Trail ReportsTrail Maps and Links
From our Trail Bosses...03/05/2010- While most of the trails surrounding us are closed, our Trail Boss Jim has excellent ride suggestions for areas nearby to the north. Click here to read Jim's trail suggestions including his recent ride near Mountain. 02/26/2010- My partner and I picked Mountain for our drop point and rode from there. For all of those who do not know how the maps and trail number work; this is out lesson for the week. All trails that run East and West the numbers are even, for all trails that run North and South the numbers run odd. We picked 18w for our trail and our destination was Antigo, there are plenty of gas stops and food and beverages in between. As you go west you will go to Boulder lake and the Echo Valley resort which is closed until spring but the establishment next door is open for food and eats. From there you can go up the trail to where it splits to go to bear trap which is on 64 and T, another good place for food and spirits. You will go through the areas that have been hit by the tornado about 3 years ago, a sight to be seen, the powers of which we cannot control and the devastation that it can do, it is awesome if you have never seen it. The next stop would be Langlade where they have food and spirits and gas across the street at 55 and 64, you will cross the mighty Wolf River at this point and head for Polar. In Polar you will find gas and food and again spirits, you always be on 18w so keep that in mind, so you don't get lost. From there you will head into Antigo, you will have the options of picking different trails to go into town. We picked the South trail, because we wanted to go out to the golf course on 64, to visit a friend of mine who lives right on the trail, it goes right through his property, he has 240 acres of prime deer and bear hunting in his back yard and plenty of wood for his wood burner. On the way back all we had to do was follow the signs back, which were now of course 18e, we did deviate from our trail to give us a little change of the beauty you can see going different trails. All of the trails we were on were excellent with hardly a bump, maybe that was because we were riding Skidoo's which you have to look for bumps to feel them. We gassed up in Mountain when left and in Antigo for our trip back and topped them off at Mountain again when we were done. We were hitting the throttle a little in some of the open areas but for the leg back I got better than 20 miles per gallon, 64 miles and 3.022 , actually 21.17 miles per gallon, that really surprised both of us. Remember to check your slides and make sure you have good carbides, you will hit some icy corners and on some of the straights you may also encounter some ice. The trail in Antigo were excellent, you come across a lot of potato fields in that area and they are long and flat. Until out next report - keep the dirty side down and ride safe, for those who want to know, we put on 134 miles for that trip. A excellent days ride. But not to be compared to the trip the weekend before where we went from Thur. to Sat. in the up and put on 768 miles in the UP. More later JIM
02/19/2010- Currently trail "6", "4A" and all of trail "5" are closed. What that means is, we cannot get to any other trails to go North, East, South, or West, we are like a ship, dead in the water. Our trails are open to the sponsors, ( Berry lake, Harleys, Cotton Patch and Sigrid's). If we go onto other trails from ours we are subject to a fine. Even if we get to Shawano lake we still can't get to any trails that are open, Shawano lake is bordered (surrounded) by trail 6 which is closed. The only way we will be able to get to any of the other trails is to trailer, some trails to the west are open and also to the north and south and further East. at this time I can not tell you what trails are open, check the web sites and make sure you do your homework before riding, they will be closing as we get warmer weather. the weather is supposed to be warm for the next several days, in the 30's during the day and the low teens at night, a possibility of snow on Monday but only flurries. The lake is still a good place to ride with plenty of snow on it, but that could go with the warm, sunny weather we are getting. Enjoy it while we can. We will be trailering to Mercer, then from there we will be riding to Copper Harbor and back again, should be a nice ride with only 4 machines, (I think they are all Skidoo's) so everything should go well. Until next week. Happy Trails 02/15/2010- As of today the Zone 6 Shawano County trails are closed. Zone 6 is the trail area we must pass to access all other trails. 02/11/2010- All of the Shawano and Cecil trails are open so that means we have out gateway to the North, East, South, and West open, all of the trails will be groomed Thursday night, so they should be firmed up overnight and be in good shape for the week-end. Always check the phone hotline for updates in case the weather changes. The snow is marginal in some areas, so stay on the trails and respect landowners property. To our West, some of the hilltops are blown clear of snow in some areas. From 22 South of Gillet, to the grade, is a bit rough until you get to the split that goes to Gillet and Suring, the snow increases as you go North. To the West to Shawano it is thin, remember we only got 3-4" up here and it compacts pretty fast, there is good riding once you get past Shawano and on the Mountain bay trail to the West. The riding is excellent, the base that was groomed before we got warm weather really held up nice. The corners are icy so be careful. The riding on a scale of 1-10 is about a 7-8 and sometimes a 10. We had a very good ride to the north on Thursday and good riding to the west on Wednesday, but remember we were the first on the trails even before they were groomed on Wednesday. On both railway beds to the north and west they were excellent. that is where we had out 10 point riding. Enjoy, 02/05/2010- Yes Shawano trails are closed and so are Oconto's trails, our trail can be used to go to the sponsors we have (bars) but only in our proximity, in other words Berry lake and Harley's and the Cotton Patch. The other ones are off limits by snowmobile until we get more snow. Hopefully next week, according to the forecast I have seen. 01/29/2010- Our Legend Lake trails as well as all trails in Shawano County are currently closed with the exception of sector 1B (Mattoon area). 