We picked up a little snow last night – around a third of an inch. We both headed out for rides this hitting some St. Germain, Eagle River, Boulder Junction, Arbor Vitae and Sayner trails. Trails are in very 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. There are also some bumps that need more snow to fill in and smooth out. 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). 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 and tried to preserve the snow we have. Unfortunately, there’s already riders out there acting as a street sweeper blowing snow off the trails. We could definitely use some more snow, Trails won’t improve without it.
Note: Due to the fresh snow, pictures will appear whiter than they are.
