Sault Ste. Marie Trail Report – 02/16
SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 02/16 This is going to be a L O N G post, but not nearly as long as the day Turbo and Diane had. Many photos to give a great look into what they saw on their 75 mile, 10.5 hour run today in the Bay Mills and Raco areas. “Got a text at 6:30am from Raco Dave asking me if I would want to go groom the 889 loop. He asked me check out trail 480 also and maybe open the gates. And if it’s going good, maybe just do trail 8 into Brimley as well. So by the time I got Mrs. Turbo out of bed, we had a cup of coffee and fed the dogs, we hit the trail at 9am. We did the 889 loop, Mission Hill and down to the casino. We ran across a few snowmobilers and one of them was low on antifreeze so we helped him out. It was nice to hear them say our trails were the best they had seen all day. This loop turned out pretty good. In some spots, it’s as good as it has been all year. Next we did the power lines. This, not so much, it is very thin. We did our turnaround at Ranger Rd and we ran into Rex from Chippewa Snowchasers who was watching us on the groomer tracker and wanted to see how it looked. He said it looked really good and that they would be grooming their trails tonight. By now it’s about 1:00pm, and we know running down to Tilson Rd. and back to Brimley is going to be another 5 hours, so we decided to drop the groomer off and head home to let the dogs out and grab a sandwich. 2:00pm we are back in the groomer heading down 480 to the Spile Dam, or as we call it "Spice Dam" lol Autocorrect ya know… 480 to Spile Dam is excellent…make sure you get out and ride that trail. We opened the gates and continued down 480 to 472 to Tilson Rd. In this section there are a lot of washouts that we needed to fill in. Thank god there is enough snow to do so. We got them smoothed out as best we could with what we had to work with. This whole time we were following the Groomer Tracker App and we knew our fellow groomer Lane was in the area. He was doing trail 472 towards the sugar bush. We ended up meeting him at the intersection of 480 and 472 and had a little photo op, talked about the trails and then got on our way, and then turned around to go toward Brimley. Our return pass on 480 made the trail much nicer. I would rate this trail as good, but it could use a little improvement. Now on to trail 8 to Brimley. The snow depth here was excellent! We were able to smooth it out real nice. Just before the bridge there is a little water hole but it should freeze up easily. Sharing some photos that we took today in between passing riders. We parked the groomer at 8 pm, so it was a 10 hour day in the groomer. Total of 75 miles. That’s a loooong day, but we are glad to do it. So get out and take advantage of the snow while it’s here. Remember, it’s been a bad season for everyone, especially the local businesses, so make sure you support them as well. Until next time, The Turbos” Remember, Groomer Tracker now has a “tip” button. You can also donate if you’re so inclined on our website at www.sootrails.org <> <> Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association Facebook Page <> Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association Trail Report on MSA <> WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> It will be warmer today with highs in the upper 20s to mid 30s. Light snow is possible south of an Iron Mountain to Escanaba line but any accumulation will be very light. There is a chance (20-30%) for light snow across the central and eastern U.P tonight but little in the way of accumulation is expected. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaIt will be warmer today with highs in the upper 20s to mid 30s. Light snow is possible south of an Iron Mountain to Escanaba line but any accumulation will be very light. There is a chance (20-30%) for light snow across the central and eastern U.P tonight but little in the way of accumulation is expected. SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 12/21/25 SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 12/21/25 WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Lake effect snow showers will continue in the northwest wind snowbelts this morning and then begin to shift north and offshore this afternoon into the evening as winds become southwesterly. Additional snowfall of up to an inch in the west and 1 to 3 inches in the east can be expected. A round of light snow is possible on Monday into Monday night with temperatures moderating through mid-week. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaLake effect snow showers will continue in the northwest wind snowbelts this morning and then begin to shift north and offshore this afternoon into the evening as winds become southwesterly. Additional snowfall of up to an inch in the west and 1 to 3 inches in the east can be expected. A round of light snow is possible on Monday into Monday night with temperatures moderating through mid-week. WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> Here is our last call for ongoing system snow and lake effect snow from now through Sunday evening at 6 pm EST, December 20th & 21st, 2025. A snow squall. Maybe that’s what we had going on in Wakefield today. It was nuts! SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 12/20/25 WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> The first round of snow continues through mid-morning before most get a brief dry period into this afternoon; snow showers persist in the Keweenaw. Then a transition over to lake effect snow over the west to northwest wind snowbelts. 