Sault Ste. Marie Area Trail Report – 02/04
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 02/04 2/4/25 “Last night was another group effort on the run from the Soo to Kinross on Trail 49. Groomer Nathan started early and groomed from the club barn to the substation just south of 3 Mile Rd. I took over from there and headed south. I struggled a bit early trying to carry the right amount of snow with me. I just couldn’t get a good feel for it. Made it to Kinross and turned around for the return trip. Immediately, I realized the drag was digging in deeper than I like. I made lots of adjustments but I could not correct it. I stopped and called Groomer Dennis to see if he had any suggestions. He had me look over the drag but didn’t see anything obvious. I proceeded on and went another couple hundred yards and stopped again. The left rear corner of the drag was digging in and leaving a depression in the center of the trail. I wasn’t able to cover my tracks and was really disappointed with the finished product. I then called Groomer Mike and he had me check a whole list of things he could think of that might be causing it. After laying in the snow looking underneath the drag, I was getting very wet and cold. I could not find anything out of place. I proceeded on and did the best I could. Dennis met me earlier than normal and took over the route to eliminate me from the equation. He had the same issue but maybe not to level I was seeing. Overall, the trail is in great shape. I knocked down a lot of bumps and drifts and leveled the best I could. Unfortunately, there is a clear step between both passes in the trail. Trail is soft so it will settle quickly with sled traffic. We think the conditions may have played a big part in the finished product last night. Our crew will take a look at the drag today once it is thawed out and see if we have any mechanical issues. I felt like the drag had a twist in it that I could not adjust out. Finally, I may have had an off night. I felt comfortable behind the controls but never was happy with what I was seeing in the rear-view mirrors. We didn’t leave a white ribbon last night but the trail is still almost perfect. Please get out and enjoy it while the conditions are this good. I too, feel that this drag is off. We are very hopeful that we will be eligible for a new drag next season, as this one has run its course. We’ve repaired it and replaced parts but it’s just not doing as good a job as it once did. Thank you Steve and all volunteers! A bit of snow is on the way again ahead of the weekend! ❄️❄️❄️ <> <> Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association Facebook Page <> WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> While the lake effect snow winds down over the east tonight, a round of light fluffy snowfall returns to the UP on Saturday. Expect only nuisance travel impacts from the snowfall on Saturday, with amounts ranging from a dusting to a light few inches throughout the day. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaWhile the lake effect snow winds down over the east tonight, a round of light fluffy snowfall returns to the UP on Saturday. Expect only nuisance travel impacts from the snowfall on Saturday, with amounts ranging from a dusting to a light few inches throughout the day. #906wx #miwx SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/2/26 WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Another chilly day is in store today with highs ranging in the teens. Light lake effect snow showers persist today through tonight in the eastern UP, where another 2-4in will be possible. Light snow becomes more widespread across the UP as another system moves through. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaAnother chilly day is in store today with highs ranging in the teens. Light lake effect snow showers persist today through tonight in the eastern UP, where another 2-4in will be possible. Light snow becomes more widespread across the UP as another system moves through. SAULT STE. MARIE AREA via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 1/2/26 WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Another chilly night is in store with wind chills falling to -5 to -20. Lake effect snow will continue with several additional inches of accumulation and low visibility in Ontonagon/Houghton Counties and in the eastern UP along/north of M-28. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaAnother chilly night is in store with wind chills falling to -5 to -20. Lake effect snow will continue with several additional inches of accumulation and low visibility in Ontonagon/Houghton Counties and in the eastern UP along/north of M-28. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Accumulating lake effect snow will continue today, especially across parts of Chippewa County in the eastern U.P. where several inches of additional localized accumulation are expected. Lighter snow showers expected to continue across parts of northwest lower Michigan. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskey #soo #newberryAccumulating lake effect snow will continue today, especially across parts of Chippewa County in the eastern U.P. where several inches of additional localized accumulation are expected. Lighter snow showers expected to continue across parts of northwest lower Michigan. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Accumulating lake effect snow will continue tonight for parts of eastern upper and the NW lower snowbelt. An additional 1-4 inches is expected for parts of the county with localized amounts in excess of 8 inches possible near Sault Ste. Marie and Brimley. In the NW lower snow belts, additional snow of 2-4 inches in some spots is possible as well tonight. Snow covered roads and quick drops in visibility will lead to hazardous travel at times into tonight. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskey #soo #newberryAccumulating lake effect snow will continue tonight for parts of eastern upper and the NW lower snowbelt. An additional 1-4 inches is expected for parts of the county with localized amounts in excess of 8 inches possible near Sault Ste. Marie and Brimley. In the NW lower snow belts, additional snow of 2-4 inches in some spots is possible as well tonight. Snow covered roads and quick drops in visibility will lead to hazardous travel at times into tonight. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Happy New Year, northern Michigan! Accumulating lake effect snow will continue today into tonight, mainly across Chippewa county. An additional 2-4” is expected for parts of the county with localized amounts of 6”+ possible near Sault Ste. Marie. Snow covered roads and quick drops in visibility will lead to hazardous travel at times into tonight. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskey #soo #newberryHappy New Year, northern Michigan! Accumulating lake effect snow will continue today into tonight, mainly across Chippewa county. An additional 2-4” is expected for parts of the county with localized amounts of 6”+ possible near Sault Ste. Marie. Snow covered roads and quick drops in visibility will lead to hazardous travel at times into tonight. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> A chilly day is expected for the first day of 2026, with highs mainly in the teens and light lake effect snow continuing for the west to northwest wind snow belts through tonight. Another 2-4” is expected in the eastern UP, though some locally higher amounts up to 6” are possible. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaA chilly day is expected for the first day of 2026, with highs mainly in the teens and light lake effect snow continuing for the west to northwest wind snow belts through tonight. Another 2-4” is expected in the eastern UP, though some locally higher amounts up to 6” are possible. BRIMLEY - EASTERN U.P. UPDATE via Old Soo Line Grade Lodge >> 01/01/26 - HAPPY NEW YEAR Time for a taller gauge😅 <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>
Good morning everyone! Steve sent me a detailed report of his run last night, so let’s get to it!
