Sault Ste. Marie Trail Report – 01/24
SAULT STE. MARIE UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association – 01/24 Update 1/24 A few things going on around here today. 1st, we had a brand new volunteer start today, welcome Jeff! He went on a ride along in the Kinross area with groomer Dave. Unfortunately, we had a track failure (NOT due to either of the operators) so the run was short lived. Heck of a first day, eh? This particular machine already had one track replaced with a spare earlier this season and this is another failure. We had given a track to Seney last year so we’re out of spares now. We have had tracks on order for some time with no ETA. Fortunately, our buddy Rex with Chippewa Snowchasers got word of our troubles and enlisted the help of DNR trail specialist PJ to track one down. Big thanks to Rex, PJ, and Grand Marais Sno-Trails Assoc. for helping us out! Tom and Mike will be on their way to Grand Marais in the AM to get the track. Meanwhile, several other of our volunteers are working this evening to unhook the drag on #8 that is down, get it back to the Soo barn, and get the old #7 groomer down to Kinross until we can get #8 fixed up. Both will have to go via flatbed since trail 49 is still impassible via groomer south of the Soo all the way to Kinross. We appologize if 472, 480, 49 south of Gaines Hwy and 494 are a little rough until we can make the swap and get them groomed. Additionally, we’ve made arrangements with a local farmer to pick up some straw to fill in our trouble spot water holes along 472 near 480 in the coming days. We’ll have volunteers out placing the straw and using the groomer to cover them with snow. I’ll share pics and update how it goes. Never had to do this before but we have seen Les Cheneaux have success with it. Otherwise, trails are really in great shape. 8 from the Soo all the way through Raco, 480, 889, and the city trail system are all holding up really well. We got a little snow last night, a little more today, and temps are about to drop for an extended period of time…finally! With some luck, maybe we can get 49 all the way open in a couple of weeks. Race week begins next week so it’ll be a fun and exciting time to be in the Soo and surrounding area! Thanks again to our fellow clubs for helping us out! We really are all in it together, all for the love of the sport and what it brings to our local economy. Thanks all! See ya on the 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 >> Patchy dense fog is possible early this morning across the west and central U.P. and then again tonight. Warmer than normal temperatures continue through the week. Highs in the upper 30s to low 50s today, coldest north underneath cloudy skies and warmer south under sunny skies. Lows near or just above freezing late in the week. Mostly dry weather until Friday and Saturday when widespread rain chances return (60-90% chance). #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaPatchy dense fog is possible early this morning across the west and central U.P. and then again tonight. Warmer than normal temperatures continue through the week. Highs in the upper 30s to low 50s today, coldest north underneath cloudy skies and warmer south under sunny skies. Lows near or just above freezing late in the week. Mostly dry weather until Friday and Saturday when widespread rain chances return (60-90% chance). SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/4/26 I’m heading to Newberry currently going to sled there tomorrow but temp not dropping tomorrow night but looks like yours will be. Hoping my to drive there early Friday. Not from around there and wondering what are some good straight trails without a lot of bumps? Back problems. Hope it stays cold WEATHER UPDATE via US National Weather Service Marquette Michigan >> A warm week is in store, with highs in the upper 30s to low 50s and lows around freezing. Be careful on potentially unstable ice! Patchy dense fog is possible tonight across the western/central UP. Otherwise, expect benign weather until Friday, where widespread rain is forecast. #miweather #keweenaw #westernup #marquette #munising #seney #newberry #soo #straitsareaA warm week is in store, with highs in the upper 30s to low 50s and lows around freezing. Be careful on potentially unstable ice! Patchy dense fog is possible tonight across the western/central UP. Otherwise, expect benign weather until Friday, where widespread rain is forecast. 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. <> Latest Trail Reports – Quick Links <>
Good evening!Postings From Regional Pages On Facebook
Good morning everyone!!
27 degrees currently, and going up to 42 today with sunshine. Not ideal, but also nothing we havent seen before this time of year.
As of now, things are still in good shape! Roads and crossings are bare, but trails are still completely snow covered with a ton of base yet.
Brimley Bill was out til 2 AM on the route we call BE26. This is 480 from the Spile Dam turnaround, 8 along the powelines to Ranger Road, and 8 from 480 in Raco to Brimley.
Here’s his report-
“I groomed BE26 tonight. The temperature was staying higher than forecasted, so I waited a while before heading out. 480 south of M28 was getting pretty choppy. No deep moguls, but a lot of chatter bumps. 8 between Raco and Brimley also had stretches of chatter bumps. Even though the temperature was not ideal for grooming, I was still able to smooth out most of the trail. Even with the mild temperatures, the trails are holding up very well. Remember, it’s only the beginning of March. There’s still more winter ahead, and our trails have a very thick and solid base. And remember, March in Like a Lamb, out Like a Lion!”
Definitely not over yet! Thanks Bill! ❄️❄️❄️ #soo #soo0304 #snowphotos
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