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2008 ARCHIVED
TRAIL REPORTS
[ Please send your report to us! ]
We have the most
current reports on the Internet
for the Minnesota North Shore Snowmobile Trails.
Reports below start at
the first report from December 5th, 2007.
|
 April, 2008
" In Fairbanks, Alaska heading to the annual Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go
Classic in
Summit Lake - Paxson, Alaska. " Read more...
Report by
Chad Jones / Editor snowmobiletrails.com -
Grand Marais, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
March
31, 2008
" Rode 3/29 and 3/30 on the state trail near Pike Lake. It was a
bit bumpy, but still lots of snow (2-3' off trail). A few dirt spots
on corners south towards Lutsen, then good again down toward Tofte (on
state trail). Lutsen trails were excellent, with no dirt spots where I
rode. Logging and Forest roads were very good also. Best ride of the
year up there for me. I have a cabin and go quite often to this area. "
See "Options C or
K " for planning this route. Report by Jeff H. -
St. Michael, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
March
29, 2008
" Started at the Mineral Center Trailhead and rode most of the Grand
Portage Snowmobile Trails. Conditions were excellent, few bare spots
and few riders. Conditions may last into first weekend in April. The
past few years we've ridden these trails into first week of April. "
See "Options D or
E " for planning this route. Report by
Chad Jones / Editor snowmobiletrails.com -
Grand Marais, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
March
26th, 2008 "
My son and I rode about 80 miles last night (3/25) from Lutsen to
North State Snowmobile Trail, then south to Trestle Inn and back. Best
conditions of the year! Didn't see one other sled! Rode today north on
the State Trail to the Expressway, and on up to the Trail Center
Lodge. 4 inches or so of fresh snow on that route. Rode "G Trail" back
to Devil Track Lake and it was freshly groomed. Saw maybe a dozen
sleds all day. Goofed around quite a bit today and put on 135 miles.
Still enough snow in the woods to get stuck! By far the best riding of
the season! If this was the last trip of the year - it was by far the
BEST! "
See "Options
C or K" for planning this route.
Report by Dave S. - Cloquet, Minnesota. Send your report to
us!
March
15th, 2008 "
Rode the North Shore trail out of Lutsen toward Grand Marais. Then
took the Express Way up to the Mushquash Trail. We then took the
Swamper until it connected with the Gunflint Trail. Took the Gunflint
Trail up to Gunflint Lake and then beyond for about another 15 miles.
In all we put on about 180 miles. The trails were well groomed and in
very good condition. Although a few of the corners were wearing down,
over all there was plenty of good snow. "
See "Options
C or K" for planning this route. Report by
Doug S. - Prior Lake, Minnesota. Send your report to
us!
March
11th, 2008 "
Started at the Devil Track
Lake, rode the Expressway up and stopped for lunch at the Gunflint
Lodge. Continued to the end of the trail at Sag and turned around.
Took the G trail back to Devil Track. 122 miles total. Plenty of snow
but rather disappointed in the grooming. Other than the G trail from
the Expressway intersection down to Devil Track, the trails were
washboard and full of stutter bumps. Not sure when the last time it
was groomed but I heard 5 days ago. Other trips in past years have had
awesome groomed trails, not sure what happened this year.
Still an excellent trip with great weather. I'll be back.
" Editor note: this area is groomed weekly, with the
Lower Gunflint Trail "G Trail" (Poplar Lake to Devil Track Lake),
Mushquash, Clearwater and the Hungry Jack Spur groomed on Mondays. The
upper Gunflint Trail "G Trail" (Poplar Lake to Sag Lake) on
Tuesday, and the
Express Way is groomed twice a week once Tuesday and Friday. See full
Cook County snowmobile trail groomer schedule.
See "Option
C " for planning this route. Report by
Tim M. - Duluth, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
March
11th, 2008 " Over the weekend,
took the Gunflint & Swamper trails from Devil Track up to Trail Center
at Poplar Lake. Both the G-Trail and Swamper were in great shape for
March. Rode the X-Trail down to Devil Track and saw uniformly good
conditions. Also rode the connector trail from the Gunflint system up
to Grand Portage. Some areas of the Connector Trail have logging going
on and you are sharing the road with an occasional logging truck, but
the snowmobile lanes are well separated from the truck lane. Only
about 8-10 miles of this, the rest was sleds only. A few Icy patches,
but good otherwise. Once actually on the Grand Portage system, the
conditions were superb. The Grand portage trails were really, really
nice. "
See "Options
A, B,
C, D, E,
F" for planning this route. Report by
Dave T. - Duluth, Minnesota. Send your report to
us!
