I headed out for a ride hitting some St. Germain, Eagle River, and Sayner trails. None of the trails I rode had been groomed. Trails are in early season riding condition. It’s a mixed bag out there. There’s some good stretches that are smooth with a decent base, there’s lots of fair which will have the carbides doing some scraping and are bumpy to some poor where the carbides scrape a lot and you want to get off that stretch asap. There are areas of ruts left from the trucks driving on them in the warm weather that will need more snow to fill in. Some areas are getting pretty bumpy and could use some grooming. You will find rocks that got stirred up from sleds and the groomer (if you see a big one, please pull to the side, get off your sled and move the rock off the trail). Some corners are very icy so if you carry any speed into them, you’ll push right through. Lake accesses are rough and don’t have much if any snow on them. Road trails don’t have much of a base and your carbides will scrape a lot.
Most lakes are reported to be in good condition being smooth with plenty of ice. Not all lakes are marked so if you don’t know that lake and it’s not marked, probably shouldn’t cross it.
If you really want to ride, trails are ridable. I’d rate them overall in fair condition. Since we don’t have much snow, it would be nice if riders slowed down and didn’t spin their tracks to preserve the snow we have. Unfortunately, there’s already riders out there acting as a street sweeper blowing snow off the trails. We can definitely use some more snow.
