Trail Conditions: Good
Snow Cover: 5-9
Date of Report: January 16, 2020
Area Report:
Red Arrow Snowmobile ATV Club (Townsend) – 1/15/20 .All the trails from the Nicolet State trail ( the grade ) east of town are in VERY GOOD condition. 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 the other night to get up two of the hills because of the icy slopes. The groomer will be going down that way today to see how it grooms out again after receiving a few inches of snow on it. 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 VERY GOOD riding condition.
Paul Bunyan Riders Snowmobile Club (Lakewood) – 1/14/20 The entire system was groomed last night and trail boss Bob Prasser says they are awesome. We have lite snow in the forecast for midweek.
Chute Pond Snowmobile Club (Mountain) – The trail from INT#472 (at Old 64) north to INT#455 (18 Corridor) will re-open tomorrow morning, Thursday, January 16. Please use extra caution in this area as it will not be groomed for a while as we wait for the ice under the snow to develop more. The previous water hole will be icy, so go slow through that area.
Chute Pond Snowmobile Club trails are open, freshly groomed, and in good to very good condition on the NST (RR grade from Suring to INT#605) and all trails west of the NST. The NST is a little thinner from Suring to Breed, but it is rideable, and there is a Park & Ride adjacent to the trail on the north side of Main St (Hwy 32) in Suring. The wooded trails to Boulder Lake, Animal’s, the Mountain Lakes trail to Halfway Bar, and the 18 Corridor west of the NST are all in good to very good condition. The wooded trails east of the NST are in good “early season” condition, which means there will be some bumps, dips, and ruts to deal with as the groomers continue to work on the trails. The 18 Corridor east of the NST is a nice ride all the way to Crooked Lake. On our eastern 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”
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. Use extreme caution on all frozen surfaces. 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 – Opening on Saturday, January 18th at 8:00am. This will include just the rail road grade from Shawano Line Road to Suring. The grade has 304 inches of packed snow on it and all the water spots we were fighting earlier this season froze up.
Oconto Falls Sno-Jokers – CLOSED.
Lena Sno-Drifters – CLOSED.
Chase Sno-Chasers – CLOSED.