Reports

Reporter:SaultSteMarie

Trail Conditions: Early Season

Snow Cover: 0-3″

Date of Report: December 10, 2019

Area Report:

• Sault: (12/4) Trails are open and we have rideable snow but not much. There is now a plowed parking area at the beginning of trail #8 under the International Bridge, which now has an all-season outhouse.  Make sure you lock your vehicles and trailers. Remember trail base is the amount of snow between your track and the ground below not the amount of fluff piled up in the woods.10 inches of snow compresses to less then a inch on the trail.
  • Trail #8 – Sault to Brimley:   Base  0- 0 inches -Trail is in poor Condition.  
  • Trail #8 – Brimley to Raco: Base 0 – 0  inches -Trail is in poor Condition. When going across the bridge in Brimley make sure you go with your the flow of traffic!  Blowing and drifting occurs when you first leave Brimley. Watch for trail change going south just before getting to Raco.
  • Trail #8 Raco to Naomikong [where Paradise meets us]: Base  0 – 0  inches – Trail is in poor Condition.  Trail change just east of Salt Pointe Rd.  Moved trail out of twisty section back to old straight route, about 2.5 miles.  Different trail just east of Raco going to M28
  • Sault Ste. Marie City Trail, Trails #497, #449, parts of #8 & #49: Base 0 –  0 inches – Trail is in poor condition  We now have a marked trail going to Chippewa Motors.  It starts once you come out of the woods east of M-129 off #449.  It comes into their parking lot from behind if you need parts or service. City curfew is from 1 am – 6 am. Remember most City streets are open to traffic 20 mph, stop at all intersections, and ride on the right hand side of street not on side walks. Watch for closed streets that are posted, mainly around the hospital, university, and state trunk lines.
  • Sault Ste. Marie to Kinross, Trail #49: Base 0 – 0 inches – Trail is in poor Condition.Make sure you follow reroute once you cross bridge going south at 7 Mile road. When the trail is running along roads make sure you go with the flow of traffic on the right side of the road.
  • Kinross loop & south to Pickford, Parts of Trail #49, #472, and #494: Base 0 – 0 inches – Trail in poor Condition. Watch for trucks on trail.
  • Kinross to Raco/Rudyard Trail #480 & #472: Base 0 – 0 inches – Trail in poor Condition. Watch for reroute signs just west of Kinross.
  • The Downtown Trail: The Downtown Trail is now closed but signed, and snow Has been removed from the bridge.  
• Paradise: (12/5) Here`s a quick update, just like I promised. It is 24 degrees here at my place and partly cloudy. We got about 3 inches of snow the night before last and about an inch last night. The weather guessers are calling for it to warm up a touch for this weekend and then cool off like a rock for next week……YEAAAA!!  Soooo……here`s the plan. We have been out to the barn the last couple days working on things and gettin ready. We plan on wrapping things up today and we`ll be ready to ROCK!!!! Remember we didn`t get the snow places west of us got a few days ago. Here in the Paradise area we only have about 6 inches on the ground now, plus or minus, depending on where your at. At the end of today we`ll sit down and discuss the best plan of attack. With the weather warming up for this weekend me thinks we`ll hit the high ground trails this weekend and clear trees and then head into the swamps near the end of next week. Just my thoughts, we`ll discuss this tonight. OK, all for now. Just keeping y`all updated on whats goin on. We do plan on gettin the groomers out this weekend but maybe just for trail clean up. Keep checking back for more. LET `ER SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Groomer Chris
• Eckerman: (12/4) 8″ base. CAUTION****CAUTION  ***REMINDER: Groomer’s are big so you need to give them room to do their job. So Please give them the room, you can get off the trail they can’t.. If you hit the groomer we have to call the POLICE to have a report made out. So please move off the trail don’t try to squeeze by them. So again I want to stress we will call the POLICE.***  All our trails are open for season. We have cleaned all are trails Filer Rd to Rudyard is still sketchy. Road all 81 miles of our trails today and only had 2 helmet slappers. Please be careful while riding we are hoping for more snow. Let it Snow! Let it Snow!  ATVORV riders remember you are not supposed to be on the snowmobile trails after December 1st.  We appreciate it if you could keep your ATV’s off our trails so we could have decent trails to ride. Rex Hyrns, President of the Chippewa Snow Chasers.  There are NO excellent trails in the Upper Peninsula we all need more snow!!!!  We hope you appreciate our flat trails, web site and trail reports.  The Chippewa Snow Chasers have two DNR sponsored staging areas.  One is in front of the clubhouse and groomer barn at Strongs.  Directions:  From the corner of M-123 and M-28 proceed 2 1/2 miles East toward Sault Ste. Marie.  Turn right at the 4 corners on Strongs Rd.  The Lumberjacks Bar is on the south east corner and Strongs Motel and Tavern is on the northeast corner.  If coming from the east on M-28  turn left at the same corner.   Go south 1/4 mile and you will see the big Snow Chaser sign on the right.  Our second staging area is West of Rudyard.  From I-75 take the Rudyard exit and turn right at the Mackinac Trail.  At the gas station turn left on Main St. (H-40). Follow H-40 west through town a little over 6 1/2 miles to Sullivan Creek Rd. (FS 3131)  Turn right on Sullivan Creek Rd.  Proceed north on Sullivan Creek Rd. 2 1/2 miles to Filer Rd.  Turn left on Filer Rd. and you will see the Snow Chaser sign on the left about 1/4 mile west of Sullivan Creek Rd.  From M-123 turn right on H-40.  (H-40 is just before you enter Trout Lake).  Follow H-40 East about 17 1/2 miles to Sullivan Creek Rd. (FS 3131) and turn left.  You are welcome to park at either of these staging areas for a day, a weekend or for a week or two if you wish.  Park in the designated areas so the groomers won’t run over your rig!  If you have a GPS the addresses are:  11272 Strongs Rd. Eckerman, MI 49728 and 17247 W. Filer Rd. Rudyard, MI 49780.  Just remember that the south end of Strongs Rd. and  Sullivan Creek Rd. north of Filer Rd. are not plowed in the winter.  If you blindly follow the GPS you could wind up spending a lot of your snowmobile money on a tow.
• Drummond Island: No new report available.