SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 02/19
2/19/25
Sorry for the delay guys! Busy work day. Here’s a report from Brimley Bill, and also some pics from his run. Bryan also sent us some from his run on the city trails last night. Please use caution on 449 in the city as the utility company is in there doing some work again. Stay on the groomed trail and you’ll be just fine.
Bill’s report-
“Last night I ran the Pisten Bully and Dubie drag on trail 480 from Raco to our Spile Dam Rd turnaround. Then trail 8 on the Powerline, and from Raco all the way to the Sault and back.
The night started with blowing and drifting lake effect snow, with poor visibility. After a while it calmed down, but left quite a bit of fresh snow, and lots of drifting across the trails.
On my return trip from the Sault back to Raco, the only tracks on the trail were left by deer, rabbits, and other wildlife. So the trails had many hours to set up for morning riders.”
Quiet here during the week, and things are pretty excellent! We now have 1 of the 2 groomers that were down fixed, too! Thank you to all of our volunteers for your hard work, and for stepping up to cover while they were down! Teamwork makes the dream work! ❄️❄️❄️
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SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 02/19
Brimley Bill is heading back to Raco from the Soo. A little aurora borealis shining behind the clouds tonight. 💚❄
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SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 02/18
2/18/25
Good morning everyone!
It’s Tuesday, so time for another trail report from Steve. Here we go!
“Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster leading up to our Monday night grooming run.
With both groomers in the Soo barn broke down and waiting on repairs, Dennis and I spent the day tossing around ideas of what we were going to do with our first free Monday night in a long time.
Things changed around 3 pm when our groomer boss Mike called with some good news and bad news.
The good news was, we were going to be able to still groom. The bad news was, the available groomer was sitting down in Kinross.
I spent some time reflecting on the five-year sentence I served grooming out of our Raco location and decided driving to Kinross from the Soo wasn’t all that bad. Time wise, it is about half as long as driving to Raco after work.
Dennis and I made a plan that worked for both of us to do our normal Soo to Kinross run on trail 49 in reverse.
I drove to Kinross and warmed up the groomer before heading north. Our groomer sits outside there and it really made me appreciate the barn in the Soo where everything is warm and thawed out before starting our runs.
I had an uneventful trip into town. I met lots of sleds and received thumbs up from most of them.
I reached out to Groomer Lane just south of the Soo. He had made the last trip into town from Kinross and groomed all the way to Trail 8. I decided at that point to groom the east side of town and went to the casino and also to the high school. Most of our city trails have now been groomed in the last few days, utilizing our Kinross groomer.
Overall, trails are in great condition. The top layer of snow on the trail is soft. Trails are pretty flat and should be enjoyable to ride.
There is still utility work going on inside the city limits around the trail to the casino. It is signed well and one section of trail is blocked off. I was able to sneak the groomer around the area and keep a safe path through. Please use caution in this area as they are working in many spots along the way.
Hope to continue to see sleds enjoying our trail system.
Steve Lawson”
Thank you to all of our volunteers, especially to those that have put in extra time and rearranged their schedules to help us out while we are down 2 machines. I rode yesterday and you’d never know it. They are all doing a fantastic job!
Stay warm if you’re out the next few days. It’s brutally cold, and trails are very hard packed, especially in the morning so scratchers are recommended if you have them. No significant snow in the next few days, but there’s tons around. We could use a break from shoveling and plowing LOL.
