Sault Ste. Marie Trail Report – 01/27
SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 01/27 Trail 49 update 1/27 Big progress tonight but still not officially open. Our trouble spots are still from Alberta Lane to 5 1/2 mile, and south of Devils Hill where the beaver pond is. It’s solid enough for sleds but not the groomer just yet. Steve was out there tonight. Here’s his detailed report. “As most know, Trail 49 from the Soo to Kinross has been closed for the last few weeks due to standing water, open mud holes, and overall unsafe conditions. We as a club have been watching the weather and trying to put a plan in place to safely work towards reopening this section of trail. First off, I want to thank one of our active club members, Randy Menard, who spent a couple days this week photographing all the problem areas that led to the closing of this trail. The pictures were shared with our groomer drivers where we all had a chance to see what we were up against. I think I may have been the first one who was comfortable with what was shown in the pictures, which led to tonight’s grooming run. Lol. We decided yesterday, we were going to go in with a groomer, and start preparing this trail to reopen. I’m not going to lie, there are some anxious moments that lead up to a run like this. We are heading into a swamp, with a couple miles of standing water. Once you commit to going in, there is no place to turn around for a really long stretch. I contacted my good friend Chris, who is a regular passenger with me on this section of trail. He is a former snowmobiler, and someone I can count on to hop in and ride along knowing exactly what we are driving into. I want to thank Chris too for stepping up and coming with me tonight. There is a lot going on in a groomer, and the passenger seat is nerve wracking too. We hopped on the trail and headed south. It was slow going most of the night. I don’t think it could get any rougher than it currently is. I am happy to report a large part of the trail is froze solid. We did sink the groomer once, but with the lockers engaged and careful driving we were able to get ourselves out. We avoided the trail behind the county road commission. It is still wet and not quite ready for a groomer. We knocked down some high spots but didn’t really improve the trail much. I wasn’t comfortable carrying much snow with me in the drag tonight. I was trying to keep the weight down to give us a better chance to stay on top of the ice. Hopefully we have some good news to share soon. Thanks all! Getting closer every day! Appreciate your work and report Steve! ❄️❄️❄️ <> Hi again! <> <> Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association Facebook Page <> Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association Trail Report on MSA <> WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Quiet weather is expected today as highs climb into the 40s with increasing clouds through the day. A cold front will bring light showers to the area tonight, with a wintry mix of precipitation types possible, but not much snow or ice accumulation is expected as lows fall near 30. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaQuiet weather is expected today as highs climb into the 40s with increasing clouds through the day. A cold front will bring light showers to the area tonight, with a wintry mix of precipitation types possible, but not much snow or ice accumulation is expected as lows fall near 30. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> A breezy day is expected today, with westerly gusts to 30 mph expected and a few gusts to 45 mph along the Great Lakes, but otherwise expect showers and fog to clear out in the morning and breaks in the clouds this evening through Friday. Light showers return to the forecast for Saturday. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaA breezy day is expected today, with westerly gusts to 30 mph expected and a few gusts to 45 mph along the Great Lakes, but otherwise expect showers and fog to clear out in the morning and breaks in the clouds this evening through Friday. Light showers return to the forecast for Saturday. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> A wintry mix of freezing drizzle and snow/sleet is expected. Warming temperatures into this evening will change the wintry mix into rain by this evening. Widespread strong southeast gusts to 25 to 35 mph are expected into tonight. Gusts of 40 to 45 mph are possible on the Keweenaw and the eastern sections of the U.P. Light lake effect snow showers are possible for the northwest wind snowbelts on Thursday. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaA wintry mix of freezing drizzle and snow/sleet is expected. Warming temperatures into this evening will change the wintry mix into rain by this evening. Widespread strong southeast gusts to 25 to 35 mph are expected into tonight. Gusts of 40 to 45 mph are possible on the Keweenaw and the eastern sections of the U.P. Light lake effect snow showers are possible for the northwest wind snowbelts on Thursday. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Snow this morning may create sloppy road conditions for the AM commute. Warming temperatures today will change snow to freezing rain/sleet this afternoon, and then to rain by this evening. Widespread strong southeast gusts to 35 mph expected today. 40 to 45 mph possible in the Keweenaw Peninsula and eastern UP. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaSnow this morning may create sloppy road conditions for the AM commute. Warming temperatures today will change snow to freezing rain/sleet this afternoon, and then to rain by this evening. Widespread strong southeast gusts to 35 mph expected today. 40 to 45 mph possible in the Keweenaw Peninsula and eastern UP. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Sunny skies this morning give way to clouds and snow by tonight as another winter weather system heads into Upper Michigan. Continue to monitor the forecast for any changes, and prepare for changes in travel plans, especially in the south central. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaSunny skies this morning give way to clouds and snow by tonight as another winter weather system heads into Upper Michigan. Continue to monitor the forecast for any changes, and prepare for changes in travel plans, especially in the south central. #906wx #miwx SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/31/25 WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Clear skies are expected overnight. Lows tonight will fall into the single digits over the interior western sections of Upper Michigan. Power outages caused be the ice storm continue over portions of south-central Upper Michigan and may last through the night. Remember to be safe with any type of space heaters and have a working carbon monoxide detector. Please consider checking on your neighbors! #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaClear skies are expected overnight. Lows tonight will fall into the single digits over the interior western sections of Upper Michigan. Power outages caused be the ice storm continue over portions of south-central Upper Michigan and may last through the night. Remember to be safe with any type of space heaters and have a working carbon monoxide detector. Please consider checking on your neighbors! #906wx #MIwx SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/31/25 <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>
Good evening!
