Groomer Report
3/2/2023
Poor. Some sections are rideable. Some sections are dirt. We need cold and snow to get things rideable. There is a significant storm predicted for Friday (3/3/23). If we get that, we will most likely be grooming Saturday night.
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
2/21/2023
Poor and basically unrideable. If we get the snow that has been predicted for later this week, we should be able to get out there and get the trails in shape. One major concern is the water holes. There were a lot of them and they were slushy and rough. Hopefully those will get frozen up. The next update will be when we have new information.
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
2/9/2023
Not good at all. The warm temps and rain are making a mess of the snowmobile trails.
Our Snow Run will still happen. Most likely using wheeled vehicles. See the flyer below for more information.
2/1/2023
Poor, but rideable.
The snow is thin throughout most of the area. There are some stretches that are decent. You will find some snirty areas and some dirty corners. Be careful on some of the corners, they have ruts frozen into a lot of corners.
The cold temps continue to be in our favor. Just need a few inches of snow to get things in shape!
Our Snow Run is February 11th! It will happen with or without snow. All of the pitstops, including the lunch wagon are accessible by wheeled vehicles! This is our biggest annual fundraiser! The fundraisers we hold help to purchase the equipment that the DNR grants do not cover! Come on out for some great family fun!
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
12/21/2022
Good morning everyone!
The forecast towards the end of the week is calling for a pretty decent storm and hopefully a significant accumulation of snow. We really only need a nice 6″-8″ dump of snow with some moisture in it. That should set the ball in motion for riding and grooming operations.
The holiday weekend may complicate things as far as scheduling groomer operators. All of our volunteers have been working hard this fall to get things smooth and safe. They deserve to spend time with their family’s. But as always, we will do what we can. We will most likely just be panning this weekend to pack the snow and establish a firm base.
To further complicate things- the high winds/blizzard conditions may create its own set of problems in terms of trees/branches falling down on the trail and general safety for anyone out there working on the trail or riding. Dangerous wind chill temps could be a real concern.
If you do venture out on the trails after the storm, be prepared for early season riding conditions and the real possibility of the trails being blocked by trees or branches.
Waterholes are minimal and things have been freezing up nicely.
If you come across a blockage, please take the time to clear the trail if you can.
Other than that, everyone have a safe Holiday season.
-SEN
3/8/2022
FAIR, for now.
Following the rain/meltdown on 3/5 & 3/6, which for all intents and purposes took us out of the game, we received about 5 or 6″ of the much coveted ‘System Snow’ on 3/7. This put us back in the game, for now. System snow packs well and does not blow off the trail like the snow we have had most of this winter. With the cold nighttime temps in the forecast, things may hold together for a few more days. We groomed our trails on Monday night. The operators reported a lot of ice under the snow, some standing water and some really good sections of trail. Keep your expectations in check and you will have a good time.
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
2/6/22
Unrideable. Large sections of our trail system is dirt. We will need 6″ to 10″ of snow to get things in shape. Grooming will not happen until we get more snow.
On another note – Our 19th Annual Snow Run WILL STILL HAPPEN! All 5 checkpoints can be reached by wheeled vehicles.
1/26/22
The trails are very rideable. We have sufficient snow for cooling and lubrication.
There is not much of what I would call a ‘base’. As crazy as it sounds, it’s still like early season conditions in that you will encounter rocks and bumps that are in the trail from before we had any snow and a good bit of snirt.
We have had a few inches of very fluffy new snow. That has kept things looking somewhat nice.
The Snow Run is just 2 weeks away! See you there!
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
>>1/7/2022 Morning Update<<
The trails are rideable. The snow is dry and fluffy and doesn’t provide much protection from rocks and things under the snow. Not sure how long it will last.
We really need a good 8” of system snow to get things packed.
Keep dancing!!
1/6/2022
It’s been a slow start to the season. But with the cold temps and slowly accumulating snow over the past several days, we are going to start panning again tonight to see what we have overall. The conditions will be early season conditions as best. PLEASE, if you go out to ride, go easy on the throttle. In recent weeks, we have had enough snow to go out to start building a base. The throttle jockey’s, both wheeled and tracked destroyed it before we got out there. A solid base will take a fair amount of abuse. It’s just going to take a while to get to that point at this rate.
