Traverse City Trail Report – 12/27
TRAVERSE CITY AREA UPDATE via Ranch Rudolf – 12/27 An update for 12/28: On Wednesday we will be open from 11am to 6pm with food available 12pm to 4pm. As you may already know, Sid is a guy who loves his big horses! This is the first time in a long time we’ve been able to use the sleigh Christmas week. Usually there isn’t enough solid snow for the horses to be able to pull the runners until later in the season, so this has been a real treat! Whether wheels or runners, Beau and Knox do not disappoint! There are available ride times Jan 2 and 3. Call us at 231-947-9529 to reserve a time. Groomers were running today. Trails range from good to fair shape. There have been lots of people out enjoying the trails this week, which is wonderful. Trails are wearing thin in spots and we’re just hoping to fare okay during the upcoming warmer temps that are forecasted. Get out tomorrow if you are able, it’ll be better riding than Thursday. <> <> Grand Traverse Area Snowmobile Club on Facebook >>>> <> Area Reports: Grand Traverse Area Snowmobile Club on Facebook >>>> Visit Grand Traverse Area Snowmobile Club Trail Report on MSA >>>> <> TRAVERSE CITY AREA UPDATE via Grand Traverse Area Snowmobile Club >> Groomer Don went out on the South trail yesterday. He reported that the trail groomed up nice. There were some overhanging branches and a few downed trees that he took care of. Thanks Don for volunteering your time to groom our trails. Better hurry and get out there before the warm up. Remember, Ride Right, Ride Safe, Ride Sober. #traversecity #snowphotosGroomer Don went out on the South trail yesterday. He reported that the trail groomed up nice. There were some overhanging branches and a few downed trees that he took care of. Thanks Don for volunteering your time to groom our trails. Better hurry and get out there before the warm up. Remember, Ride Right, Ride Safe, Ride Sober. BENZIE AREA UPDATE via Meteorologist Brad Sugden >> The Benzie County Road Commission has been sharing updates on plowing the roads. Follow them if you're in that area. Here's their full post on plowing updates: Sanders are not plows WEATHER UPDATE via Michigan Storm Chasers >> Final snowfall totals have been released from our blizzard of March 15th-17th, 2026 here in Michigan. Do note, some locations are approximated due to data gaps in the Upper Peninsula..... #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyFinal snowfall totals have been released from our blizzard of March 15th-17th, 2026 here in Michigan. Do note, some locations are approximated due to data gaps in the Upper Peninsula. WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Gaylord Michigan >> Lake effect snow lingers across northwest Lower and pushes inland this afternoon. Hazardous travel with reduced visibilities at times will be possible with winds decreasing through the day. #miweather #gaylord #cadillac #benzie #traversecity #petoskeyLake effect snow lingers across northwest Lower and pushes inland this afternoon. Hazardous travel with reduced visibilities at times will be possible with winds decreasing through the day. TRAVERSE CITY AREA UPDATE via Grand Traverse Area Snowmobile Club >> Groomer Steve is braving the weather tonight and grooming the north and east trails. He said the snow is deep and the trail is panning out nicely. Thanks Steve for volunteering your time! GTASC is planning on grooming as long as this weather holds out. Remember, Ride Right, Ride Safe, Ride Sober. #traversecity #snowphotos TRAVERSE CITY AREA UPDATE via FOX Weather >> ENDLESS SNOWFALL ❄️: A life-threatening bomb cyclone continues to swamp Traverse City, Michigan, with feet of snow and destructive winds. The storm has already created long-lasting impacts, halting travel across the state. #traversecity #snowphotos TRAVERSE CITY AREA UPDATE via 9&10 News >> Stay home as life-threatening conditions continue to grip the area. That's the message from Grand Traverse County Emergency Management. #traversecity SHELTER IN PLACE: Travel strongly discouraged as roads are impassable www.9and10news.com <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
Good morning Benzie!
We are through the worst of it. I’m incredibly proud of our team here. Everyone put in a 16–19 hour day on Monday and 12–15 hours on Tuesday. No matter how frustrating things got (it wasn't just personal vehicles that couldn't make it down roads), everyone stepped up and kept pushing forward. We truly have something special here. We aren't done yet, today is a massive clean up and widening everything back out. Tomorrow will be loaders, skip loaders, and the graders turn.
Storm totals (Thursday–Tuesday) in Honor, MI - 26.5"
All of that came with rain and winds up to 50 mph.
Season total for Honor, MI as of March 18th, 2026 - 153.25"
Figured this would be a fun time to share some pictures. If anyone has photos from Snowmageddon, drop them in the comments below!
Thank you for your patience, stay safe out there. #benzie #benzie0318 #traversecity #snowphotos
No doubt the forecast lived up to its insanity, with many locations getting over 40" of snow across the central Upper Peninsula, and 8-10 foot snow drifts to make things even more extreme. In terms of forecast verification, our forecast did hit the 80%+ accuracy threshold we strive for after each event. Our final verification was 83%, and most of the the misses were where the system shifted slightly south to give parts of the northern Lower Peninsula greater than 24", and parts of the western Upper Peninsula much less. Anything over 18" of snow is just "a lot" at this point anyways, so we aren't stressing too badly about the miss in the Lower Peninsula near the Mackinac Bridge. Lake effect zones in SW Michigan did verify, as text was featured under the forecast that a couple spots would see locally higher amounts.
Overall, this will be a storm we won't soon forget, which adds to the list of wild weather we've experienced in Michigan over the last two weeks. If you have any additional snowfall reports to add to the list that are not affected by drifting, drop them in the comments below here on X or Facebook. A new two-day record was also broken at the NWS office in Marquette of 36"+ with this blizzard, which is just one record smashed by this blizzard.