We left after work tonight, and headed out in heavy snow with increasing winds. You’ll see in our pics, visibility was poor. It stayed this way most of the night.
We made it all the way to Devil’s Hill, which is just north of the beaver pond between 12 Mile Rd and Gaines Hwy.
The return trip went well and it was sure a relief when we could see the lights in the Soo.
We will be in contact with the DNR and will keep working towards getting this trail reopened.
Steve Lawson”
While Steve was out on 49, Nick was over in Raco and Brimley on trail 8, the powerline, and part of 480.
From Nick tonight- “3 inches of lake effect snow really helped shape the trails up tonight. No complaints from ranger road to Brimley to Spile dam! 10/10”
Thanks Nick!
Ride safe and enjoy, all!❄️❄️❄️Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
A couple of our volunteers, Lane and Dennis, made it out for an 180 mile ride from the Pickford area all the way to Cut River and places in between today, even up trail 49 from Kinross!
They definitely encountered some low hanging branches, but no major downed trees and they were surprised how well the trails have held up!
Love to see our hard working volunteers out enjoying themselves on this last official day of an amazing season!
Are you done riding for the season? Where was your last ride? #soo #snowphotos
Last day of the official season, and oh what a season it has been!
We did see significant icing last night, followed by about 2” of snow. I’m sure the trails are icy under the snow. It looks like areas to our northwest such as Paradise and Pine Stump got mostly snow. I would imagine that there are low hanging and broken branches and downed trees in spots, but we were very fortunate based on what I have seen in the Gaylord and Alpena areas.
Please keep your eye on those clubs pages. They may need some assistance in the coming weeks. I’ll share if I hear of anything.
We got very lucky here. If you’re out and about getting those last rides in, please be safe!
Remember, trails on public lands do not close, but will not be groomed. After today, please be mindful of where you are riding to be sure you are not trespassing. We will get gates closed as soon as we can on private property.
Ride safe! Thank you to all who have visited our area and supported or local businesses, to all of our members, donors, our volunteers, and especially the landowners who so graciously allow access on their property! We appreciate you all!
Thank you for helping make it a great season!! #soo #snowphotos3/31/25
Last day of the official season, and oh what a season it has been!
We did see significant icing last night, followed by about 2” of snow. I’m sure the trails are icy under the snow. It looks like areas to our northwest such as Paradise and Pine Stump got mostly snow. I would imagine that there are low hanging and broken branches and downed trees in spots, but we were very fortunate based on what I have seen in the Gaylord and Alpena areas.
Please keep your eye on those clubs pages. They may need some assistance in the coming weeks. I’ll share if I hear of anything.
We got very lucky here. If you’re out and about getting those last rides in, please be safe!
Remember, trails on public lands do not close, but will not be groomed. After today, please be mindful of where you are riding to be sure you are not trespassing. We will get gates closed as soon as we can on private property.
Ride safe! Thank you to all who have visited our area and supported or local businesses, to all of our members, donors, our volunteers, and especially the landowners who so graciously allow access on their property! We appreciate you all!
Thank you for helping make it a great season!!