01/22/2010 - our trails are still open but have some areas that are bare, I did not go on them because of that reason so the report is from my car and from what I saw. Shawano trails are slowly being closed 4B, 5A, and 5C, are closed as we speak 4A and section 6 are closing tomorrow, the 23rd. Unless we get more snow all snowmobiling will be done for a while. We need every ones cooperation in staying on the trails, I have received a complaint, that there are tracks going off from out trail onto private land. They may not be, and probably are not from club people,(I sure hope not) but, some extra signs will have to be put up in the problem areas, which makes more work because of people going off of the trail. If you see anyone going off of the trail let me know and maybe we can head off the problem before it gets out of hand. Snowmobilers; remember do not go off of the trail, we have a nice trail and it is well maintained, so we have no reason to go off it, less we loose it!! Trail rides to consider: When we get snow, another good place to take a beautiful ride is, White Potato lake. There are options to make a shorter ride if you want, by trailering to Gillett or Suring. Suring to White potato is about 25 miles, add another 7 miles if you go from Gillett. It can be about a 50 to 70 mile ride from those points (round trip). If you leave from home ( Legend Lake) you can ad 25-30 miles onto that. If you want to make a loop, Gillett, Suring, and White Potato, Kelly Lake, Oconto Falls, and back to Gillett you can make it about 140 miles, an excellent ride for around our area. Very scenic and excellent trails, even when other trail were bad these always seemed to be good. I could tell you in detail how to take that trip, but that may get boring, check your maps and read your signs. If you want to take a during the week trip, give me a call and I can guide you. Just for a comparison, last week-end we went to Michigan and there was plenty of snow, but the trail could of been groomed better. We had a 2 day trip, put in at (9:00 our time) in the hotel at 7:00 P.M. and on the trail by 6 A.M. back home by 2:00 our time with 390 rough miles. I really missed our trails, especially as flat as they are. Till next time, 01/15/2010 - Our trails as of 1-15, Friday are still open. I just got off of the phone with our groomer operator and the report I have from him is the trails will not be closed, and will remain open until further notice. As we spoke he was grooming our section of trail both directions from the lake to the Cotton Patch. Some of the trail along HH past the turnoff to the main trail to the east cannot be groomed to the Cotton Patch because of the terrain, but he will groom as much as he can to keep it smooth, (some of the trails are on people's front lawn of there homes and some is on hill sides). Our trails will be groomed on Mondays only, and the trail that goes to the Cotton Patch past the main cut-off to the East will be groomed on call. Last year they were groomed on Tuesdays and the trail held up real good. We do not have much traffic during the week and after they are groomed they set up real nice for the week-end. Trail rides to consider: Went on two trail rides last week and this will give people some options as to where to go, for those of you who do not know the trails. These rides can be changed to alter anyone needs as to how far they want to go. This ride goes from the lake to Clintonville and back past Cloverleaf lake, Navarino, Shawano. The first ride was on Wednesday and the temp was around 30'. Started from the lake and went to the cutoff on Pioneer rd. which is the county trail to the West, follow the trail to Old Lake rd. and turn right, (it is a designated snowmobile route, in which is a legal route) I will not tell anyone to take a illegal road or trail. once you spot the Shawano water tower you will see the trail off to the right which goes to H, at the split go to the right (left goes to Shawano) to Johns one stop. There is a new trail which goes North along 47/55 to co. rd. A, stay on trail until next split which goes to Red River keep going on this trail which will take you to the Mountain bay trail. You will get all kinds of riding conditions on some of these trails, winding trails through woods along creeks and open flat trails for those who want to get on it for a while, and also very scenic for everyone's enjoyment. Once on the Mountain bay trail go East until you get to a split that goes South to Pella, or you may just want to go another 1/2 mile to Thornton for a good burger at Oak Avenue bar or across the street at the old Cypress,( can't remember the new name, about a 50 miler) If you follow the first split I told you about it, will take you to the Corner bar (also very good food and maybe another good spot to turn around for the beginner, about