We finally had a snowstorm that lived up to the hype. I measured 14″ of new snow yesterday. I headed out for a ride hitting some St. Germain, Eagle River, Sayner and Lake Tomahawk trails. The St. Germain, Eagle River and Lake Tomahawk trails I rode had been groomed. Sayner had groomed some of their trails I rode but not others. I’m giving things an overall good rating. Some trails were nice and smooth while others were bumpy. I did notice that even some of the freshly groomed ones had bumps that were there before the snow or where there was ruts in the trail that haven’t been completely filled in yet. Some stretches were beautiful and so much fun to ride. With the heavy wet snow there’s lots of branches down so be a good helper and throw some off the trail.
I only rode Little St. Germain lake today. The snow brought up the slush. With temps in the single digits last night, where sleds rode through the slush it froze and there’s lots of nasty ruts. Most lakes aren’t marked yet. We don’t advise riding a lake unless it’s marked or you know it’s safe.
It looks like our most of our base held from the thaw before the snow came so there’s a hard pack/ice base under fresh snow. Give the groomers a few more times out to work this fresh snow and most trails should be very good to excellent. It’s a holiday week so expect lots of traffic – especially as the weekend approaches.
Note: I saw several corners where someone blew through and into trees. Please ride at a pace that you can stay on the trail and even better yet, stay on your side of the trail.
