Superior Falls Waterfall Complex.  Stay on the trail in the farm fields.  Over 25 landowners are involved to make this trail a reality, please respect them and ride responsibly.

11S (Wakefield, MI to Winchester, WI):

Overall Rating:  OPENING/Being groomed SOON!  Please feel free to ride in the meantime!  There are downed trees to be aware of.  Seeking rider support to help trim the trail!

11N (Wakefield, MI to South boundary Rd/White Pine):  Closed due to off trail riding.  Seeking local community support with ideas on how to reopen it.  200 yards of private property closed this 25 mile trail.

Gogebic Area Grooming  1/08/2020

Here’s an update with the news that  8 west is now open thanks to the efforts of GAG and  GRTA! 

Winter weather advisory in affect in the Lake Gogebic Area and reports are wide ranged with regard to the amounts of snow we could get.  Future forecast is looking good with cold temps and snow daily and groomers should be able to be out nightly for the remainder of the season. 

Currently:

Trail # 1N:   Bergland to White Pine.  This trail is being groomed nightly and is reported to be good to very good condition.   Wet spots have been taken care of!

  • Trail # 1S:  South towards Marenisco from Trail # 8 (Ethelwood Grade).  This trail was packed and groomed and in good condition.     Wet spots have been filled in – still use caution.
  • Trail # 1South from Marenisco to Wisconsin Border:  This trail is being groomed daily and is reported to be in good to very good condition.
  • Trail # 8East from Bergland to Ewen.  This trail is being groomed daily and is reported in very good condition.
  • Trail # 8:  from Bergland to Wakefield is open and been groomed with two groomers and a drag went down last night.  Holes have been filled in – still use caution and thanks to both GAG and GRTA for their efforts to get this fixed for use!  Good condition.  
  • Trail 102from Bergland to Trail #11, has been packed down with just the groomer to fill in the wet spots. We will be out daily on this trail to get it back into shape.   Good condition.
  • Trail # 13North from Bergland to 101:  This trail is being groomed daily and is reported to be in very good condition. Only one semi wet spot but is being filled nightly.
  • Trail # 13south from Bergland to Root Cellar. This section of trail is 90% ridding on East Shore Road.   Will advise when this can be opened up.
  • As always, ride safe and enjoy our area.

Watersmeet U P Thunder Riders 

  • Trail Condition: Good To Excellent
  • Last Groomed: January 04th, 2020
  • Base Snowfall: 20″
  • Reported On: January 04th, 2020 @ 5:15pm

Groomer Report

Grooming daily and the trails are in very good condition.

Trail #3 from the Wisconsin border to Watersmeet very good condition, Watersmeet to Paulding good condition, 2 logging project on this trail one north of Forest Rd 5250 (trail 150) and the other is north of Bond Falls Rd so please use caution and respect the loggers

Trail #2 west of Watersmeet, very good condition

Trail #2 east of Watersmeet to Trail #107, very good condition

Trail #13 south to Cisco Chain, very good condition