Sault Ste. Marie Trail Report – 02/09
SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 02/09 Good morning! <> <> 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 <>
I think it took Steve a few days to mentally recover from a stressful run down 49 on Monday. Definitely takes nerves of steel to cross the beaver pond the 1st time! He sent me this very detailed report from his perspective on how the run went-
“Thank you to Pete for following the groomer and providing live reports from our grooming run on Trail 49 Monday night.
As reported, Passenger Chris and I left town around 5:30pm Monday night and headed to Kinross on Trail 49. It was our first attempt of the season to go all the way through behind the Chippewa County Road Commision property and across the big beaver pond south of 12 Mile Road. I believe the last time Trail 49 was groomed between 3 Mile and 5 ½ Mile Roads was December 26th.
The trip started out great as we touched up the city trails on our way out of town. We busted through the big snowbank by the substation just south of town and headed south. I don’t think the trail could have been any rougher. We dug the front of the drag in deep and started knocking the tops off the bumps. Conditions were near perfect as we could carry a pile of snow with us and it would fall into the low spots as we moved along. It was a slow stretch as we were running only 3-4 mph.
We continued south and headed towards the swamp south of 12 Mile. Trip was uneventful as we crossed the pond and arrived in Kinross where we turn around.
We headed north on the return trip and couldn’t believe how nice the trails looked. The moguls we gone, and the trail was surprisingly smooth.
We made it to the beaver pond and started our way across. We were just clearing the bridge when I realized we had brown slush and water coming out from the drag. I had just enough time to warn Chris we were in water before we broke through with the groomer. Somehow, I managed to not panic and kept my speed constant. I didn’t want to stop and I didn’t want to spin the tracks with more throttle. There was a string of explicatives from both of us in the cab as we slowly climbed our way out. I had enough snow with me in the drag that it covered the hole we made on the way by.
Overall, Trail 49 is in very good shape. We will be able to groom everything except the pond itself moving forward. Another trip or two through the 3 Mile to 5 ½ Mile Road stretch will have it back to normal.
We are still receiving complaints of riders going off trail on Trail 49. The latest is from the Amish community just south of town. Several years ago, they purchased the land our trail runs across south of 6 Mile Road. It was pretty neat to allow our request to continue using their newly owned land for our snowmobile trail. They said no one person could decide to let us access their land. They had meetings within their community and they overwhelmingly supported keeping the trail where it was. As you ride through there, notice they ran their fence lines off the woods line leaving us enough room to safely groom through there.
There have been riders going off trail and getting into their pastures. Somehow, we need to keep everyone on our trails. If you ride with riders that continually break the rules, find new riding partners. We work way too hard keeping the trails we have.
Steve Lawson”
Great reminder Steve! Please always respect the landowners that so graciously allow access across their property. If you’re unsure whether or not it’s private property, just stay on the trail. It’s pretty simple, really. All of 49 follows private property so just follow the trail please! And let your riding partners know to do the same. After having this trail partially closed all season, riders know just how vital this trail is to our area. Let’s not lose it due to trespassing.
Thanks all! And thank you Steve for your dedication and detailed reports!
Word is that 49 is holding up great!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!!