Steve Lawson”Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
Out for a ride. Lucky me!
Trail 8 between Raco and Brimley.
Thank you Warren and Laurie🤘🏼❄️ #soo #snowphotos1/2/26
Out for a ride. Lucky me!
Trail 8 between Raco and Brimley.
Thank you Warren and Laurie🤘🏼❄️
Good morning everyone! It’s been awhile since I was able to create a complete trail report with all that we’ve had going on, so here we go!
❄️Trail 8- good from the Soo to Brimley, and Brimley to Raco has greatly improved now that the drifts have been knocked down more. Still soft snow that will start packing down more with each run.
❄️ City Trails- part of 49, 449, 497, and the I500 courtesy trail- lots of drifting in the open areas, fair to good. Needs a groom to manage drifts, and we’ll get to it as soon as we can.
❄️ ‼️ Trail 49 - Soo to Kinross- rough from Devils Hill to 12 mile, and we left the groomer out of there the last few days to let it freeze in more. Passable by sled with some wet spots, so use caution. Continued cold and sleds packing it will make a big difference. 12 mile north to the Soo is in good shape. Please stay on the trail! There are water hazards under the snow off trail in several areas.
❄️49 south of M80 and the 494 loop- excellent. No issues here, other than maybe some drifts in open areas.
❄️472 out of Kinross to Tilson Rd- our first pass since the storm was made yesterday so it is much improved. Fair to good. We cannot groom past Tilson due to ongoing construction.
🚨 472 and 480 to the Raco gate- please see the pinned post. We cannot groom in here yet due to bridge construction. The Raco gate is closed.
❄️ 480 from the Spile Dam turnaround to the Raco Powerline ( trail 8 ) - excellent
❄️ Raco Powerline- good
❄️889 The Mission Hill Loop- good- all trees have been cleared and it groomed up nicely.
Ride safe everyone!
**to join or donate, please visit www.sootrails.org** #soo #soo0102 #snowphotos1/2/26
Good morning everyone! It’s been awhile since I was able to create a complete trail report with all that we’ve had going on, so here we go!
❄️Trail 8- good from the Soo to Brimley, and Brimley to Raco has greatly improved now that the drifts have been knocked down more. Still soft snow that will start packing down more with each run.
❄️ City Trails- part of 49, 449, 497, and the I500 courtesy trail- lots of drifting in the open areas, fair to good. Needs a groom to manage drifts, and we’ll get to it as soon as we can.
❄️ ‼️ Trail 49 - Soo to Kinross- rough from Devils Hill to 12 mile, and we left the groomer out of there the last few days to let it freeze in more. Passable by sled with some wet spots, so use caution. Continued cold and sleds packing it will make a big difference. 12 mile north to the Soo is in good shape. Please stay on the trail! There are water hazards under the snow off trail in several areas.
❄️49 south of M80 and the 494 loop- excellent. No issues here, other than maybe some drifts in open areas.
❄️472 out of Kinross to Tilson Rd- our first pass since the storm was made yesterday so it is much improved. Fair to good. We cannot groom past Tilson due to ongoing construction.
🚨 472 and 480 to the Raco gate- please see the pinned post. We cannot groom in here yet due to bridge construction. The Raco gate is closed.
❄️ 480 from the Spile Dam turnaround to the Raco Powerline ( trail 8 ) - excellent
❄️ Raco Powerline- good
❄️889 The Mission Hill Loop- good- all trees have been cleared and it groomed up nicely.
Ride safe everyone!
***to join or donate, please visit www.sootrails.org***
24” minimum on the ground just off Trail 8 in Brimley, MI with more on the way!
Snow and cold temps in the forecast.
Stay safe #soo #newberry #snowphotos