SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 02/27
Good evening all!
I took a ride on my sled from the Soo out to Pickles Bar & Grill (another one of our awesome map sponsors!) for a friends birthday dinner tonight.
I’ve put nearly 800 miles on my sled in the past week in the central and eastern UP and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them but I have to say, there’s no place like home. Maybe it’s because I personally know our volunteers and how much care and dedication we all put into every single inch of our trail system. Or maybe it’s just my love and pride for our community and my belief that what we do contributes to the well being of my friends and neighbors. Either way, it truly makes me happy to ride our trails.
Snow started falling while we ate dinner and by the time I left, it was really coming down. I took my time on my return trip down 8, admiring how well it’s holding up and decided to take a spin around the city trails so that I could give you guys an update. I checked Ashmun Bay where the semi was stuck earlier and I wouldn’t even have known it was there if I hadn’t seen the pics myself. Very smooth after Tom worked his magic in there. It was a quick 40 miles but I only saw 2 sleds the entire trip. I absolutely love our low weekday traffic after seeing how busy things are to our west. There were some pretty big drifts along the airport (those were super fun on my return trip🤣 ) and everything is holding up really great. With the 4-8” or more of snow that we are getting tonight, things will only improve. A few icy corners on 49 between the tunnel hill and Ashmun Creek Hill but the new snow will help take care of those. I believe Bryan hits the city trails tomorrow night.
If you’ve never ridden here, I encourage you to book soon. Things are really in excellent condition. Come and enjoy what we work hard to create and maintain and support the local businesses that support us.
Hats off to all of our volunteers and your endless efforts. It is truly evident how much this trail system is cared for.
Have a good night all and enjoy the fresh snow! ❄️❄️❄️
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Good morning all!
Groomer Pete was out on the city trails last night. Here’s his report from his run-
“I groomed the City trails tonight. Tonight I realized it was light out when I started at 6 pm. A sobering reminder that the winter is in its twilight. It’s my third groom of the week. Do you ever feel like you live in a groomer? Overall, I think our entire trails system is great. I think I rode all of them this week on my sled, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s always refreshing to come home to my home trails after a long ride. It’s almost a guarantee that two or more groomers are out every night. The Chippewa trails were in good shape this weekend too, so props to them for their work.
I’d like to take a moment to appreciate the hard work of some people that get little to no recognition for keeping this circus moving. Mike our groomer coordinator, Dave the Raco regional assistant director of supervising the groomers to support the groomer coordinator, Tom our president, and our groomer maintenance guy Buck. Buck works nearly full time all year on the 4 machines and the barn. Tool management, parts ordering, repairs, maintenance, getting fuel delivered, ordering propane fills, welding……the list of things Buck does could go on for pages. Without those four guys, the hooligan groomers would probably self destruct.
Enjoy the trails while they are good!”
More snow if on the way tonight with the possibility of some freezing rain/ice. We’ll update on how that turns out but shouldn’t really hurt us as the trails are in great shape.
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/27/26 Good evening everyone! Holding steady at 30” of snow in the Soo currently with lake effect snow showers ongoing. We do still have one machine down, and our schedule has been adjusted to make sure we can still cover all areas. Here’s what I know- ❄️ Trail 8- Soo to Raco- excellent ❄️ City Trails - part of 49, 449, 497, and the I500 trail- excellent (being groomed as I type this) ❄️ Trail 49- Soo to Kinross- good. All water holes are packed and panned. May have some drifts in open areas. ❄️ Trail 49 south of M80 and the 494 loop- excellent ❄️ Trail 472 to 480 to the Raco gate- good - Go slow by the new bridge on 480 as there is stone there, that will be snow covered in time. ❄️ Trail 480 from the Spile Dam turnaround to the Raco Powerline ( trail 8 ) - excellent ❄️ Raco Powerline- excellent ❄️ Trail 889 The Mission Hill Loop- excellent Remember, we are on Groomer Tracker! Ride safe everyone! ***to join or donate, please visit www.sootrails.org***#soo... See MoreSee Less
It has been a great season so far. For the most part, trails are in excellent condition but we do still have a few problem areas. To see what's been happening since the trails opened and for complete up to date information, please follow us on facebook.
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/27/26 Things are so good around here that I actually have no significant updates to share LOL. A little snow here and there on top of an absolutely incredible base is making for the best riding in our area in years, honestly. Even with one machine still down, our operators have things in excellent shape! We hope you’ll be able to be here next week for race week, and for the big race on Saturday, Feb 7th! We will have a booth in the brand new vendor pavilion, and we hope to see you there at the International 500 Snowmobile Race!! 🏁 ❄️🥶 #soo#soo0127 #snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
Winds will gust 30-40mph at times blowing around new slow and fluffy snow already on the ground. Expect ground blizzards at times (wind driven, brief, white outs). ... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/27/26 Update!! 10:30 AM - The car is near the pavilion in the campground, close to the parking lot, and will be out shortly. Thank you to Merle’s Towing for your communication and helping her out! 🚨 Caution!! There is a car stuck on the trail behind Kewadin Casino. We are unsure of the exact location on the trail as of right now. Merle’s Towing, who has always been so awesome to work with, is on the way, but please use caution. Please be kind, it’s an elderly person who made a mistake. Just sharing for awareness. Thank you! #soo... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Another quickly-moving Clipper will bring a round of widespread, light snow beginning this evening, followed by lingering lake effect snow across the NW wind snow belts for Tuesday. Totals of an inch or less are expected for most of the UP, but where lake effect snow occurs, up to 2-5in of snow is possible tonight through Tuesday evening. As winds pick up early Tuesday, patchy blowing snow may contribute to reduced visibility in the NW wind snow belts. Take care during your morning commute! #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #soo#straitsareaAnother quickly-moving Clipper will bring a round of widespread, light snow beginning this evening, followed by lingering lake effect snow across the NW wind snow belts for Tuesday. Totals of an inch or less are expected for most of the UP, but where lake effect snow occurs, up to 2-5in of snow is possible tonight through Tuesday evening. As winds pick up early Tuesday, patchy blowing snow may contribute to reduced visibility in the NW wind snow belts. Take care during your morning commute! ... See MoreSee Less