Sault Ste. Marie Trail Report – 01/03
SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 01/03 1/3/25 11:45 Pm “Dave sent me out tonight to groom Trail 8 from Raco to Brimley, the Powerline, and Trail 480 part way down Spile Dam Road. I’m pleasantly surprised how well the trail base held up after the recent thaw. At times the blowing lake effect snow made for some poor visibility. There was quite a bit of drifting snow on the edges that I was able to pull into the trail. The trails in the Raco, Brimley, and Bay Mills area are looking good, and will just get better with the lower temps and lake effect snow.” Sweet! Hope you all get to enjoy Bills efforts tomorrow! Thanks Bill! ❄️❄️❄️ <> 1/3/25 2:15 PM trail update Anything south of the Soo is thin. So that’s 49 south of 3 Mile which is still wet anyway, 494 around the Kinross airport, 472 out of Kinross and part of 480 up toward the Spile Dam. Snow gets better as you head north of M28. Trail 480, to 8 and the 889 loop up and around Bay Mills was groomed this morning. 8 from the Soo to 6 mile has the most snow, varying from 10” new yesterday, to 5” more west as you leave town, then is thin through Brimley, gets better north of where 8 meets 889 in Raco. The city trails have a lot of snow, and there is blowing and drifting in the open areas which will continue due to gusty winds. Behind Kewadin in the Soo is still too wet for a groomer at last check, but we will update once we can get in there and check. It will be rough since it has not been groomed this season. If anyone has been in there recently, please let me know. All trails other than the wet areas have a solid ice base. I got a report of 7” of new snow in the Dollar Settlement area which is the area north of Raco where a lot of the fire roads are that people also ride. We will be out again this afternoon checking conditions, and we will report what we see. As you can see, conditions vary widely across our trail system. Always welcome rider reports in the comments. The winter storm warning is in effect until 7 am tomorrow. Ride safe, ride right, and ride sober! Sheriffs will be out looking for stickers, and watching for full stops at the stop signs. Thanks all! ❄❄❄ <> <> Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association Facebook Page <> WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Light snow showers along Lake Superior will continue tonight as cool air and blustery northerly winds push the wind chills to the single digits above and below 0 tonight. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaLight snow showers along Lake Superior will continue tonight as cool air and blustery northerly winds push the wind chills to the single digits above and below 0 tonight. SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/5/25 8:30 PM update Question for you guys...I have 3 sleds coming up. One is a four stroke viper, with modified trail exhaust. Not super loud. Any issues with this in Michigan? Fines penalties? SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Old Soo Line Grade Lodge >> 01/05/25 - Holding at around 8” … #soo #snowphotos WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> We wouldn’t blame you if you thought the forecast ahead sounded like a broken record. Consistent light lake effect snow is expected through the first half of the week ahead with a fluffy 1-2 inches of snow expected daily in the NW wind lake effect snow bands. Meanwhile, highs will mainly be in the teens to lower 20s with lows in the single digits. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaWe wouldn’t blame you if you thought the forecast ahead sounded like a broken record. Consistent light lake effect snow is expected through the first half of the week ahead with a fluffy 1-2 inches of snow expected daily in the NW wind lake effect snow bands. Meanwhile, highs will mainly be in the teens to lower 20s with lows in the single digits. Hopefully more than the predicted amount! Usually accurate? SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/5/25 SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/4/25 back in the saddle!❄️❄️❄️ #soo #snowphotos SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/5/25 - trail 8 Soo to Brimley update, Thank you groomer Dan! #soo #snowphotos WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Clouds build back over the west half overnight, with the east half seeing breezy conditions with a fluffy inch or two of snow falling overnight. Temperatures overnight will fall to the single digits for much of the west half. More light lake effect snow to fall Sunday, with highs around 20. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaClouds build back over the west half overnight, with the east half seeing breezy conditions with a fluffy inch or two of snow falling overnight. Temperatures overnight will fall to the single digits for much of the west half. More light lake effect snow to fall Sunday, with highs around 20. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> NW wind lake effect snow will taper off today, but areas near Munising and eastward will continue to see hazardous travel conditions. Gusty winds upwards of 35 mph combined with highs only in the single digits to teens will create a wind chill threat. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaNW wind lake effect snow will taper off today, but areas near Munising and eastward will continue to see hazardous travel conditions. Gusty winds upwards of 35 mph combined with highs only in the single digits to teens will create a wind chill threat. <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>
From Brimley Bill tonight-
We have been in and out of snow squalls here in the Soo on the west end where I live.Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
Run down of where we are at. Like all of you, I’m a rider too and I try my best to give you accurate info. I realize everyone has a different perspective of what is good and bad. I feel like I’m pretty fair, and often times more critical of our trails because I want to be as honest as possible. So here we go-
The Soo definitely got the most out of the lake effect snow event from Thursday to this morning. Not as much west or south of us on our trail system.
Trail 8 from the Soo to Raco gets thinner as you head west to about a mile or two west of Irish Line, then sees a bit more coverage as you approach the 480 intersection. Open areas saw snow get blown off the trail, and our operators use the blade as best they can to pull snow in from the sides. There are some thin areas, most notably just west of 6 Mile where those doggone slag rocks are popping up for about 100 feet. I stop and toss them off when I see them. We’ll try to pick the drag up in that section to keep them from pulling up. More snow will bury them back up.
8 on the powerline to Ranger Rd had more snow on it than I expected and is great.
889 is also great.
Met some of our other volunteers for a ride today coming from Kinross. They took 472 to 480 to 8 and they said it was good. A few ruts left from some wheeled vehicles during the warm up. Nothing major.
Rider reports from 49 south of M80 and the 494 loop reported both as excellent.
The city trails, with the exception of 449 and the now closed Kewadin trail are also in good shape. Pete is out there now, and will have a report for us that I’ll share.
I’m going to pin the post about 449 and the Kewadin Trail for easy reference.
49 from Alberta Ln south of the DonDee Lanes (great food!) remains ungroomed. Lots of wet spots still. The cold weather should do the trick and allow it to freeze up nicely. We’ll run it as soon as it makes sense to do so. It is ungroomed from there to Gaines Hwy in Kinross. Sleds have been riding it, but you need to know it’s at your own risk, and is likely very rough.
Overall, we could use more snow to freshen up most areas, but things overall are good with some fair areas, and some excellent areas!
I hope that helps! Ride safe! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo
Good morning all!
Brimley Bill headed out very early this morning in the Bay Mills and Raco area on part of 480, the powerline, and 889. Here’s his report-
“I groomed the Powerline and the Mission Hill Loop early this morning. There’s still some wind, but not as strong as yesterday. Open areas still have some drifting.
I was able smooth out all the chatter from traffic and drifts.
I got out early enough so that the trail had some time to set up before any sled traffic.
The trails are in really good shape.”
Thanks Bill! Have a great ride everyone! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #snowphotos