SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 01/16
1/16 Good evening!
Snow is falling to our south and southeast, with amounts of up to 8-10” of new snow in the DeTour and Goetzville areas today, and it looks like it’s really coming down by the bridge too.
Unfortunately, it’s just not hitting here. Maybe later this week, we’ll see some lake effect. Maybe.
Today, groomer Dennis P hit the Kinross west trails. This is 472 west, and 480 through the Spile Dam. Here’s what he had to say- “The photos are from 472 and 480, the conditions are poor to fair. Need more snow especially 480 to Raco to smooth out vehicle ruts, moguls, and small washouts. Please use caution in this area. Kinross area is rideable , roadside and crossings along M80 and Mac trail still need snow, it’s not the best.”
We appreciate your time and the report, Dennis! Hoping we get more snow before the weekend. This is likely the last groom on any of our trails until we get more snow😔❄️❄️❄️
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Clouds will push from west to east across the U.P. this morning followed by sunshine this afternoon. After a cold start it will be much warmer with highs in the 30s. Temperatures will continue to warm through the middle of the week with some locations approaching 50 degrees on Wednesday. The chance for rain will come into the forecast on Thursday and especially Friday. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaClouds will push from west to east across the U.P. this morning followed by sunshine this afternoon. After a cold start it will be much warmer with highs in the 30s. Temperatures will continue to warm through the middle of the week with some locations approaching 50 degrees on Wednesday. The chance for rain will come into the forecast on Thursday and especially Friday. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Temperatures will dip near or below zero again tonight, but a warm up is on the way as highs climb into the 30s Monday afternoon. Daytime temperatures are then forecast to remain above freezing through the rest of the coming week, climbing above 40 across most of the U.P. by Wednesday. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaTemperatures will dip near or below zero again tonight, but a warm up is on the way as highs climb into the 30s Monday afternoon. Daytime temperatures are then forecast to remain above freezing through the rest of the coming week, climbing above 40 across most of the U.P. by Wednesday. ... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/1/2026 Good evening! Turbo and Diane did an earlier run for a change today on trail 8 from Raco all the way to the Soo. While we typically do not like to groom during the day on a weekend, sometimes that’s what we need to do due to scheduling purposes. With cold temps and light sled traffic, it should help keep the snow a little looser for cooling. It was a beautiful sunny day, and they saw a few groups out enjoying it, and some wildlife too. As a reminder, this is a shared trail with ORVs less than 65” wide between the Soo and the Raco turn off. This is only shared trail in our area, and it isn’t wide enough for a SxS and groomer to pass on the trail. They encountered one SxS today that turned around so that they could continue on their way. We appreciate the driver moving so that they could pass. Thank you to the Turbos! Looking awesome! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #soo0301b#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/1/26 Happy March everyone! Hard to believe it’s the last (official) month of the season. And what a season it has been! We had another record traffic Saturday, and our operators have been working so hard to keep things as smooth as we can for you. After a long, cold, and windy day on the St Mary’s River at the radar run yesterday, Brimley Bill got a few hours of sleep and then headed out to hit the Mission Hill route. We call this route M40 for our reporting purpsoes. It’s 480 from M28, to 8, to Ranger Rd, and the 889 grade and 889 loop in the Raco and Bay Mills areas. Here’s his report- “I groomed M40 early this morning. Pretty much all of 889 was really beat up. I did my best to cut out all of the bumps. Some of the curves were so bad that I was not able to completely remove all of the bumps, (probably 90% gone.). The trail 8 Powerline and 480 RR Grade were still in pretty good shape. I smoothed out whatever bumps were there.” Thank you, Bill! You’d never know now that hundreds of sleds ran those trails yesterday! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #soo0301#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Expect morning flurries to give way to sunny skies this afternoon over the central and western U.P. Light lake effect snow showers will linger over the eastern U.P., mainly close to Lake Superior. Expect a warm up this week with the warmest temperatures over the west and near the MI/WI state line. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaExpect morning flurries to give way to sunny skies this afternoon over the central and western U.P. Light lake effect snow showers will linger over the eastern U.P., mainly close to Lake Superior. Expect a warm up this week with the warmest temperatures over the west and near the MI/WI state line. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> Lake effect flurries and snow showers are possible today, March 1st, 2026 across some of northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. With dry air mixing in, totals will be relatively kept in check, but a swath of 1-3", perhaps 4" is possible along M-28 south of Grand Marais. Changing wind fields will also allow for light/brief accumulations along some of our lakeshore regions in the Lower Peninsula, but it's not guaranteed for everyone. Timing is through the remainder of the day. Mild temperatures coming later this week, which should help begin the melting process for many. #miweather #keweenaw#munising #newberry #sooLake effect flurries and snow showers are possible today, March 1st, 2026 across some of northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. With dry air mixing in, totals will be relatively kept in check, but a swath of 1-3", perhaps 4" is possible along M-28 south of Grand Marais. Changing wind fields will also allow for light/brief accumulations along some of our lakeshore regions in the Lower Peninsula, but it's not guaranteed for everyone. Timing is through the remainder of the day. Mild temperatures coming later this week, which should help begin the melting process for many.
