Christmas riding

[southdakotaboy]

I am heading to duluth mn area for christmas and i will be trailering my sled with as well. just curious if there were any areas within an hour or so from duluth that would be awesome to ride.

[vmax1994]

Unless things change, the closest area with snow will be the Bayfield Peninsula of Wisconsin. You can drop in Iron River and head north or you could drop in Port Wing/Herbster/Cornucopia.

Don't expect great conditions but things should be OK especially in the northern half of the peninsula.

[vmax1994]

Come to think of it, you could try to trailer to as close as Poplar, Wi and take Trail 2 (Tri-County Corridor) to the east. Since Trail 2 is right off Highway 2, you can stop and check it out and see if you want to drop there or head farther east to drop.

[southdakotaboy]

cool thanks for the info also does anyone know where i need to pick up trail stickers or trail maps?

[vmax1994]

Stop at one of the bigger gas stations on Highway 2 as you head out of Superior and they should have a trail sticker ($35). They may have a Douglas County map but probably not a Bayfield County map. Almost all of pit stops (bars) in the area will have maps.

For an online Bayfield map, go to bayfield.org/pdf/snowmobilemap07-08.pdf.

[southdakotaboy]

wow thanks alot all i need to know i see your thing says vmax i have a 96 600 do you ride a vmax?

[vmax1994]

I have a 98 600 vmax that is now a backup sled. My current ride is a 2007 SkiDoo GSX 600 Limited. If I see a 96 vmax up there after xmas, I'll say hi.

[southdakotaboy]

Sounds good me and a buddy are planning on making the trip over to wisconsin on saturday morning and staying all day and going out again on sunday as well

[98zr600Jory]

ha yea i cant wait...cudos to john dee this is a great webpage. so sdboy and everyone else would it be a better idea to travel withen a hour of duluth or would it be better to just go to ironwood mi?

[vmax1994]

There will be a lot more snow in Ironwood...just need to drive another 70 or so miles.

[southdakotaboy]

hahah i am already going 6.5-7 hours to duluth i dont know how much more i could take but for some good pow pow i wouldnt mind going a few extra miles

[vmax1994]

Here's the latest report for Bayfield County....hope the storm hits so conditions improve.

Northwest: Sunday, December 20: All trails in the Port Wing area have had at least one pass by the groomer this past week and are in good to very good condition. Use caution on trail 1 from Port Wing to Cornucopia due to icy spots in the low areas. We expect more snow later this week and grooming will resume at that time.

Northeast: Sunday, December 20: All trails have been groomed except part of trail 1 that is too wet. Waiting for more SNOW.

Central: Sunday, December 20: all trails in and around Iron River have been groomed. At this time any lake crossings are not advised as the ice is not deemed safe on any of the surrounding lakes. Trails 21 and 31 are extremely rough and rocky. The remainder of the trails in the area are in good shape. We have had only 8 to 12 inches of “fluffy”, dry snow since the 8th of December which has settled leaving little to groom.

Southeast: Wednesday, December 16: Made the circuit the last couple of days. Can't go to Clam Lake on trail 8 yet. Almost no base to speak of. Wetland areas were scary at times but didn't get stuck. Early season conditions.....

[southdakotaboy]

Nice info thanks alot! ... we are tracking a big storm in south dakota as well they are forecasting 8-12+ which is kind of unheard of for the southeast sd region lol/ hopen it returns the favor up north!

[dafuzz]

If the storm JD predicts stays on track, you should be able to ride from Duluth, or maybe up the north shore somewhere. If the snow misses the north shore, drive the extra miles to Ironwood, you won't be disappointed, the snow there is great for early season. I've been trailering over there instead of riding anywhere in Ashland or Bayfield counties, the snows just so much better after you cross the Iron County line.

[southdakotaboy]

good to know i hope i just make it out of town on wed before the storm hits we are under a winter storm warning for wed through friday snow ending on saturday

[bladerunner]

If you want to ride very close to Duluth go here, reservoir riders www.reservoirridersduluth.com have a very good good trail system that connects to North shore trails to the no and iron range trail to the west. Even if you just stick to the club trails you will have a blast. I reccomend the Cloquet River in as a good pit stop, and you can unload at one of 3 bars on fish lake (I like Hi Banks if it is still there?)

If it dumps like they say there is no need to, or will you want to drive to Ironwood or Bayfield.

[bladerunner]

If you feel the need to head east You can access the Bayfield trail system on the west end at Iron River. You do not need to drive all the way to Bayfield, and they are way more snowmobile friendly in this area. Don't forget your trail permit in either MN or WI.