a 60 miler round trip) and beyond to Pella. Once in Pella follow the trail to Marion, and then to Clintonville, you should end up at Club 45, which is by Fleet Farm (a good place to shop if you are shopping, if they don't have it you don't need it). Always make sure you know the destination to where you are going and watch for signs. Once at Club 45 you will start heading East and North, at the first split you go to the left, it doesn't say where you are going to the left, but go left. Further down line, you will take a split that goes to Clover Leaf lake, but is not marked to the right, (which is again a designated snowmobile route) go right and it will continue until you see signs that will say, "Shawano" now you know that you are on the right track (still in the USA) if everything went right you end up on the South end of Shawano on the Mountain Bay trail, if you are a wouissi just made that up) and want to head back you can head West on the mountain bay and past the airport and back to our trails to the lake, or if you still feel the need for more, (which my excellent riding partner and I needed) you go East on Mountain Bay and head for the turnoff for Pulcifer, then you head back to our trails. Note: there were only 3 stops on this trip, one for gas, and 2 for eating and filling our radiators. You will have to watch for your signs. I have found out in the past that you will miss signs, and that is half the experience of seeing new trails and seeing what lost looks like. The whole trip that we took was about 150 miles, and it is probably for experienced riders, and for those who do not want to stop at every place to fill there radiators. Just to let everyone know, the other rider with me was a girl, that is not putting the other sex down, some women are the best riders, so unless you guys are wouissi's (there is that word again) get out there and ride. The day we went, the trails were on a scale of (10 being excellent) about 6-7 some were definitely a 10, they were running out of snow around our turn-a-round point,(Clintonville) otherwise we could of racked up more miles. For a time; we left the lake at 9:00 and got back around 3:30 Watch for another trail ride update next week and for a trail report of just our trails. Happy trails! Your trail boss, Jim
01/08/2010 - The trails are open as of 12:00am this morning! 12/17/2009 - It will come off Legend Lake at the North side of the Dam at the Boat Launch. The trail will follow the same trail bed along Long Lake road. When the trail crosses Hwy V V, this is the first change. The trail this year will be between the power line poles and the Hwy VV. It will stay in the same trail bed past the Thunderbird. We will try and have the trail groomed between the fence and Hwy VV between East-Line Road and Hwy HH. At Hwy HH the trail will cross over Hwy HH directly at the corner of Hwy HH and Hwy VV. On the east side of Hwy HH, the trail will branch with the left trail going in front of the houses on the road right of way. We will attempt to have it groomed to stay off the road in this area. When the trail passes the houses it goes under the power lines until it approaches the place where the fire trucks are stored. At that point, the trail goes out onto Hwy VV to get around this property. Once you get beyond that property, the trail will again follow the power line right of way until it reaches Harley's Den. Back at the corner of Hwy VV and Hwy HH, the trail will follow the same trail bed along Hwy HH. The main county trail to Shawano will cross at Pioneer Rd. If you continue along Hwy HH south toward the Cotton Patch you will come to Hidden Pines Road. The main Shawano County trail will go east at Hidden Pines Road to Cecil. Our trail will continue down the right of way along Hwy HH. When you get to LuLu Lake Road, you can take LuLu Lake Road down to Sigrid's Bavarian Inn. The trail is marked with blazers and arrows from both directions. When you get to the corner of LuLu Lake Road and Loon Lake Road, you can turn left to get to Sigrid's or turn right and follow Loon Lake Road to get back to the main Shawano County Trail to Shawano. If you continue to follow our trail south along Hwy HH, the trail will turn to the left about a 1/4 mile from the Cotton Patch. The trail will then go east behind the Cotton Patch and then south again until you arrive at Hwy H on the east side of The Cotton Patch. At this point, you can park your sled and go to The Cotton Patch or cross Hwy H. When you cross Hwy H, you will have two options to get to Shawano Lake. When you go down East-Road you will come to a T intersection sign if you take the trail to the right it will take you to Washington Lake. When you get to Washington Lake, you will cross the lake to the south side where there is a large orange blazer on a tree. (Do Not Try and Take The River Channel To The Left It DOES NOT FREEZE OVER!) You must exit Washington Lake onto Stark Road. At that point you will turn left and go down Stark Road for a short bit and then turn right to get onto Shawano Lake; there is a blazer at this point. When coming back off Shawano Lake, there is a large orange blazer on the tree to help find the trail head. (Remember To Stay Clear of The Mouth of the River Channel When Coming and Going). The other option is to just go straight down East Road. The trail is marked with blazers and the road Y's when you get near Shawano Lake. Take the road to left. At that point you will see the access point where the trail goes out onto Shawano Lake. The Cotton Patch will have a Orange Beacon Flasher at this trail access point.
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