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Tonight, isolated to scattered rain showers are expected across the south and east, with maybe a few thunderstorms across the south. Across the north-central, drizzle and freezing drizzle may occur. Tuesday, conditions evolve mainly to a mix of rain and snow before we see a mostly dry Wednesday. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #sooTonight, isolated to scattered rain showers are expected across the south and east, with maybe a few thunderstorms across the south. Across the north-central, drizzle and freezing drizzle may occur. Tuesday, conditions evolve mainly to a mix of rain and snow before we see a mostly dry Wednesday. ... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/30/26 Hello everyone! It’s 41 degrees here in the Soo today with warm sunshine. The melt is definitely on. It’s heard to believe that we were still grooming as of yesterday! What a season! The Tucker that sits in Kinross was brought back to the Soo barn yesterday, and the Pisten Bully just came in to the Soo barn this morning from Raco. It’s so bittersweet as we have SO MUCH snow still on the trails, but our operators deserve some well earned rest, and all good things must come to an end. Tonight, we’re holding our groomer appreciation dinner and I’ll get some pics and maybe some Q & A with some of our operators for you about this season. Once I have all of the March paperwork completed, I’ll also share some stats from the season. We’ll be getting gates closed after the 31st, and some are still really buried in snow, so please know where you are riding after 3/31 and stay off of private property. Trails on state and federal lands do not close but will not be groomed. Be safe if you still choose to ride and be alert to rapidly changing conditions such as water holes opening up. It’s going to be one heck of a mud season this year! As of today, we still have 30” of snow on the ground, with a trail base of over 2’ in many areas🤯 Thank you to all who visited our area, rode our trail system, supported our local businesses, donated to or joined our club, who follow us on Groomer Tracker and here on Facebook, the DNR for finding additional grooming dollars to get us through March, our incredible volunteers and members, and most importantly, the AMAZING landowners who allow us to have the wonderful trail system that we have! Best season ever!!! ❄️❄️❄️ PS- there’s rumor of a big snowstorm late this week😅😂 #soo #soo0330#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Cloud cover increases today ahead of the next batch of wintry precipitation that moves in this evening into the night. By tomorrow, the wintry precipitation will become more confined to the north, while showers and thunderstorms sneak into the southern counties. A few of these storms could even become strong at times with large hail. Further out, snow is expected to return from Wednesday night through Thursday morning, eventually transitioning to a wintry mix again by Thursday afternoon. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #sooCloud cover increases today ahead of the next batch of wintry precipitation that moves in this evening into the night. By tomorrow, the wintry precipitation will become more confined to the north, while showers and thunderstorms sneak into the southern counties. A few of these storms could even become strong at times with large hail. Further out, snow is expected to return from Wednesday night through Thursday morning, eventually transitioning to a wintry mix again by Thursday afternoon. ... See MoreSee Less
SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/28/26 Good evening!! It was Turbo and Diane’s last run for the season on 889. And they made it a double due to someone thinking they could drive a truck on the trail😔 Here’s what they had to say- “This morning was a little bittersweet, as it was our last groom of the season on trails 480, 8 and 889. I really appreciate what Groomer Mark left for me this morning. The trails were nice and flat and smooth. They need very little to touch them up. Honestly, I believe these trails today are better than they were mid-season. It's really a shame that the season ends April 1st. It snowed the whole time. We got about 4" of new snow. This was our first groom this whole season, where I left a perfect ribbon from start to finish. Not one sled track the whole way. So about 6pm tonight we were driving down Plantation road because Mrs. Turbo saw an eagles nest along the courtesy trail to Bay Mills this morning, and we saw a rescue vehicle sitting on the road just past the beginning of trail 889. So we stopped and waited for the rubber tracked skid loader pulling out a pick up truck. I asked him what they were doing driving on the trail and he said they were going to the Mission Hill overlook. I asked him how bad he tore up the trail getting stuck, and he said it was pretty bad. He tried to turn around and ended up getting stuck. I believe he could have driven the whole trail and been fine. The trails are so hard packed, we couldn't hardly see any tire tracks. So Mrs. Turbo and I went home and got our grooming clothes on and went back out to go fix it. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as he told us it was. As beautiful as the trails were this morning, we must have had a lot of traffic today, because it was pretty tore up. So, it was actually a good thing we went out. We saw many sleds. All in all, it was a pretty good day. We hope everyone had a great day of riding. Enjoy, these last few days of the season. Remember, ride right, ride safe and ride sober. Turbo” Thank you so much for your extra efforts today, and all season!! Beautiful job!!❄️❄️❄️ #soo #soo0328b#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> After light snow wraps up this evening, expect partially clearing skies overnight while temperatures fall back mainly into the 20s. Clouds increase Sunday, with a milder day ahead as temperatures climb into the 40s and 50s. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #sooAfter light snow wraps up this evening, expect partially clearing skies overnight while temperatures fall back mainly into the 20s. Clouds increase Sunday, with a milder day ahead as temperatures climb into the 40s and 50s. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> AM lake effect snow showers will diminish across the east, but additional snow showers will be possible this afternoon across the northern U.P. After warm and dry days Sunday and Monday, incoming rainfall is expected by late Monday afternoon. High temperatures will top off in the 40s and 50s by Sunday and Monday. The exception will be the northernmost portions of the Keweenaw where upper 30s will linger. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #sooAM lake effect snow showers will diminish across the east, but additional snow showers will be possible this afternoon across the northern U.P. After warm and dry days Sunday and Monday, incoming rainfall is expected by late Monday afternoon. High temperatures will top off in the 40s and 50s by Sunday and Monday. The exception will be the northernmost portions of the Keweenaw where upper 30s will linger. ... See MoreSee Less
WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Skies are expected to clear tonight, yielding mostly dry conditions overnight with lows falling into the teens and single digits. 2 weak disturbances follow Friday and again Saturday, providing the region another chance for light snow. #miweather #keweenaw#westernup#marquette#munising #seney #newberry #sooSkies are expected to clear tonight, yielding mostly dry conditions overnight with lows falling into the teens and single digits. 2 weak disturbances follow Friday and again Saturday, providing the region another chance for light snow. #906wx #miwx ... See MoreSee Less