Trail Conditions: Poor
Snow Cover: Dwindling Fast
Date of Report: March 9, 2026
Area Report:
Vilas County has officially announced a TEMPORARY closing of the trails effective 3/10/26 at 8:00 AM.
By calling it temporary, they leave the possibility of reopening if conditions allow for it. There is some snow forecast this week, but high temps still in the mid to upper 30s. Not a lot of promise.
If they don’t reopen, thank you to everyone that rode the Barnstormer trails this season. We greatly appreciate the support you’ve given our club and our local businesses.
Don’t forget about the drawing to give away a 2025 Polaris 650 VR-1! There is still time to purchase raffle tickets! The drawing will be held at Sayner Pub on March 14 @ 5:00 PM!
Here are a few statistics going back as far as the 2005/2006 season. The average number of days the trails have been open is 78, with the longest season being 2012/2013 at 111 days! This season was 81 days. The earliest we’ve ever opened is December 9, that was in 2010. The latest we’ve ever opened was January 17, that was just last season!
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!!!