Trail Conditions: Good
Snow Cover: 5-8
Date of Report: January 10, 2020
Area Report:
Red Arrow Snowmobile ATV Club (Townsend) – All the trails from the Nicolet State trail ( the grade ) east of town are in good to very good condition with one wet spot that has mostly frozen over, so watch for a puddle. Nothing you will get stuck in, so don’t panic. With the cold weather last night maybe some of the wet spots plaguing all of the Clubs in the State will start to freeze up and make things normal again?
West of 32 heading towards highway 64, the problem areas between intersections 510 & 512 with lack of snow has gotten very icy. So icy that the groomer had to struggle last night to get up two of the hills because of the icy slopes. So until we receive more heavy snow to pack down over the ice we will not be grooming down that way. That region is what is called The Bob Kroll trail. It was plowed down to dirt after the big snow by the loggers who cleared the trees for us. Without their efforts it would still be blocked by trees.
Taking that area out of the picture, our trails are in good to very good riding condition.
Paul Bunyan Riders Snowmobile Club (Lakewood) – The groomers were out last night. The entire east side was done. The west side only had a couple tracks on it from the night before. Trails are very good to excellent. Grooming tonight is unlikely with the warm temperatures in the forecast.
Chute Pond Snowmobile Club (Mountain) – Chute Pond Snowmobile Club trails are open, freshly groomed, and in good condition on the NST and all trails west of the NST (RR grade). Trails east of the NST are in fair to good “early season” condition. We have a trail section closed because of excess standing water (see photo)- the trail from Old 64 (INT#472) to the 18 Corridor (INT#455) is now closed. On all other open trails, watch for possible slushy and/or wet/icy/rough frozen areas.
Exceptions (see map): trails that will remain closed indefinitely are from INT#451-INT#453 (from east of Hwy 32 behind the Junction to Jack Pine Rd), and from INT#447 north to the 18 Corridor trail near Cooked Lake (the northern pipeline trail). DO NOT ride the closed trails- they have not been cleared from the July wind storms because the swamps are still wet and have not allowed equipment to get in to work on those areas yet. The closed areas are tangles of fallen trees in a swampy area- you don’t want to go there.
On our trails east of the NST (RR grade), “early season conditions” means there will be some bumps, dips, and ruts to deal with as the groomers continue to work on the trails. Be aware that any off-trail riding- even to take one ski off to “grab a little loose snow”- could be dangerous. The July wind storms have devastated many areas of our forested trails, and there are many trees and limbs on the ground just off the edges of the groomed trails. Please stay safe- stay on the groomed trails.
Riders are urged to reduce speed and ride with extra caution, as the forest and the trails look very different since the storm. There are numerous logging operations that will be ongoing throughout the season. Please use extra caution in these areas. No Chute Pond trails cross any lakes or rivers- and ice has been slow to form on most area lakes. Riding on frozen surfaces is not recommended. You are encouraged to carry a portable hand saw if possible, since limbs and branches continue to fall onto and over the trails. Please- ride sober, stay to the right, and stay on the marked trails.
Bagley & Brazeau Joyriders – We will be opening the trails north of 64 Hwy Friday, December 10th at 12:00 PM but will not be groomed for the weekend.
Gillett Sno ATV Riders – CLOSED.
Oconto Falls Sno-Jokers – CLOSED.
Lena Sno-Drifters – CLOSED.
Chase Sno-Chasers – CLOSED.