I will post an updated trail report tomorrow when I hear from our groomer operators. Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
LITTLE MACK BRIDGE
The Little Mack bridge is the only bridge on trail 69 between St. Helen and Roscommon. It’s approximately 2.5 miles North of Central drive when leaving St. Helen and approximately 2.5 miles when heading towards St. Helen when coming from the F97/Trail 69 crossing. The DNR has installed a temporary bridge over the original bridge that has been in place for many years. In the spirit of safety, the approaches to this temporary bridge have STOP SIGNS installed from both directions. Please use caution in this area.
12/13/21
Grooming has been suspended until Mother Nature gets her act together.
LITTLE MACK BRIDGE
The Little Mack bridge is the only bridge on trail 69 between St. Helen and Roscommon. It’s approximately 2.5 miles North of Central drive when leaving St. Helen and approximately 2.5 miles when heading towards St. Helen when coming from the F97/Trail 69 crossing. The DNR has installed a temporary bridge over the original bridge that has been in place for many years. In the spirit of safety, the approaches to this temporary bridge have STOP SIGNS installed from both directions. Please use caution in this area.
Mark your Calendar – Our Annual Snow Run is February 12, 2022!!
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
12/9/21
The trails have been panned and are currently ridable. The trails are not frozen much or at all in many areas. So, early season riding at the very best. You could come across some rocky areas and possible some dirt if there has been a ‘throttle jockey’ hammering through the trails. We have a little more snow in the forecast in the next 24 hours but, the warmer temps in the coming days could easily reset our progress.
LITTLE MACK BRIDGE
The Little Mack bridge is the only bridge on trail 69 between St. Helen and Roscommon. It’s approximately 2.5 miles North of Central drive when leaving St. Helen and approximately 2.5 miles when heading towards St. Helen when coming from the F97/Trail 69 crossing. The DNR has installed a temporary bridge over the original bridge that has been in place for many years. In the spirit of safety, the approaches to this temporary bridge have STOP SIGNS installed from both directions. Please use caution in this area.
Mark your Calendar – Our Annual Snow Run is February 12, 2022!!
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
12/6/21
->> SNOWMOBILE TRAIL UPDATE <<-
We are going to start panning the snowmobile trails this afternoon.
Hopefully, a base will get started. The cold temps and a some more snow that are in the forecast should get us moving in the right direction.
Please TREAD LIGHTLY if you find yourself absolutely having to ride on the designated snowmobile trails.
Have Fun. Be Safe. Stay Right. -SEN
Mark your Calendar – Our Annual Snow Run is February 12, 2022!!
3/4/2021
Well, as we are sure you have figured out by now, the trails are toast. The recent warm up has pretty much destroyed the trails in terms of snowmobile riding. Saturday afternoon there were sections that weren’t too bad. And then there were sections that were slushy, dirty and not fit for snowmobile traffic. Looking at the forecast, it’s unlikely that the trails will recover for more snowmobile riding, much less any grooming.
Oddly enough, we groomed more total miles this year than we have in the previous 5 or 6 years. All of them between Christmas and the end of February. Once we got started we groomed 3 or 4 times every week and were able to keep them in decent shape for the better part of 10 weeks. We were very fortunate in terms of snowfall. That is what it’s all about.
Thank you to everyone that help make the trails what they are!
Thank you to our neighboring clubs that did an awesome job also and allowed riders the ability to connect to other areas.
We hope everyone that rode our trails this winter enjoyed the ride!
As we transition into Spring, we will be starting to put plans together for our summertime activities and trail grading program.
We have started to plan our 5th Annual No Snow Fun Run.
This event will be June 5, 2021.
That is an ORV event that works much like our Snow Run that we’ve held for decades in the winter.
Please save the date, details will be coming soon!
