Trail Conditions: Closed
Snow Cover: Minimal
Date of Report: January 11, 2024
Area Report:
The trails are awesome! Well……………if you feel like just going out and walking around.
If you want to snowmobile, not so much.
We have gone out and done some panning of the little snow we have. This helps to fill the ruts and to create a flatter base that will freeze to make for a better trail system once the snow does arrive.
There is more snow forecast for this coming weekend, but according to the National Weather Service, it’s only going to produce 2-4″ additional inches in this area. Folks, we need an 8″ dumping of wet snow in order to have something decent to work with. And, when that happens, please don’t think we can open trails the next day! The clubs will need a couple days to get things ready.
FYI, Vilas county has 11 snowmobile clubs. In order for the trails to open, all 11 clubs have to be ready to open at the same time. So, even if we had ours ready, we can’t open until everyone is ready. We’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, you can still come up and enjoy the area. There is so much to do here, even if you can’t ride. We have incredible businesses that are open and ready to serve!
Don’t forget about our upcoming fundraisers! Visit www.saynerbarnstormers.com
Jan. 20 – Breakfast @ Stillwaters. 8-11 AM
Feb. 3 – Chili Dump @ Murmuring Waters. 2-5 PM
Feb. 18 – Pizza @ Hillside. 4-8 PM
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!!!