March
9th, 2008
Silver Bay AmericInn to Papa Charlie's Saloon / Lutsen Ski Hill -
Approx. 70 miles.
" We left the Silver Bay AmericInn on spur #158 that goes right from
the hotel to the
North Shore Snowmobile Trail. When we got
to the Lutsen area we turned onto the Lutsen Access Trail and onto the
Mountain Access Trail, and followed the Ski Hill Road / County Road 5
north about a mile & a half to Papa Charlie's, the
Gooney Birds were playing
last night, great music and dancing. Trails were great and we only saw
4 other sledders on the trail and a moose. We stayed at the
Mountain
Inn, right on the Ski Hill Road. "
See "Options K or
H " for planning this route. Report by
Chad Jones / Editor snowmobiletrails.com -
Grand Marais, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
March 6th, 2008
PHENOMENAL TRAIL CONDITIONS AND FEW RIDERS ON THE
GRAND PORTAGE SNOWMOBILE TRAIL
SYSTEM! " From Devil Track Lake to Grand Portage and
back to Devil Track Lake... approx. 110 miles. We started at about
10am, surface of Devil Track was hard drifts, took the Gunflint
Snowmobile Trail from the east end of Devil Track north to the South
Brule River Trailhead to the Blueberry Road and on to the Grand
Portage Trails. All trails were in great shape, most were freshly
groomed! I must say the Grand Portage
Snowmobile Trails impress me every time we
ride on 'em. So much MORE than any other trails. The area has great
scenery and nice overlooks above Lake Superior and the mountainous
terrain, AND BEST OF ALL - FEW RIDERS. We had lunch at the Grand Portage
Lodge, buzzed up to Ryden's Border Store, visited with friends,
performed some minor repairs on J. S's sled and fueled up. We
ran the Pigeon River and some secret goat paths, played in some powder
and headed back towards Devil Track Lake, temps were dropping all day,
zero degrees when we got back. The past three years we've rode these
trails into April, with great spring sledding. Please slow down if you
start seeing moose tracks on/near the trail. "
Many trailhead/start options for this area. See "Options
A, B,
C, D, E " for planning this route. Report by
Chad Jones/Editor snowmobiletrails.com -
Grand Marais, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Feb 25, 2008 "
WAS ON NORTH SHORE TRAIL FROM
FINLAND, ALL THE WAY UP TO DEVIL TRACK LAKE, TRAIL WAS GREAT EVERY
DAY.. LUTSEN ACCESS TRAIL AND CARIBOU TRAIL WERE PERFECT 2/22/08
TOMAHAWK TRAIL FROM NORTH SHORE TRAIL WAS GREAT ALL THE WAY TO
ISABELLA 2/23/08
WE STAYED AT BLUEFIN BAY... THE ACCESS TRAIL SUCKED THE WHOLE TIME WE
WERE THERE. FELT IT HADN'T BEEN GROOMED IN SOME TIME. WHOEVER IS IN
CHARGE OF THAT SHOULD GET ON THE STICK RIGHT AWAY AND TAKE CARE OF IT.
RIDING 100 PLUS MILES EVERY DAY ON PERFECT TRAILS AND THEN RIDING ON
THAT 6 MILE STRETCH AT THE END OF THE DAY REALLY SUCKED !
" Editor note:
03.01.2008 Tofte groomer was down for 8 days and is now back up...
See "Option
H"
below for planning this route. Report by Will D. - Plymouth, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Feb 20, 2008 "
We arrived at Devil Track Lodge on
Friday Feb. 15th and took the Expressway to the State Trail, we then
took the Caribou trail towards Cascade River and looped back to the
State trail, all the trails were great with spectacular views. On
Saturday we took the Gunflint Trail up to Gunflint lodge and had
lunch, after lunch we went to Hungry Jack Lodge to gas up and took the
Expressway back to Devil Track, all trails were good with bumps in a
few spots. Sunday we took the State Trail to the Crooked Lake and had
lunch at Trestle Inn, the trail was great on the way there, but a
little beat up on the way back. Northeastern Minnesota is definitely
the place to go for great riding.
"
See "Option
C"
below for planning this route. Report by Ben H. - Sartell, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Feb 19, 2008 "
Rode out of Lutsen Mountains Ski
Hill on Saturday, Feb. 17. Took the Mountain Access trail to
the Caribou trail to the
North Shore State Trail. The Mountain Access
trail was OK - icy in the corners, a little rough in spots. The
Caribou trail was in fantastic shape - freshly groomed, plenty of
snow, fresh coat of snow on the trees. Best conditions I've ridden
this season. The North Shore State Trail was in good condition from the
Caribou up to Devil Track Lake. The trail from Devil Track up to Trail
Center was good to OK (we rode up on the GTrail, back on the Express).
The North Shore State Trail was still in OK shape on the way back, and it
looked like they were getting ready to groom again at about 9:00 p.m.
Saturday night. Somewhere between the two Lutsen exits we passed two
groomers and a handful of guys who looked to be starting them - I
assume one was going North, the other going South. But we didn't ride
Sunday so I don't know for sure.
"
See "Option
K" below for planning this route. Report by
Mike V. - Plymouth, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Feb 17, 2008 "
Rode the
North Shore Snowmobile Trail
on Saturday, February 16th. Most of the trails were fairly smooth.
They had enough snow cover, not a lot, but had a few icy corners kinda
scattered about. We rode from Silver Bay to Tofte and back. Lots of
great twisty sections north of the Temperance River. The LeVeaux
Mountain trail was good, but the spur was bumpy on the last couple
block stretch into the Tofte Holiday station.
A little rougher on the
return, which is typical. LOTS of sled traffic today (long weekend).
The Tomahawk Trail spur from the
North Shore Snowmobile Trail into the Trestle Inn was just groomed
on Friday, and in superb shape. We hit the Moosewalk Trail just
outside Silver Bay for a short blast, which was in good shape.
As with any trail this year,
there isn't enough snow to make huge moguls, which keeps the trails
flat, but hardpacked, and some corners are a bit loose. No problems
overheating anywhere, because snow dust is very prevalent, however
this hinders visibility, but also keeps from following too close. Be
safe, stay right, use your mirrors!! "
See "Option
H" below for planning this route. Report by
Dick T. - Duluth, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Jan
24, 2008 "
We were in Two Harbors from
1/19/08-1/21/08. The temperature was frigid for the whole weekend, but
the snowmobiling was great. There weren't many people out and the
trail conditions were excellent. We rode all day, everyday, driving
over 300 miles on the North Shore Snowmobile
Trail, the Yukon Trail, the Brimson
Trail, Tomahawk Trail and more. We stopped in Isabella and Finland for
excellent food/beverages. The best trail was the Yukon trail that
heads north to Isabella. There was an incredible amount of snow and
the trail was perfect. The only trail that was sub-par was the 9 mile
trail from Two Harbors to the North Shore
Snowmobile Trail . It had been used so
much that the turns were covered in ice. Overall, it was a great trip
and one of my friends stated that it was the best trail riding he has
every had.
"
See "Option
I" below for planning this route. Report by
Adam O. - Waconia, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Jan
23, 2008 "
My 13 year old son and me were up
for a long weekend on the 20th. despite the frigid cold (-10 to -20
degrees) we had a blast! As in past trips we stayed at Devil Track
Resort. The accommodations were great. Saturday, we snowmobiled
north on the Gunflint Trail stopping for lunch (and warmth) at Trail
Center. As usual, the food and atmosphere were great. We returned to
Devil Track on the Expressway Trail. Both the Gunflint and Expressway
Trails were in very good shape.
Sunday we took the State Trail and then Mountain Access Trail up to
Caribou Highlands Resort for lunch. Returning, we took the Caribou
Trail before hooking back up with the State Trail. The State Trail was
in descent shape but definitely ready to be groomed. The Caribou trail
was in excellent shape. My wife and I are planning to come back up
towards the end of February...I can't wait!
"
See "Option
C" below for planning this route. Report by
Eric W. - Woodbury, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Jan 18, 2008 "
SPENT JAN16-18 ON THE NORTH
SHORE. WENT FROM TWO HARBORS TO HOYT LAKES, AURORA, EMBARRASS UP TO
ELY, THEN DOWN THE TOMAHAWK TO STATE TRAIL UP TO GRAND MARAIS AND BACK
TO TWO HARBORS. IN 3 DAYS JUST UNDER 500 MILES GREAT TRAILS, LITTLE
TRAFFIC
"
See "Option
I" below for planning this route. Report by
Ron K. - Hugo, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Jan 14, 2008 "
We stayed in Grand
Marais for the weekend at the Best
Western Superior Inn and rode right from the parking lot onto the
spur trail to the State Trail System.
There was 17 plus inches of fresh powder in downtown and over 2 feet
of fresh powder on the State Trail System
along the hills overlooking Lake Superior. The best riding we've ever
experienced!"
See "Option J" below for planning this route. Report by
Grant, Mike and Tony - Stillwater, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Jan 11, 2008 "
Fresh snow on the
gunflint trail. About 4 to 5 inches of fresh, sticky snow on top of an
AWESOME base. The trails are groomed and are in great condition. If
any time is the time to come up, its NOW!!!!! A little bit more snow
is coming down now and more is expected. We were out for 5 hours and
only passed 3 groups. If your sled has been sitting in the garage,
pack your gear, get your friends or family, and head on up to the
gunflint trail. If you've been waiting for the right time, that time
is NOW!!!!!!!!!!! "
See "Option
A, B, C,
F or J" below for planning this route. Report by
Spencer K., Grand Marais, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
Jan 7, 2008 "
Arrived late afternoon
in Tofte on 1/3 and stayed till 1/6. Trails were in very good
condition for the three days of riding we did. We traveled to The
Trestle Inn, Devil Track Lake (Grand Marais area) and to Finland. The
groomers did a good job on smoothing the trails back out in the
evenings. My wife commented that the trail conditions were the best
she had been on any where for many years. The only concerns are Devil
Track Lake is marked and we were told that it had a foot of ice but we
still kicked up slush and unfortunately it was 35°F and drizzling on
1/6 when we left. "
See "Option
C" below for planning this route. Report by David S., Golden
Valley, Minnesota. Send your report
to us!
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TRAIL REPORTS ]
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[ Go to 2010 ARCHIVED
TRAIL REPORTS ]
[ Go to 2009 ARCHIVED
TRAIL REPORTS ]
[ Go to 2007 ARCHIVED
TRAIL REPORTS ]
SNOWMOBILE
TRAIL SYSTEMS
North Shore State Snowmobile Trail
From Duluth to Grand Marais, Minnesota the 153
mile long North Shore State Snowmobile Trail system traverses St.
Louis, Lake and Cook Counties of Northeastern Minnesota, along the
vistas overlooking Lake Superior. The trail system winds its way
through forests and nearby Lake Superior scenic overlooks.
(Requires MN "State Trail" Snowmobile Permit Sticker, this is an
addition to the regular registration.)
More Local North Shore Snowmobile Trails
Grand
Portage Trail System northeast corner of Minnesota
Duluth Cross Town Trail - West Section 33
miles West area of Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth Cross Town Trail - East Section 12
miles East area of Duluth, Minnesota
Taft Trail North out of Duluth, Minnesota
Pequaywan Lake Trail 10 miles North out of
Duluth, Minnesota
Two Harbors Corridor Trail 9.6 miles East end
of Two Harbors, Minnesota
Gooseberry State Park Trail 3-9 miles
Located at Hwy 61 and Gooseberry River/State Park
Red Dot Trail 15 miles East end of Beaver Bay,
Minnesota
Tettegouche Trail 10 miles and Sawtooth Trail 15
miles East of Silver Bay, Minnesota
Moose Walk Trail 15 miles North of Silver
Bay, Minnesota
Tomahawk Trail 86 miles North of Little
Marais, Minnesota
Lutsen Trail System 67 miles Between Tofte,
Minnesota and
Cascade River State Park
The X Trail North of Cascade River State
Park and leads to the Gunflint Trail System
Grand Marais Trail 5.5 miles
Gunflint Trail System 125 miles
Grand Portage Trail System Over 100
miles of loops, great scenery and well groomed trails.
Ontario Snowmobile Trails from the Gunflint
Trail/Gunflint Lake/Sag Lake area.
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