-- Trusted Partner of the Day -- Mike Hayes Roofing & Siding | Call 810-984-4564 for all your exterior home needs across Sanilac and St. Clair counties! ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Northwest winds will subside through the the day with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Lake effect snow showers are expected in the northwest wind snowbelts, especially over the eastern U.P. where 1 to 3 inches of snowfall is expected. High temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average, coldest in the Keweenaw. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaNorthwest winds will subside through the the day with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Lake effect snow showers are expected in the northwest wind snowbelts, especially over the eastern U.P. where 1 to 3 inches of snowfall is expected. High temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average, coldest in the Keweenaw. ... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 2/28/26 Good morning everyone! While we certainly didn’t need the warm and sun yesterday, our hard working volunteers were itching to go as soon as temps dropped. Our first report comes from Warren- “We went out at 1 AM. Club member Steve & myself at 27 degrees did 480 from the Spile Dam turnaround, and 8 all the way to Brimley and back as well as the electric lines. I think everybody’s gonna be real happy with that, it cleaned up really well. I finished up at about 19° and then left the Groomer for turbo. Turbo is gonna hit the 889 loop and Brimley grade so I think everybody will be ready to go by about 7:30 - 8 o’clock for all of our trails out this way.” Thank you, Warren & Steve!!❄️❄️❄️ Trail 8 from the Soo to Brimley will be done tonight, the city trails were done yesterday, and will be done again tomorrow night. I’ll update when I hear from the Kinross crew as well, but I know that everything was done on Thursday ahead of the warm up. Be safe all and enjoy! Hope to see some of you at the Radar Run at The Cozy Corners Barbeau MI today! The fun starts at noon! See their page for more info! #soo #soo0228#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Strong westerly winds develop this afternoon and evening, with winds gusting up to 60 mph in the Keweenaw and 45 mph for the remainder of the northern UP near the Superior shoreline. Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines. Power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Temperatures will plummet tonight, setting up a seasonably cold weekend with some light lake effect snow for the northwest wind belts. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 01/15
1/15- city trail update Groomer Jay and I were asked to try and groom the city trails today, the first groom here this season. We know these trails well, and the many challenges we face in early season conditions. Knowing that the Soo only has maybe 9” TOTAL on the ground, we decided to take the sleds out first to check things out.
As suspected, much of the city trail system is very thin, down to an inch of packed snow, dirt, and leaves. The areas where we see heavy drifts were very moguled, and much of the area was only a sled and half wide due to tall grasses and tag alders that are normally knocked down by snow by now. We knew we had to at least get out and try to define and widen the trail. We also wanted to check on and widen the trail behind Kewadin to make sure there are no open mud and water holes. Good news there as it was all frozen.
