Trail Conditions: Poor
Snow Cover: Less than half a foot and rapidly deteriorating
Date of Report: March 13, 2020
Area Report:
Winter Snowmobile and All-Season Trails (As of 3/13/2020)
All snowmobile and Winter ATV trails under the management of the Douglas County Forestry Department will officially close for the season at 8:00 am local time on Monday, March 16, 2020. Douglas County has received two days of warm weather last weekend and the trail conditions across the county range from good to poor. There are many areas of bare ground and almost all grooming has stopped on all trails. Snowmobile traffic is not recommended and most if not all grooming has been suspended.
PLEASE check the trail you intend to use is open and do not trespass on private property. It is critical that we respect the landowners who allow us to utilize their property. It just takes one owner to deny the use of their land for a trail to be permanently shut down, so please be courteous and wait for the trails to officially open.
The following all-year-round recreational trails will temporarily close March 16, 2020, except for the following trail segments:
Gandy Dancer – MN/WI Stateline to Patzau.
Saunders Grade – MN/WI Stateline to Schallameir Road Parking Lot
Wild Rivers Trail – Douglas Co./Washburn Co. line to a point 500 feet north of County Highway Y
Wild Rivers Trail – North Trailhead parking lot (County Highway A) to the Harroun Road.
SW Quadrant
Open trails: (All grooming has been suspended)
Trail 5
Trail 5A
Trail 930
Trail 935
Trail 835
Trail 9 (Watch for logging north of Hwy. M.)
Closed trails:
Trail 925 between Swedish Highway and Andrews Road (Gates are closed)
SE Quadrant
Open trails: (All grooming has been suspended)
Wild Rivers Trail (Trail 35)
Trails 27B
Trail 27C
Trails 41S
Trail 41B
Trail 217
Trail 41 WRT to the Warming Shack (Watch for logging)
Trail 727
Trail 17N (will be groomed this week)
Trail 7
Trail 27
Trail 3
Trail 5
Trail 541
Closed trails:
Trail 17s South of Lowe Eau Claire Lakes (Gates have been closed)
NE Quadrant
Open trails: (All grooming has been suspended)
Trail 1
Trail 2
Trail 4 – Trail is rough with lots of ruts
Trail 6 – Trail is rough with lots of ruts
Trail 24
Trail 27/27A
Trail 35 (WRT)
Closed trails:
Trail 235 – Gates have been closed.
Watch for logging on Trail 6 and Trail 4.
NW Quadrant
Open Trails:
Gandy Dancer Trail – Groomed (watch for deer crossing between Moen Road and County Road BB)
Saunders Grade Trail – Groomed
Wrenshall Grade – Groomed
Trail 0 – Groomed
Trail 28 – Groomed
4/41 from the Warming Shack West – Groomed
Closed trails:
Cross Town Connector – From Tower Avenue to East 2nd Street (Gates are closed and signed)
Osaugie/Tri-County Trail – From Loon’s Foot Boat Launch to Barkers Island (Gates are closed and signed)
Click here for a downloadable map of open trails.
Cross Country Ski Trails (As of 3/13/2020)
Douglas County Ski Trails – The ski trails have been groomed on 2/19 and are still covered in snow. The trails are packed hard and the groomer was unable to cut new tracks in the packed snow. Grooming is suspended until further notice, however, the trails are open.
Superior Municipal Forest – Update 3/13: Due to the rain, conditions are poor but skiable in most of the systems. Grooming is limited due to the ice. Skiers should watch for flowing water and multiple ice spots on the trails. At this time groomers will need to hold off on future grooming operations unless we get snow.
Pattison State Park – No new updates are available.
Brule River After Hours Trail – Update on 3/9: Skate decks have been groomed. On roughly half the trails, two passes were made. Expect some debris, and there are a few thin spots and ice patches. Still a significant base on the trails.
For further information, please contact the Douglas County Forestry Department at 715-378-2219 Monday-Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm excluding Holidays.