3 to 7 inches of snowfall over the east tonight into Sunday morning. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Another system brings a quick round of light to moderate snowfall late tonight into early Saturday. A widespread 1-3 inches of snow is expected, possibly locally higher up to 3-4in in the eastern UP. A change over to lake effect snow is expected in the NW wind snow belts Saturday afternoon, lingering into Sunday. Winds turn gusty for Saturday, with gusts as high as 40-45mph possible over the Keweenaw, where a Wind Advisory is in effect Saturday afternoon and evening. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaAnother system brings a quick round of light to moderate snowfall late tonight into early Saturday. A widespread 1-3 inches of snow is expected, possibly locally higher up to 3-4in in the eastern UP. A change over to lake effect snow is expected in the NW wind snow belts Saturday afternoon, lingering into Sunday. Winds turn gusty for Saturday, with gusts as high as 40-45mph possible over the Keweenaw, where a Wind Advisory is in effect Saturday afternoon and evening. <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>
What a day and a report. Thank you guys so much for your time!
Ride smart and safe! ❄️❄️❄️Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
Groomer Jay and I just finished the city trails. Aside from the car on trail 8 near Ashmun Bay, things look really good. We saw a little water on the trail to Kewadin as pictured, but that was honestly the worst part of the whole run. It was snowing hard for the last hour of our run.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how well things held up after the warm up last week.
We keep saying it, but we truly are very pleased with where things are this early seaon.
Let’s hope it continues! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #snowphotos
Happy Winter Solstice!!
Beautiful shots from Brimley Bill this morning on his run of parts of 480 north of M28, the Raco powerline portion of trail 8, and the 889 loop!
Fresh snow over the solid base that the thaw last week helped to create = some awesome trails!
Thank you Bill! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #snowphotos
Uncertainty exists primarily in our trace-1" category which extends from Frankfort and Alpena south to I-96/I-69. The clipper moving through today may produce a quick squall of rain & snow with minimal accumulation some time beyond 1 pm EST, but models haven't determined if this band will solidify or not. If it does, the chance for a rain/snow mix exists in areas highlighted in the pink dashed box. This rain/snow mix would only be today. Any snow on Sunday will be lake effect off of Lake Superior, hence why our highest totals of 4-8" are located east of Munising over to Paradise. Not too impactful of a system in terms of Michigander standards, but do take it slow if you encounter any snow squalls and/or visibly slick roads. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyHere is our last call for ongoing system snow and lake effect snow from now through Sunday evening at 6 pm EST, December 20th & 21st, 2025.
Uncertainty exists primarily in our trace-1" category which extends from Frankfort and Alpena south to I-96/I-69. The clipper moving through today may produce a quick squall of rain & snow with minimal accumulation some time beyond 1 pm EST, but models haven't determined if this band will solidify or not. If it does, the chance for a rain/snow mix exists in areas highlighted in the pink dashed box. This rain/snow mix would only be today. Any snow on Sunday will be lake effect off of Lake Superior, hence why our highest totals of 4-8" are located east of Munising over to Paradise. Not too impactful of a system in terms of Michigander standards, but do take it slow if you encounter any snow squalls and/or visibly slick roads.
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Good morning all!
Not any major changes here as of right now. We got maybe an inch of snow overnight in the Soo, with a bit in the forecast today and tomorrow.
Our Raco crew has been out on 8 from Brimley west, and the 889 loop is being done now, as they have a bit more snow in that area. I haven’t spoken with the groomer bosses in the Soo or Kinross yet, but I would imagine we’ll still be on hold in those areas until we get a bit more snow.
No doubt, we now have a very solid base over the majority of our trail system.
We’ll keep you posted! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo
Windy conditions are expected this afternoon into tonight behind a cold front. Widespread westerly wind gusts are expected between 25 to 35 mph; up to 45 mph near Lake Superior and in the Keweenaw. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsarea