Paradise Michigan Snowmobile Trail Report

TRAIL REPORT

Special thanks to our Paradise Snowmobiling Trail Reporter Ben Musielak
Paradise, Michigan - Ben reports in support and as a groomer for the Paradise Area Night Riders Snowmobile Club www.paradiseareanightriders.com  

 

MARCH  10th, 2012...Saturday...

Good Morning...10:00am....a STRONG  steady 20 mph N.E. wind.off whitefish bay. cause some drifting....a little light snow at daybreak...26 degrees....weather guessers say a warm up and maybe rain for moday...????? we will see ,our weather has been very weird this year and hard to predict.....
Trails are 90% in very good shape ...BUT....VERY, VERY ICY... with light snow and lots of ice chips covering most trails for cooling,saftey/traction, groomers will be out again today doing trails 452,trail 8 north of paradise and the east west trails from Paradise to Tahquamenon Falls......with snow they would have a excellent rating...except for our problem trail 8 going south towards the hulbert/raco..area..that is frozen ,but little snow..and passable...probably a poor condition rating ...might be the last weekend for a good brisk ride....have FUN & Be safe...very icy ...

Good Morning 10:30am...MARCH 9th, 2012

.temp is 20, & stayed there most of the night... a Bright Sunny Day.with N.W. WInds, aBlustery Day with N.W. Lake Effect snows...Drifting , trees down, etc....
Trails are being groomed today starting around 3:00pm...the point trail (452) in being groomed now... Trails where left alone and not groomed last night as to let them freeze/set up....they should be in good condition/average / about 70 % very good ,,15 % fair...15% poor with dirt showing.. will update tommorow after groomers report in... TRails are very icy...so drive slow and be careful...OUr south swamp ...south of paradise is about  a 50/50 ridable condition or poor condition due  no snow ...and around  rainbow lodge  on north trail 8 also has some poor , no snow areas...  

 

Good Morning..Kinda...March 8th, 2012...

This report is a cumilation of 3 of us...

the trails were perfect!!! Then POW....it got up to 55 degrees yesterday and they went from perfect to poor in just one day!! This is insane!!

We did run the groomers last night and I`ve talked to the guys who ran and this is what they told me.

Groomer Ben went to Pine Stump and he says he shoulda took a boat....he actually told me he saw a canoe floating on the trail at Rainbow!!

Groomer Bob ran trail #45 to the Falls and said it was ugly.....he used a different word but I can`t print that!!

We skipped trail #8 south cause we knew what that looked like going down M-123.

It did cool off now and the weather guessers are calling for 2-3 inches of snow for tonight and tomorrow. Soooo...the trails will be pure ice with a few inches of snow on them. They should be ridable for this weekend if you wanna try and get the last ride in. The back trails and old logging roads should still be in good shape, just gettin to em might be tough!

This sure has been a tough winter on all of us!!! I think this will be my last trail report for the season unless some miracle happens. I am now gonna dedicate my life to tracking down Mother Nature and Ole Man Winter and slap the @#$& outa them!!!!!

 

NOON Monday March 5th,2012

Temps where -15 this morning and now at +16 The Trails are in EXCELLENT condition with well over 12" of new snow on them.. This might be called the "last great week" of snowmobiling...with low mid week traffic...best time to take advantage of the trails ...
all trails are groomed daily starting at 3:00 pm....so watch for the Groomers ...with extended daylight more everyday...its harder to see the groomers.. I have been noticing a higher disregard or etiquette of groomer vs snowmobile.. people not stopping and blowing by the groomer..even bumping the groomer,trees hit , bad attitudes becasue We slowed down thier progress...helmet cams seem more important than slowing down, No notice of more in their party that are following ...and being a mile ahead of the rest of their party....seems like a growing trend of unawareness....some our worst wrecks recently have been new snowmobiler's on rented sleds...Dnr has a pamphlet on safety for snowmobile vs/ groomers...
Look under "SAFeTY"

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10365_14824---,00.html

Thanks...hope to see you on the trails....grooming trail 8 south of Paradise tonight....Groomer Ben

SUNDAY , March 3rd  2012

 

Good Morning  10:00 am ... temp  is 6 degrees and ZERO  predicted for sunday night..

All our trails are in" Excellent" condition....with snow cover of 8-12" all trails are flat and groomed...Awsome riding with all the snow in the trees....still groomed everyday starting at 3:00pm...so BE CARFUL... watch for groomers...saw lots of trees hit and near misses into the groomer with way too fast drivers in my 12 hours of grooming yesterday.. Remember our town trail is 15MPH and enforced....Probably the best riding of the season is NOW.... 

link to yesterdays pics..

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3144891115466.136514.1660668983&type=3

March 1st. , 2012 @ 9:36am

Getting ready to groom Paradise @ 11:00am on the town trail, X-cntry ski trails , and loops/access trails from Paradise  out to trail 8 & 45...  8 inches of snow "predicted/forecasted/assumed/guessed"  for saturday in our area......?????  
Recieved about 2 inches of  drifting snow & high winds (30mph) on the trails in the last storm ,, all trails are being groomed every night now..,, lots of drifting & snow to be pulled onto the trails withthe groomers. ...so trails are good and flat with fresh snow and temps under 32....so this weekend might be the last hurra and best ride of the season.?????

Monday , Feb 27th 9:20am

Good Morning....Monday , Feb 27th 9:20am....temp is 33 and light snow falling ...We did run the groomers all weekend & last night... It never did snow like the weather guessers said it would. But it did snow enough to cover the trails..
I groomed trail #8 to Pine Stump last night. It is about 80% good, 10% fair and 10% dirt. the worst/dirt  was within a mile of Rainbow Lodge..DON ran trail #45 to the Falls and about the same thing. The Point trail, #452 and #453 is the same too. Trail #8 south is a little worse, more like 50-30-20.

We received about 2-4 inches last night with drifting/high winds...so it varies from area to area & every mile down the trails..
2 more impending storms are moving in to our area this week and snow if forecast for the next 5 days....we will see....the trails are slowly improving with the light snows we are receiving every day...with trail traffic a a minumin during the week , they should be in excellent sahpe for this weekend....

8:00am Thursday ,Feb. 23rd.

www.crh.noaa.gov

 

Febuary 18th, 2012

Saturday @ 8:30am
 Light lake effect snows falling about 2 inches overnight...temp is  22 degrees..... still grooming all trails...the south trail (8) thru the swamp and up east-west road was groomed last night.. Paradise to Tahquamenon Falls will be groomed everyday for the long weekend....trails are in (good +) condition  ...lots of traffic this weekend in our area...:)

 

FEb. 16th evening....

about 3" of wet snow today ...temps are dropping below 32 this evening....
We are grooming all trails (except south swamp paradise to tahquamenon river ((trl 8)) ) on a every other day // as needed schedule... they are flat and still have a dangerous icy base... warming temps and lack of snow will be the deciding factor on further grooming operations.....thanks Groomer Ben

 

Feb. 15th 11:00am    2012

LIght Snow falling temp is 34...looks like thursdays snow might stay south of us...??? we will see....trails are holding their own and getting bumpy in the straight stretches...so be careful....and limit your speed ...groomed into the tahquamenon falls (trail 45)and that helped alot..  had dinner/met the new owners  at pine stump...it was a great stop and they have gas pumps...  ..Groomer Ben
My wife and I went for a Valentines day groomer ride last night. We groomed trail #45 to the Falls and the loops in and outa town. Spent 7 hours together in a groomer in the woods ( how romantic eh??? ) The trail turned out quite well, I would rate it as good with just a couple of dirt spots and no open water. The rest of our trail system is still the same as above. The weather guessers are calling for snow the rest of the week through the weekend, light snow, but maybe 2-3 inches, maybe more, lets hope and pray. Let me mention this....the trails are icey so watch out in the corners. Groomer Chris

February 8,2012

 

We groomed on Monday the 6th. to Rainbow lodge area (trail8) and into tahquamenon falls & camp 33 just as the cold weather hit to freeze up the trails.. and The song remains the same, nothing new to report. The temps are staying cold so thats good news. The weatherman (not me) is calling for some snow to move in Thurs. night and possibly snow through the weekend, we`ll see what happens.The Falls trail (#45) is in decent shape, there are a couple of water spots opening up but nothing serious...we`ll rate it as fair.

Trail #8 to Pine Stump is in alittle better shape but the snow is still thin out by Rainbow Lodge, once you get by there it is better....we`ll rate it as fair to good.

The Point trail (#452 & 453) is in decent shape with some thin spots and some real good snow...we can call it fair to good.

The South trail (#8) is the worst. We can`t even get in the swamp with the groomers cause we don`t want to break the ice up thats already there. It is pretty muddy and not much snow cover but is still passable with a sled...we gotta call that section poor. 

this is a combined report from groomer Ben & Chris

 

February 3,2012

Good Morning...Friday Feb. 3rd. temp stayed above freezing (34) last night , but we received a dust of light snow...we had a groomer out trail riding...I heard snow machines out last night till midnight...and no real complaints on the trails...other than we need snow....

ONe of us did ride the trails here is his report..

Well.... this is what its like from the seat of my sled. The trails are not in too bad of shape for the stinking weather we have. They are starting to get snirty but they are FLAT. We only managed 70 miles yesterday cause we had a break down. Everybody said they had a blast, even the guy who ripped his track off!! I asked everybody if it was worth the 300 mile drive UP here and they all said DEFINITELY!! We are going riding again today.

The weather still stinks.....we didn`t get below freezing last night, but with the soft snow we didn`t have any cooling problems and the icey base is holding up. The back trails are actually in great shape....not alot of traffic on them.

Well.....riding today....tomorrow is the Soo I-500, we`ll be there, and crappy weather....it doesn`t get any better!!!!

Groomer Chris

January 29,2012  ...2 reports..

FINALLY got a decent snow storm, looks to be about 6 inches out there this morning and it is still snowing pretty good. The weatherman is calling for another 4-6 today. THANKS Ole Man Winter, I knew you could do it!!! We will be out with the groomers full force smoothing things out. I will get a full report out as soon as I hear from everybody, probably tomorrow morning. The trails should be perfect!!!

A couple of things to mention this morning. We are having a problem with some snowmobilers riding on the cross country ski trails. This is ILLEGAL, They are marked with signs, please stay off them with your sleds. If you are caught it is a $150 ticket. Another thing....when coming into and out of town PLEASE stay on the trail. It may be alittle rough cause of the salt and sand mix from the road, but this is important!!! We have lost this trail in the past and we don`t want that to happen again, also the speed limit is 15 MPH....just be cool for a couple of miles....OK?         Groomer Chris

 

1-29-12 10:00am....Paradise trails are in excellent shape ..received about 6 inches of snow overnight...with maybe the exception of trail 8 south of town (thru our swamp lands)...wetter with less snow..... groomed into the falls ...trails where excellent and flat ...camp 33 restaurant had the bussiest day so far this year...saw over 150 sleds on the trails last night into the Tahquamenon falls.....and i got to meet GINA ,,the creator of this  snowmobile page...  very cool...

 

 

 

january 25th , 2012  wednesday, evening....

Groomed into Tahquamenon Falls Upper FAlls today and met up with t.a.s.a's (newberry groomers) new groomer....Bob leighner and I did alot of trail work with signs and "line of site" tree brushing...a 9 hour day on 10 miles of trail #45.....Trails are in very good condition ...super flat but slippery due to a lack of heavy snow and some brown showing on corners due to 30s temps..

 

 

January 24th , 2012  (tuesday)

GOOD MORNING....a blustery day with temp at 23 and a strong n.w. wind producing light "lake effect" snows ...about a inch so far on ice.(It rained for 16 hours with a 35 degree temp yesterday.)...trails ARE NOT good (no snow,just ice) AND we cannot groom ice..and we ARE NOT grooming till we get some snow acumillation. will try to up date this site morning and evening...we need snow to promote saftey on the trails and also to lubricate snow tracks and cool engines on some...so we sit and wait for better conditions...starting  to look alittle better with the lake effect today...about a inch so far..

January 22,2012
LOts of machines out last night..counted about 100 sleds on trail #8..

temp is 25 this morning with a 20mph south wind  and we have about a 8 to 12 inch snow trail base as of this morning.. light brown spots "snirt"  showing on the narrow spots and some curves  ,..
Everything was groomed up last night. The trails in our area are all in great shape. We are in for a bit of a warm up the next couple of days but it doesn`t look to bad for us UP here. They are saying just in the low 30`s with some wet snow and maybe alittle freezing rain, kinda being wishy washy on whats gonna happen and then cool back down to normal with snow coming for the rest of the week. We will post again in a couple of days and let ya`ll know whats UP.
Groomer Chris/Groomer Ben

 

 

Thursday  1-19-12

Sorry I haven`t been on in a few days. Things are looking MUCH better now. WE HAVE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS RIGHT NOW WITH SCHOOLS CLOSED..We got a few inches last night and are under a lake effect watch till Thursday night. They are calling for 6 plus inches, lets hope that holds true. The temps are going to stay cold too!!! It looks like Ole Man Winter FINALLY woke up!!! The groomers are out rockin an rollin so this weekend looks like it will be finally a good time to come on UP!! I`ll get a more detailed report up as soon as I talk to the boss. COME ON UP AND LETS RIDE!!!

link to severe weather bulliten  NOAA
http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Severe/Bulletins.aspx?location=USMI0654

link to 10 day forecast
http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Weather.aspx?location=USMI0654

Here is a link to the ONLY RADAR that shows Paradise SNOW   storms

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/radar/index_e.html?id=WGJ