Trail conditionsNOTE! Our Facebook page is updated as-it-happens.
For most recent updates, see https://www.facebook.com/VTSIGrooms |
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Feb. 18, 2021
The cold is over! It’s time to get up here and ride. All areas are grooming on a regular basis, trails are in very good to excellent shape. With the cold weather, the trails hardened up and trails are still in great shape even with the smaller amounts of snow this year. A couple of spots to watch out for, on the Arrowhead trail between the Blue Ox and Ericsburg there was some shelf ice that broke thru so there a hole there. It is flagged and marked but use caution there, and on the Voyageur North trail between Ash River and Crane Lake there is a bit of rough area for a short distance in the Amundson creek area. On the lake trails, if you ride off the staked part, with the cold and wind there are hard drifts and it is rough. You will have to watch your speed and use caution. Stay on the staked trails and it is great and groomers are working to keep those in great shape. If you are thinking of heading North, get your plans made and get up here. You will be glad to did. Places are open, lodging is available, the warm hospitality signs are out, we will be happy to see you here. A couple of coming events to think about also. Saturday March 6 is the Crane Lake Challenge, the following Saturday, March 13 is the Antique Race at Melgeorge’s at Elephant lake. Both are fun events and try and make it for those. Warmer temps coming, so take advantage of that, come and enjoy the great trails and fun in Voyageur Country!!! Stay safe, watch speeds, and have fun!!!! Feb. 12, 2021
It’s Cold One, Groomers have all been out this week getting things ready for the long weekend. With the cold temps, we have been grooming during the day for safety of the operators. Use caution when meeting or following the groomer. They will see you and will generally pull over and let riders pass. Another comment I am hearing that the trails are in amazingly great shape in all areas. Even with the smaller amounts of snow this year, the riding is excellent. A couple of safety items with riding in the cold weather, don’t ride alone, get in groups and look out for one another. If you see someone with a hood up, stop and check if they need help, do the right thing on this. With the wide trails we have here, please stay on your side of the trails, we are riding snowmobiles, not racing snowmobiles on the trails. Please try and avoid spinning the track on corners, it doesn’t take much to throw the snow off. By doing this, operators can keep the trails and corners in much better shape. With all that said, get up North, trails are great and area stops are warm and welcoming!! Have a great weekend, be safe, and enjoy riding here in Voyageur Country! Ride the North Country!
A little more snow from the last weekend and groomers are out and working. We didn’t get much but each 2-3 inches of snow helps. Trails are continuing to improve as we go along. In the Ash River / Kabetogama area, we are now crossing all the beaver ponds and the Rat Root River on the Ray Spur trail. This will help with grooming as we can go straight thru and return without backtracking and running road edges to get to trails. This will help get the trails in better shape and keep the riders happy. The Park Service will be out and grooming on Namakan and working on the portages in the Crane Lake area. The Green trail and portages in the Ash River/Kabetogama are in very good shape. The Orr Spur trails are in very good shape and grooming continues there also. Crane Lake area has the groomers running and are now grooming the entire length of the Voyageur North trail from Crane to Ash River. The Link trail and South trail are in good shape. The Arrowhead trail from the Blue Ox west of Int’l Falls all the way to Vermilion is in very good shape and continues to improve. All trails in our area are in good to very good shape, groomers are out and doing a great job, and things continue to get better. More snow would really be great but still lots of fun to be had on the trails. Check with area resorts for availability and get up here and enjoy Voyageurs National Park and all area trails. Ride safely, have fun and come back again!!!! Wow! Some cold weather to help freeze the trouble spots and looking forward to a little warmer
temps with snow in the forecast for the weekend. Groomers in all areas are out and working. These groomer operators are doing a great job considering the smaller amounts of snow to work with. These operators are the key to our trail system. All trails in our area are now being groomed on a regular basis with just a couple of exceptions. The Blue Trail in the Park is not open as of yet. That is on the eastern end of Namakan into Sand Point lake. The other area not open yet is the trail going west from Pelland Junction to the Birchdale area. All of the trails in the Park are now being groomed and are getting better every day. The Crane Lake area has both groomers out and working. The Voyageur trail from Ash River to Crane Lake was groomed the entire way yesterday. The Voyageur south trail from Crane to the Arrowhead trail and the Arrowhead link trail are in good shape. There is a new trail on the map this year, the Vermillion River Bridge trail is being groomed and it runs from the Buyck area to Elephant Lake. It crosses the new bridge over the river. Check it out. The Int’l Falls club has everything looking very good and are on a regular grooming schedule also. Remember there is a detour on the Arrowhead trail south of Ericsburg, please follow the signs for the detour. In the Ash River/Kabetogama area, we are about the same, a regular grooming schedule and trails are continually improving. I am hearing lots of reports from riders who are finding very good trails, and very happy to be able to get out and enjoy the North Country. With warmer temps coming and more snow dancers things will continue to get better. Don’t miss out on great opportunities to ride, get up here and enjoy our great trails and hospitality!!! The Park Service has found good ice on Rainy Lake and Namakan lakes. Crews are working on staking both lakes, Rainy the Purple trail, and Ash River to Crane lake the Green trail. Both of these trails will be ready in the next couple of days. The Chain of Lakes trail is now open, and the Yellow trail from Ash River to Kettle Falls is open also.
