Grand Marais Michigan Snowmobile Trail Report

Grand Marais Area Snowmobile Trail Conditions report
Get more info about Grand Marais Michigan at Superiorsights.com

TRAIL REPORT

12/20/2024

The groomers went out again last night and this morning. The trails seem to be holding up considering this goofy Michigan weather. We need more snow!!! Let hope you all can have a great weekend ride to kick off a great Christmas!! Ride safe!

TB Al

12/19/2024
We got back out on the trails last night and this morning, grooming all of the trails. We will be back out overnight tonight. From conversations with a few riders this afternoon, the trails are in good shape. Temps should be good through the weekend, and they are forecasting 30% chance of snow overnight and 41% chance on Friday. Keep up the snow prayers, dances, wishes, etc!!! Ride safe everyone!

12/17/2024

With the temps dropping and snow on the way, we will be heading back out on the trails soon. There is some logging still going on in the area and in those areas there are some plowed areas of the trails.

Trail 443 on our south trail from Carlson Camp road to CR451 is being plowed as well as a section on our south trail, trail 8 on H58 from the park and ride /Adam's Trail rd north towards Kingston Lake had been plowed.

We are hoping that we will get a decent amount of snow to mix in and pack down on the trails. Once we start back grooming, we will provide an updated trail report.

12/14/2024

GMST is feeling humbled by the show of gratitude put on by the H-58 Snow Cocks, a local snowmobile group out of Melstrand. Last night three local snowmobile clubs were treated to an appreciation dinner (steaks and an open bar) held at Andy’s Seney Bar. The food and drink were amazing. To top it all off, each club left with a box of hoodies screened with the clubs logos on the back and the Snow Cocks logo on the front. The Snow Cocks expressed their deep appreciation for all the hard work that the local groomer clubs put in a very tangible way. You're welcome.

P.S. groomer drivers Jeff, Sam and Al left the party early and hit the trails with the groomers. Thanks guys!

12/12/2024

Last night Groomer Chad Groomed the South Trail (8, 88 & 443 all East of M77). He reported a good sized water hole located about a mile north of 88 on the 443. He also took care of a downed tree. Thanks Chad for the information.

Ride Safe & Ride Right.

12/11/2024

GMSTA trail boss grooming update: I have had a lot of questions and inquiries on if we are grooming, when we will be grooming, and why we are not grooming, etc. Before I get into the scheduling I just want to give you all some insight to how we determine when and how much we groom.

Of course, one of the biggest factors is weather. How much snow, temps, conditions, what snow quality etc. Just because it's below 32 degrees doesn't mean you groom. If the snow quality is poor, sugary not packy, then grooming that type of snow when the base is not set up does very little for the overall "condition" of the trail. You cannot get all the woops/moguls out and the sugary snow just blows back out of the trail as the snowmobiles go over it. If this is the scenario, and it is early in the week with very low traffic, this would be the time to take a day off.

The other big factor is the budget we have to groom for the entire season, Dec. 1st - Mar. 31st. One never knows how much snow we will get over the course of the snowmobile season, as proven last year. The season lasts 121 days, and we want to make sure there is enough budget to get us through the entire season. Budgeting is critical and plays a huge part in the decision of when not to groom. If the budget allowed, we would groom every day weather permitted.

The next consideration is traffic volume. Usually Tuesday -Thursday is the slowest part of the week for traffic. Those are the first days we consider to not groom, as there is the least amount of traffic. This coupled with weather, snow conditions, and budget all help to make the call to groom or not. High travel times, we strive to groom every day to give you the best trails possible.

We will be grooming this afternoon, starting with our East trail, trail 8, and our South trail, 443 & 88 from the park and ride on M77 east to 443. Then once they get back, we will head out on the West trail, 8, 89, 43/88 across Sunrise Landing to the south end of 888 and our North trail 8, from the split at 89, 888, and 88 all the way down to the park and ride on M77. The town route is usually done in coordination with the North run and or run as needed, as it is the single groomed trail route into the town of Grand Marais for food, gas, etc.

Our scheduled grooming times are the same every day with the North and West trails being done early mornings, departing the groomer barn approximately 2am, returning approximately 9am. The East and South trails departing the barn approximately 5pm returning approximately 1am.

Hopefully the snow that is in the forecast will come, and we will have the trails good and ready for a great sledding weekend. We want to thank everyone for your support, patience, and understanding. Thank you also for your comments and info from out on the trails. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Last but not least, I also highly recommend downloading the Groomer Tracker app and for $10.00 download the GMSTA trails so you can follow the groomers in "real time". For $10.00 each, you can download the Curtis Area Trails, Seney Snowmobile Association, Tahquamenon Area Snowmobile Association, Chippewa Snow Chasers, and the Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association and see all the trails that are being groomed in the EUP! Other club trail systems are also available for purchase as well as other States. A percentage of the $10.00 goes directly to each club who's trail system you download. This helps and we greatly appreciate it. Take a minute and check it out.

12/7/2024
GMSTA trail boss Al here, we will not be grooming for the next couple days due to rain and warm temperatures. I've talked with a couple of snowmobilers earlier today and they said trails were holding up fairly decent. We hope the weather turns cold this coming week so we can get out and prep the trails for the upcoming weekend. Please be aware that there are several water holes throughout the trail system. Please try to avoid running through them as that will only delay us getting the trails back into riding shape. We ask for patience and understanding as we deal with typical Michigan weather.

12/5/2024
The groomers got back from the run to the Bear Trap. This is a bad spot on Trail 8 between Creighton Creek Rd and Long Lake Rd. This water hole is deep and impassable. The rest of the trail is in good shape. We tried to fill it in but water is flowing through it. We need some cold weather for this to freeze up.

12/4/2024
Just a heads up, we have a groomer working on trail 443 south of the McLoud grade.

12/3/2024

Here is what we know.....there is a LOT of snow in da woods. Certainly a better problem than last year, but will take a few days for us to "get on top" of all this white gold. North, South and East got packed last night. We are attempting to groom West (H58) this morning with the goal of everything being groomed tomorrow night, first time.

Trails can be ridden. Water holes are still in process of freezing in.

Our base is time and materials. We have plenty of materials but need time to get a perfect base. Ride smart....ride safe.

Other Important Snowmobile Links listed below.