We set out under under a beautiful sunset, but that’s where the beauty stopped. Through the tunnel, and up to the airport fence is super thin and bumpy. There’s literally nothing we can do there. We just need snow. Along the airport, we were able to smooth out most of the moguls caused by drifting, so that’s good. We also groomed the courtesy trail to the I-500 track and the Holiday Inn, widening it and defining the edges. Then we headed across the business spur and did what we could to widen 49 behind Walmart and to the DonDee Lanes. Next up, we made our way to the new section of 449 toward Seymour, the high school, and Kewadin Casino. The new section from the intersection is beautiful! Nice and wide. Sault Tribe Construction did a great job cutting this trail for us! There was a giant snow pile somewhat blocking the trail, so we helped ourselves to some of it to add to the trail LOL.
Next, 449 to Kewadin. We knocked down the cattails and groomed the path where the trail is supposed to be so that riders can stay on the correct path. Next up, the part right behind Kewadin where we had a heck of a time last season with flowing creeks. Jay was able to grab snow along the edges and push it into the 3 ditches that give us issues. Not pretty, but so much better! Sleds will have no issues getting through there. It’s just thin, like the rest of the city trails. We also hit the high school trail, widening it to where it should be.
All in all, these trails are poor. If we didn’t have to ride them earlier, we wouldn’t have, but we saw 23 sleds on our run so folks are still riding. You just have to know that they’re not good. Take it easy and know that you are riding on a very thin base, and some tree roots and other hazards may be exposed in places.
We did not go to the trailhead at Ashmun Bay on trail 8. There simply is not enough snow to make it worth it.
Wish I had better news for this part of our system, but we just didn’t get the snow needed to make them good. A bit of good news it that it is super cold, so any water spots on this part of our trails are long gone.
Sorry to be a downer, just being as honest as possible. This was easily the worst groom ever for us.
I’ll keep you posted! Pray, dance, sing or whatever it is you do for snow. We need it badly!❄️❄️❄️
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Clouds will push from west to east across the U.P. this morning followed by sunshine this afternoon. After a cold start it will be much warmer with highs in the 30s. Temperatures will continue to warm through the middle of the week with some locations approaching 50 degrees on Wednesday. The chance for rain will come into the forecast on Thursday and especially Friday. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaClouds will push from west to east across the U.P. this morning followed by sunshine this afternoon. After a cold start it will be much warmer with highs in the 30s. Temperatures will continue to warm through the middle of the week with some locations approaching 50 degrees on Wednesday. The chance for rain will come into the forecast on Thursday and especially Friday. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Temperatures will dip near or below zero again tonight, but a warm up is on the way as highs climb into the 30s Monday afternoon. Daytime temperatures are then forecast to remain above freezing through the rest of the coming week, climbing above 40 across most of the U.P. by Wednesday. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaTemperatures will dip near or below zero again tonight, but a warm up is on the way as highs climb into the 30s Monday afternoon. Daytime temperatures are then forecast to remain above freezing through the rest of the coming week, climbing above 40 across most of the U.P. by Wednesday. ... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/1/2026 Good evening! Turbo and Diane did an earlier run for a change today on trail 8 from Raco all the way to the Soo. While we typically do not like to groom during the day on a weekend, sometimes that’s what we need to do due to scheduling purposes. With cold temps and light sled traffic, it should help keep the snow a little looser for cooling. It was a beautiful sunny day, and they saw a few groups out enjoying it, and some wildlife too. As a reminder, this is a shared trail with ORVs less than 65” wide between the Soo and the Raco turn off. This is only shared trail in our area, and it isn’t wide enough for a SxS and groomer to pass on the trail. They encountered one SxS today that turned around so that they could continue on their way. We appreciate the driver moving so that they could pass. Thank you to the Turbos! Looking awesome! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #soo0301b#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/1/26 Happy March everyone! Hard to believe it’s the last (official) month of the season. And what a season it has been! We had another record traffic Saturday, and our operators have been working so hard to keep things as smooth as we can for you. After a long, cold, and windy day on the St Mary’s River at the radar run yesterday, Brimley Bill got a few hours of sleep and then headed out to hit the Mission Hill route. We call this route M40 for our reporting purpsoes. It’s 480 from M28, to 8, to Ranger Rd, and the 889 grade and 889 loop in the Raco and Bay Mills areas. Here’s his report- “I groomed M40 early this morning. Pretty much all of 889 was really beat up. I did my best to cut out all of the bumps. Some of the curves were so bad that I was not able to completely remove all of the bumps, (probably 90% gone.). The trail 8 Powerline and 480 RR Grade were still in pretty good shape. I smoothed out whatever bumps were there.” Thank you, Bill! You’d never know now that hundreds of sleds ran those trails yesterday! