Sault Ste. Marie Trail Report – 12/26
SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 12/26 Good evening! Well, it’s been a day around here! First we had drag stuck in Raco and then Steve had a really tough day out on trail 49. The 35” of snow is definitely challenging us! Here is Steve’s report- <> Good morning all! We hope you all had a nice weekend with family and friends! Pete and Sandi were out last night grooming the city trails again. Here’s Pete’s report- “Merry Christmas to all! The City trails are groomed again! In most areas, I couldn’t even tell we had groomed just 24 hours ago. Most areas were drifted in bad. The bypass around the water hole by the tunnel is groomed. I tried grooming the courtesy trail to Chippewa Motors, but there is a large water hole at the back of their property by the power lines. Be very careful around the new medical building on trail 449 as it runs along 129. The reroute is a little tricky with some hazards. I groomed the ditch closest to the road. The snow is very soft and deep there as well. Hopefully we can continue to drag snow into the ditch and build it up. I used the limb masher a lot tonight, and cleared a bunch of branches hanging over the trail. I also made a couple more swipes out of the snow piles on the trail in town. All in all, the trails are not bad at all. I couldn’t do much grooming, mostly panning and drift clearing. But you can feel the trail starting to firm up. Saw tracks of one sled, and it was nice to see the rider respecting a fresh groom! The tracks were smooth and even, with no track spinning! Hard to believe my next groomer trip will Picture is of the water hole behind Chippewa Motors. I imagine there are similar holes in the swampy areas of 49, 480, and 472. We will follow up once we can get through those trails. <> <> 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 >> Clear skies this evening will give way to increasing cloud cover overnight as a weak disturbance moves through the region. This will bring a slight chance (15-25%) for some light freezing drizzle Tuesday morning, but expect most locations to stay dry with no widespread impacts. Temperatures will be well above freezing Tuesday afternoon, rising into the 40s in the west. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaClear skies this evening will give way to increasing cloud cover overnight as a weak disturbance moves through the region. This will bring a slight chance (15-25%) for some light freezing drizzle Tuesday morning, but expect most locations to stay dry with no widespread impacts. Temperatures will be well above freezing Tuesday afternoon, rising into the 40s in the west. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> Clouds will push from west to east across the U.P. this morning followed by sunshine this afternoon. After a cold start it will be much warmer with highs in the 30s. Temperatures will continue to warm through the middle of the week with some locations approaching 50 degrees on Wednesday. The chance for rain will come into the forecast on Thursday and especially Friday. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaClouds will push from west to east across the U.P. this morning followed by sunshine this afternoon. After a cold start it will be much warmer with highs in the 30s. Temperatures will continue to warm through the middle of the week with some locations approaching 50 degrees on Wednesday. The chance for rain will come into the forecast on Thursday and especially Friday. 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. SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/1/2026 I did not know that you could ride side-by-side on a snowmobile trail . SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/1/26 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. 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. 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. SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 2/28/26 <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>
“I spent the day on Trail 49. It was tough going.
It took me a couple hours to go from 3 Mile to 6 Mile. I got stuck three times in indescribably deep snow. It is amazing what one can accomplish with a square nose garden shovel. I was able to dig out and keep moving.
At 6 Mile, I circled back to Chippewa Motors and dropped the drag there. I hopped back on the trail at Walmart and headed south.
I got stuck a couple more times without a drag hooked on. I went all the way to Devil’s Hill south of 12 Mile. (See the screen shot that shows this spot as the green line above the Beaver Pond that I circled. This is as far as we can make it until the pond freezes).
On the return trip, I came across a nice girl on a sled that got nervous with the conditions and tried to turn around and head back north. She was stuck bad but the trusty shovel and every bit of strength the two of us had got her moving again.
I followed her north and made it to the bridge behind the CCRC. The groomer busted through right at the bridge.
Decided there was no way I could get past the bridge so I turned around and got ready to head back south. Another snowmobile came by and stopped to check on me. He buried his sled too. It took a little bit but we were able to get him out. I followed him south and made sure he got back to a road.
Finally, got back to the barn where Pete met me and finished up the fueling and paperwork.
Leaving the barn I got my truck stuck at the end of the driveway.
It was one of those days but I am still smiling.
The trail needs some sled traffic but I hate to send sleds through there. This warmup might be what we need to tighten things up.
Rider’s definitely should not ride alone with the conditions we have.
Conditions are bad but I think we are on the right track to get drags through the trails in the near future.”
Steve also mentioned that when he opened the cab door on the Tucker in some areas, the bottom of the door was pushing snow😳
We cannot thank our volunteers enough for the dedication and hours that they put in! Please be patient as we work through these hazards. We have A LOT of swamp areas in our end of the UP that areas just west do not. Coupled with 35” of new snow, it’s going to take time to get everything in great shape.
Thanks all!
Oh almost forgot… already another 4” and still snowing tonight
Be next year! 🤣🤣🤣🤣”
Thanks all! 3-6” today on top of the 35” we got with the storm. Going to take a bit to get it all smoothed out❄❄❄Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
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
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
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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