Snow Cover: 6-18"
Date of Report: January 12, 2017
Area Report:
The whole county received some much welcome fresh snow this week. Conditions are by far the best they have been this season. With warmer temps in the forecast for next week, now is the time to come up and enjoy our beautiful trails!
Northern Bayfield County:
All trails in the Washburn and Valhalla area are 100% open and in good shape. There are active timber sales on Trail 31 and trail 1 so ride with extreme caution when riding those trails. Trail 13 to Washburn will be groomed on Friday.
Port Wing received about 7 inches of fresh snow in the last few days. Due to equipment issues trail 1 in the Village of Port Wing and west to Orienta Falls Rd. will not be groomed in the next few days but are VERY ride worthy!! Trail 1 east of Port Wing from the HWY 13 DNR parking lot near the Flag River highway bridge, is closed due to continued logging on private property. This closure extends from the HWY 13 area to Touve rd. This closure will remain in place until further notice.
In the very Northwest corner of the County, Trail 1 was groomed yesterday from the Brule River to Highway 13 and is in great shape.
Central Bayfield County
All Iron River trails including Tri County Corridor are in very good to excellent condition. 4 out of 5 runs completed over last 2 days with Iron River to Port Wing left to do which will be getting groomed Thursday (1/12/17).
Southern Bayfield County:
Namakagon-
With the recent snow this past week, grooming has ramped up in Namakagon. The plan is to have the full NTG trail system groomed by Thursday (1/12/16) night! Please travel with care as we will be out grooming during the day. Also please watch out for logging on trail #8 between fl203 & the groomer barn. Some areas toward Clam Lake should be better after some widening of the trail at areas that due to higher water tables were not freezing up. Use Caution! Trail 63 South of trail 70 to the county line still remains closed due to a Sawyer Co. Land dispute. Please use the trail maps to reroute South to trail 63 toward Sawyer Co.
Drummond-
Drummond trails are in good shape and have at least 6″ of new snow on a hard base. The groomer is on a full schedule as of yesterday (1/11/16). North of Mason reports thin snow through the fields but passable.
Barnes-
With the additional snowfall in the Barnes area, Trail #7, #17 and #18 as well as the Town of Barnes trails are groomed and in excellent condition. 1st time grooming has been done on Trail 31S to Seely Fire Road, trail is in good condition, but please use caution. Trail 31N to Ruth Lake will be groomed on Friday (1/13/17) afternoon. Grooming operations will continue on Sunday, please use caution, as grooming equipment will be on the trail system.
Timber Sale Activity:
Trail 1 –just east of Port Wing – between Touve Rd. and Flagg Rd. is CLOSED due to active logging on private land until further notice
Trail 1 – between Cornucopia and Bayfield – near Henkens Rd. there is active hauling on the trail.
Trail 1 – South of Cornucopia – off Stage Rd. a sale has just gone active on this section of trail so watch for caution signs and logging equipment.
Trail 31 – Northwest of the City of Washburn – near Lost Lake Rd. is being actively logged directly on the trail; USE EXTREME CAUTION! There may be times when it is not passable.
Trail 17 – Southwest Barnes into Douglas County – A couple timber sales are starting up in each county with logging starting on the Douglas County side. A reroute is being worked on for the but for now follow signs and be alert.
News and Reports:
New snowmobile maps have arrived! Order yours online at www.travelbayfieldcounty.com or pick one up at area businesses. You can also download the Avenza app (for free) and get the updated Snowmobile Map on your device before you hit the trails – you can locate yourself on the trail map with GPS so you can see where you are, even with no cell reception!