SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 02/17
2/17 9 pm update- Today, groomer Jay and I hit trail 8 from the Soo to Brimley for the very first time this season. That statement in itself is a testament to this crazy winter. As we left the Soo around 12:30, we were both questioning whether it was worth it or not, as it was thin, but decided to carry on since we needed to at least check for any downed trees or other hazards. The more west we went, the better it got. As I said in the video earlier, the only “bad” part is that the big chunks of slag rock that were placed here over the summer are getting pulled up as sleds roll over it.
It undoubtedly has made the foundation much more solid, and mitigated the water hole situation, but it’s not great, and the only solution is simply more snow. The worst part is about 1/4 mile just west of where you cross 6 mile. Take it easy and you’ll be just fine. We panned slowly and methodically as to not further disturb them. We had two trees that were leaners and needed to be cut. Our battery operated Milwaukee saws that we bought with funds from the MISORVA Miracle Million grant are awesome and made quick work of those. Otherwise, it was pretty uneventful on our way to Brimley.
We stopped at The Cozy Inn in Brimley and were so graciously treated to a meal! Amazing folks there and we are so appreciative of their unwavering support! Please support them! On the return trip, I took the wheel, and it started snowing really hard! I personally love grooming in heavy snow! The drag is pretty finicky, especially on lake effect snow, so it was tracking a little weird in spots, but still smoothed the surface out nicely. We got back around 7:30 and needed to plow the parking lot at the groomer barn as there was easily 3” of new snow. And it’s still coming down! Woo hoo!
Oh! And we only saw 10 sleds! Where is everyone??
Let’s hope it keeps up overnight, and things will onlly improve! That’s all for now! Ride safe, right right, ride sober, and snow dance your 🍑 off, it’s working! ❄️❄️❄️
PS- first debbie downer in the comments owes me lunch😉
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.
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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