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #soo0301#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Expect morning flurries to give way to sunny skies this afternoon over the central and western U.P. Light lake effect snow showers will linger over the eastern U.P., mainly close to Lake Superior. Expect a warm up this week with the warmest temperatures over the west and near the MI/WI state line. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaExpect morning flurries to give way to sunny skies this afternoon over the central and western U.P. Light lake effect snow showers will linger over the eastern U.P., mainly close to Lake Superior. Expect a warm up this week with the warmest temperatures over the west and near the MI/WI state line. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> Lake effect flurries and snow showers are possible today, March 1st, 2026 across some of northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. With dry air mixing in, totals will be relatively kept in check, but a swath of 1-3", perhaps 4" is possible along M-28 south of Grand Marais. Changing wind fields will also allow for light/brief accumulations along some of our lakeshore regions in the Lower Peninsula, but it's not guaranteed for everyone. Timing is through the remainder of the day. Mild temperatures coming later this week, which should help begin the melting process for many. #miweather #keweenaw#munising #newberry #sooLake effect flurries and snow showers are possible today, March 1st, 2026 across some of northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. With dry air mixing in, totals will be relatively kept in check, but a swath of 1-3", perhaps 4" is possible along M-28 south of Grand Marais. Changing wind fields will also allow for light/brief accumulations along some of our lakeshore regions in the Lower Peninsula, but it's not guaranteed for everyone. Timing is through the remainder of the day. Mild temperatures coming later this week, which should help begin the melting process for many.
-- Trusted Partner of the Day -- Mike Hayes Roofing & Siding | Call 810-984-4564 for all your exterior home needs across Sanilac and St. Clair counties! ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Northwest winds will subside through the the day with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Lake effect snow showers are expected in the northwest wind snowbelts, especially over the eastern U.P. where 1 to 3 inches of snowfall is expected. High temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average, coldest in the Keweenaw. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaNorthwest winds will subside through the the day with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Lake effect snow showers are expected in the northwest wind snowbelts, especially over the eastern U.P. where 1 to 3 inches of snowfall is expected. High temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below average, coldest in the Keweenaw. ... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 2/28/26 Good morning everyone! While we certainly didn’t need the warm and sun yesterday, our hard working volunteers were itching to go as soon as temps dropped. Our first report comes from Warren- “We went out at 1 AM. Club member Steve & myself at 27 degrees did 480 from the Spile Dam turnaround, and 8 all the way to Brimley and back as well as the electric lines. I think everybody’s gonna be real happy with that, it cleaned up really well. I finished up at about 19° and then left the Groomer for turbo. Turbo is gonna hit the 889 loop and Brimley grade so I think everybody will be ready to go by about 7:30 - 8 o’clock for all of our trails out this way.” Thank you, Warren & Steve!!❄️❄️❄️ Trail 8 from the Soo to Brimley will be done tonight, the city trails were done yesterday, and will be done again tomorrow night. I’ll update when I hear from the Kinross crew as well, but I know that everything was done on Thursday ahead of the warm up. Be safe all and enjoy! Hope to see some of you at the Radar Run at The Cozy Corners Barbeau MI today! The fun starts at noon! See their page for more info! #soo #soo0228#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Strong westerly winds develop this afternoon and evening, with winds gusting up to 60 mph in the Keweenaw and 45 mph for the remainder of the northern UP near the Superior shoreline. Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines. Power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Temperatures will plummet tonight, setting up a seasonably cold weekend with some light lake effect snow for the northwest wind belts. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea... See MoreSee Less