If you are interested in becoming a part of the year round effort to keep the trails in our area safe and enjoyable for snowmobiles and ORV’s, please consider joining the club and attending our monthly meetings. It’s not all work, we try to have fun along the way too! Club rides, cookouts and other fun activities.
We have meetings on the 3rd Saturday of every month.
10am at the clubhouse located at 520 N. St. Helen Rd. St. Helen, MI 48656.
The public is welcome.
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
2/24/2021
Trails are still good at the time of this report and we have a pretty decent base. Not sure how big of a hit they will take with this warm up that is expected to last through the weekend. No significant snow in the forecast for several days.
Grooming may have to be suspended.
Please be aware that a logging operation has all but destroyed the section of trail 6 that goes east of St. Helen rd. north of I-75. They were supposed to keep to one side of the trail so we could still groom the other side. The impact would have been minimal and only affect the area right at St. Helen rd. Well, that didn’t work out. Please be careful in that area. -Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
1/28/2021
Things are improving. We were blessed with a few inches of snow this week and that has allowed us the esteemed privilege of upgrading our trail conditions to what I would call FAIR TO GOOD. There are still some thin areas and icy corners.
1/20/2021
We are getting the colder temps that are in the forecast, this is good. Very little new snow to speak of, this is not good. We have went out and groomed to smooth the trails out so they could freeze up as flat as possible. There are still a lot of very thin/snirty areas and some plain dirty corners. There would be a lot more snow on the trails if people could avoid power sliding through them. Both wheeled and tracked vehicles are causing this. Trail 6 between Central and Trail 222 is pretty bad. The trails are rideable but not what we’d really like to see. Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
1/15/2021
Still waiting for snow. There is some in the forecast. Probably won’t be enough to help much. Our section of trails is rideable. But you will find some snirty, dirty and thin areas. The colder temps that are forecasted will help, but we just need snow to get things rolling. Don’t stop Dancin’! -SEN
1/11/2021
Still need snow. We aren’t asking for much. 4 to 8 inches would be fantastic! Our trails are rideable. You will find some areas that are very brown. Dirty corners.
1/8/2021
We need cold temps and snow. Plain and simple. The snow conditions are poor at best. Lots of dirt corners and generally bad conditions. Trust us, we are as excited as anyone to get out and enjoy the trails. A little patience now, will pay off with a much nicer base and will make for a better experience moving forward through this winter. Please respect the work that volunteers throughout the state have put into making a pleasurable riding experience. Thank you!
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
1/5/2021
We had a pretty good run over the holiday weekend. Sufficient snow for the most of the weekend kept us grooming. But a very high traffic volume has taken it’s toll and made for some poor trail conditions including dirt corners and several areas of snirt from trail 69 in Roscommon to the intersection of trail 6 and Duck Lake Rd. in Houghton Lake. Fortunately, much of the trail has an ice base that will hopefully hold up for a while. A nice 4-8″ snowfall will put things back in pretty darn good condition.
We groomed last night (1/4/21) just to get things smoothed out where we could but, our grooming equipment will be parked until we get more snow.
Get your dancin’ shoes on and do your thing!
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
Our Annual Snow Run WILL NOT be happening this year.
COVID rules and restrictions have made it virtually [pun intended] impossible to prepare/plan the event. It takes months of planning and organizing to make the Snow Run happen. Combined with the possibility of not even being able to hold the event because of the frequently changing COVID rules and restrictions. Thank you for your support of this event. It’s been happening for well over 30 years and deciding to cancel this year was an extremely difficult decision.
12/13/20
We received an average of 8″ of wet snow.
This brought down hundreds of trees throughout the trail sections we groom.
We are working very hard to get the trails cleared. Currently we are not grooming until we get an entire section opened.
With that being said, you can ride but be prepared to dodge downed trees and low branches. You may even have to find an alternate route.
It’s early season riding conditions. Things are not frozen up yet and you will find areas where the trail has been damaged by throttle jockey’s on wheeled and tracked vehicles. Don’t be that guy. We are trying to get the base built and that takes some time, patience and a lot of help from Mother Nature.
Have Fun! Be Safe! Stay Right! -SEN
