Trail Conditions: Good
Snow Cover: 10-12
Date of Report: December 18, 2019
Area Report:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oconto County Snowmobile Trails Open Friday, December 20, 2019
Oconto County snowmobile clubs and volunteers have worked tirelessly to get the Northern Oconto County Snowmobile Trials cleaned up, groomed and ready for your snowmobiling enjoyment. There are a few sections of trail that are not open. Those sections are detailed on the attached map. The southern trails remain closed as the majority of those trails are on Ag land that have not been harvested or swamps that have not frozen over.
The nine snowmobile clubs in Oconto County work together with the Oconto County Forest Administrator, who gives the final approval before trails may open. Once the Southern trails are approved to open, the announcement will appear on the official Oconto County Trail Report web page https://www.ocontocounty.org/trail-reports/ . For your own safety, and that of the club groomers and volunteers- please stay off the southern trails – do not ride on closed trails. For more information, please contact the Oconto County website or the Forest and Parks Department at 920-834-6995.
Red Arrow Snowmobile ATV Club (Townsend) – Life is good in Townsend today. The County has decided to open our trails in the north part of the County on Friday December 20, 2019. They will be all freshly groomed, but the forecast is for warm weather? When out riding this year please be sure and drive only on the groomed part of the trail. There are many hidden dangers buried under that snow.
Paul Bunyan Riders Snowmobile Club (Lakewood) – Will update soon!
Chute Pond Snowmobile Club (Mountain) – Chute Pond Snowmobile Club trails will partially open this Friday, December 20th, in fair to good “early season” condition. Exceptions 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.
As for the rest of the trails, 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.
Riders are urged to reduce speed, and ride with extra caution, as the trails look very different since the storm. You are encouraged to carry a portable hand saw if possible, since limbs and branches continue to fall onto and over the trails.
Bagley & Brazeau Joyriders – Will update soon!
CHASE, LENA and OCONTO FALLS remain CLOSED.