Trail Conditions: Early Season
Snow Cover: Increasing!
Date of Report: March 13, 2026
Area Report:
Vilas county has announced that trails will officially reopen tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM (Saturday, March 14)!
We are essentially starting from scratch after the springlike weather last week. The new snow has not yet had a chance to freeze to the base, so you will need to ride with caution. Some road routes may still be thin. Expect that corners will not hold snow for long, so they will be icy and very slick! Star Lake is still marked and Plum Lake has been remarked. Please stay close to the markings as there are some homeowners that have aerators near their docks and ice may not be safe.
The winter storm expected over the next two days will likely bring down more trees & branches. Please anticipate that you may come across a few obstacles! We would certainly appreciate your help in getting them cleared from the trail.
The Barnstormers will be out grooming today and tonight so that our entire system will be groomed by opening tomorrow morning. We’ll be continuing with our regular grooming schedule until trails close.
Don’t forget about the drawing to give away a 2025 Polaris 650 VR-1! There is still time to purchase raffle tickets! The drawing will be held at Sayner Pub on Saturday, March 14! Beginning at 11:00 am, there will be food & raffles all day up until the snowmobile drawing at 5:00!!
Snowmobiling Information
The Sayner Barnstormers are proud groomers of the Sayner – Star Lake Wisconsin area snowmobile trails. Our club was founded back on November 26, 1969, with 27 charter members. The Barnstormers trails stretch all the way from Hwy 70, just east of Arbor Vitae, all the way up to Old Hwy B, just west of Land O Lakes. We groom these trails with three tractors each equipped with 9-foot-6-inch grooming drags built by Sno*Boss of Eagle River and Arrowhead Groomers of St. Germain.
Snowmobiling was born here in the 1920s, when Carl Eliason, of Sayner, invented the first snowmobile in 1924 (he called it a snow machine initially). He took his first patent out on November 24, 1927. He has been featured in History Magazine, in the Modern Marvels section. You can still see some of the very first snowmobiles to ever be ridden in Sayner’s History Museum and at Eliason Lumber, both located on Hwy 155 in Sayner.
Our trails cover a variety of terrains including beautiful wooded trails, lake crossings, and some road routes. Over the years signage has improved tremendously, with the most recent addition of intersection numbers, making it easier for snowmobilers to figure out where they are. These intersection numbers were also created to assist snowmobilers and emergency crews to find each other in the unfortunate event of an accident.
Through the combined efforts of the Sayner Barnstormers and our great neighboring clubs, we feel that Vilas County has the best maintained and marked trails in the world. Our trails adjoin St Germain’s BoBoen Club, Arbor Vitae / Minocqua Cross Country Cruiser’s, Eagle River SnoEagle’s, Land O Lakes Frosty Club’s , and Boulder Junction’s trails. Other clubs in the county include the Conover Snow Buddies, Manitowish SnoSkeeters, Presque Isle SnoBunnies, Phelps, and Lac du Flambeau Northern Horseshoe.
See you on the trails and always, Please Ride Safe!!!