In the Int’l Falls area, the groomers have been east of town and trails are slowly getting better. The Arrowhead trail south of Ericsburg has a new bridge going in, so there is a re-route in that area. Watch for signs in this area. The trails heading west from Pelland Junction are not open as of yet. The groomer will be out in the Ash River/Kabetogama/Ray area before the weekend. These trails are open and are in fair condition and we have a few areas that will need more snow and more ice to groom. We will keep checking those areas. The groomer will be out on the North Spur at Orr and we will be checking the South Spur. Need more snow there as there are some rocky areas. In the Crane Lake area, the groomer has been out with the drag, the South Trail has been done and the North trail to Amundson creek. They haven’t been able to cross there as of yet. The Link trail has been done as well. The State has been working on the Arrowhead trail and it has been packed with the groomer and drag. Overall, the trail system has some rough spots and some areas the are pretty good. The trails are very rideable and get out and enjoy and have fun! Ride with care, watch out for the rough areas, and a few areas with logging operations. Snow is in the forecast so lets hope we get more and get the trails in great shape soon. You’ll love riding here in the Voyageur Country! Get up here! More of the same from the last post. We haven’t had any snow since the last post so we are in a holding pattern with grooming. Groomers are all ready to go as soon as we get some snow. As I write this we are hoping for some snow with this weather pattern that is moving in. I will post as soon as the groomers are able to get out.
The trails are in fair to poor condition but open if you ride safely, watch your speed, and use caution. A couple of updates, there is a logging operation on the Bill Morgan trail so be careful there, also on the Morgan the mounds area is not groomed for about a 1/2 mile due to poor ice there. The Falls area be on the lookout for orange cones as they are working on parts of the trails to widen and clear brush from sides of the trails. The only trail that is open in the Park is the Green trail from Black bay to Ash River. On that trail watch for several pressure ridges, and there are icy spots and spots where slush came thru and re-froze so there are ruts. Use caution in those areas. The Green trail from Ash River to Crane Lake is not open because of a few areas of thin ice, less than 5 inches, so travel there is not recommended. Let’s hope things change and we can get in full operation soon. Take care and ride safely. Here is the latest info on our area trails.
Ash River/Kabetogama trails have all had their first grooming run. We have panned most areas and groomed some areas. With panning, the holes have been filled and snow packed. They are rideable but not in great shape. Orr north and south spurs have the same as above. First trip with groomer and drag is done. Crane Lake is working on their trails, groomer has been out without the drag filling holes and clearing. They will be out with the drag in the next couple of days. In’t Falls area trails have been panned and are open. The only trail that has not been panned is the west trail going to Birchdale. The Arrowhead trail from the Blue Ox south has had a first groom/pan. It has been done all the way from Int’l Falls area to south of Elephant Lake. The Park Sevice has the Green trail staked and groomed from Black bay south to Ash River. Ash River to Crane lake has not been staked as they are still checking ice in those areas. It will be staked as ice is certified safe. Everyone needs to start dancing, that is snow dancing, with another dump of 5-6 inches, we will be in very good shape. Remember the trails are not in great shape, so ride according to the conditions, stay safe, and still get out and have fun! See you on the trails! Here are some updates for the trails.
Trails are open and not groomed, not enough snow yet. Please think about getting a few friends together and riding the trails and packing the swamp areas. Do not ride in one track, ride wide and pack the edges as well. Checking ice yesterday, beaver ponds in the Kab area have between 6-8 inches of ice. Plenty for sleds and ride and pack those as well. We will need about twice as much ice to groom over those. On the Voyageur trails between Ash River and Crane Lake, Amundsen creek still has flowing water. This is 5-6 miles south of Ash River. We will be taking care of the beaver dam causing problems there. Be careful in that area. They have been packing the trail from Crane to the creek. Orr area trails are packed and need riders on the south spur to help freeze down some swamps there. We are working in all areas to try and get things frozen down before more snow. If you can get out and help that would be great. In the meantime, Know that we will be grooming and riding as soon as possible. Happy New Year! It’s getting to be that time of year. Riders and Sleds ready for another year on the trails. I will give an overview of what has been going on and what’s happening next. We had a great response to our trails cleaning event a couple of weeks ago. It was great to have so many people step up and help. All of the areas have been out and working and trying to get things ready once we have swamps frozen down and trails packed and a dump of snow. Trails will be groomed as soon as possible as we still have to further check ice on beaver ponds and the Park will be checking ice thickness on the lakes and working on the portage trails. Trails in Orr area, Int’l Falls area, Crane Lake area, and Ash River/Kabetogama area are cleared, not groomed but open. Trails are rough, and some areas have wet spots, so if you ride be careful, and please ride wide to help pack, which will get the groomers out faster. I will update this site often, as conditions change. Merry Christmas and see you soon here in the North Country! |