February 13, 2015 – Happy Friday the 13th! Cold, cold, cold…that’s what we’re expecting for this weekend. We’re presently in a winter storm advisory for today with high winds expected Friday night through Saturday – so bundle up by layering your clothing, always head out with a full tank of fuel and top it off whenever near a gas station as we do have some long stretches with no fuel available. Always travel with a buddy or at the least share your plans with a friend. Make sure to not let any skin be exposed while riding as frost bite is a concern. The good news is that all this cold and the snow we’re getting today, and expect Saturday as well, makes for excellent grooming conditions. Some sledders are telling us they’ve never ridden better trails! Do keep in mind that this is a holiday weekend so there will likely be families with young riders out on the trails. Please ride safely by staying to one side only while riding and keep speeds reasonable.

Next week continues to look great with highs in the single digits to teens and lows around zero or below with more snow in the early week.

Logging has moved past our portion of trail on 13 north and we are rerouted around logging on 13 south – please watch for signing.

***VERY IMPORTANT – EFFECTIVE JANUARY 26TH THROUGH MARCH*** -The big news is a reroute over the area where trails 1, 102 and 8 west meet, north of Merriweather and west for about 5 miles. Please watch for changes and new signing (and there is plenty of it) in this area and heed all trail signage. There will be many pipeline workers plus a lot of heavy equipment in the area formally used for trails in this area so for their safety as well as yours please heed the new signing and don’t take any “short cuts”. This reroute will be in effect for most of the remainder of the snowmobile season, but we will post any changes as they occur. You will also want to top off your gas if headed north through this area as the reroute will add on an extra 10 miles (there and back) to your trip with no gas stops between Lake Gogebic and Silver City. YOU CAN NOT USE THIS AREA FOR ANY RIDING.

Keep in mind that we continue to groom our trails typically until the last day of March. Of course that depends a great deal on the weather as we’ve had years where we had to stop prior to that date but then again we’ve had years where, after receiving special permission from the DNR we groomed as late as April 8th! There’s a lot to be said for snowmobiling that late in the season!

You can legally ride any county road that does not get plowed, but check with the Forest Service for a map to these roads. They have a waterproof one for $10.00. Call 906-932-1330 or go to www.fs.usda.gov/ottawa for more info.

The new snowmobile maps are out and available at most local businesses. Please remember that only money put into the wooden map money boxes with the photo of the groomers on it goes back to the trails – so please be aware of this and watch for this.

That’s all for now from Carolyn at the Hoop! Keep checking back for more updates as conditions change. For additional information about the Lake Gogebic area please visit the chamber website at www.LakeGogebicArea.com or call them at 1-888-464-3242 (888-GOGEBIC). Have a great day and a great ride.

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Lake Gogebic Area Chamber of Commerce –

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Our temps for the weekend look like they will be colder with only a high on Saturday -3 with the low of -9. Friday will be a high of 18 with 50% snow showers. Sunday and Monday will be a bit warmer. We received around 6″ of new snow over night some got more some got less. This helped with the conditions which we really needed.

The Gogebic Range Trail Authority Groomers Report:
All trails are in good condition. Trail 8 to Tula will be groomed today it is in good to very good condition. Trail 2 to Marenisco is groomed and is in good condition. Trail 2 to Ironwood is groomed and is also in good to very good condition. Trail 11N will be groomed today. Watch for the detour around a large water hole this trail is in fair to good condition. Trail 160 will be groomed Friday or Saturday and is in good to very good condition. Trail 11S is closed due to logging this winter.

Lake Gogebic Groomer’s Report:
All trails are in good to very good condition. Our groomers continue to groom each trail each day. There is a short re-route on 13S due to logging. The groomer completed that route today but the snow is low in that area. The logging on 13N is finished according to the groomer driver.
VERY IMPORTANT: Watch for the reroute where trails 1, 102 and 8 West meet, north of Merriweather going west for about 5 miles. Watch for changes and signs. YOU CANNOT USE THIS AREA FOR ANY RIDING. This reroute will continue to the end of the season. You may also want to top off your gas if headed north through this area as the reroute will add an extra ten miles (there and back) to your trip with no gas stops between Lake Gogebic and Konteka.

The Watersmeet Groomer’s report:
Our groomers are running daily and trails are all groomed. All trails are in good condition but use caution on corners they are icy. We did get about 4″ of new snow which helped some.
Please follow the orange barrels and stay on trail going across Cisco Chain.

Please remember groomers are out both day and night, so watch for them, please pull over or at least slow down and wait for the operator to signal you by whenever you see them. Groomers have the right of way.

JUST ONE MORE REMINDER: PLEASE STAY ON MARKED TRAILS. RIDING ON UNMARKED TRAILS CAN RESULT IN THE CLUBS LOSING EASEMENT FOR THAT TRAIL AND IT CAN ALSO RESULT IN A POSSIBLE TICKET FOR YOU.

Call our snowmobile report at 800-522-5657 anytime.

RATED #1 SNOWMOBILE DESTINATION BY READERS OF AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER!

Each Western U.P. snowmobiling adventure is unique and exciting, as there are over 2000 miles groomed trails, unplowed logging roads, secluded National Forest trails throughout our area. Explore a Western U.P. winter and share the experience of a Western U.P. snowmobiling vacation with your family and friends. This is what snowmobiling is all about. Because when natural beauty, brilliant exhilaration and good times come together, the sensation is Pure Michigan. Big Snow Country is a Snowmobiler’s Paradise. This heavy snowfall gives you, the rider, the very best conditions and trails.

Our new website is www.explorewesternup.com We moved to a new location 405N Lake St. Ironwood, MI 49938.

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