It looks like another
winter will soon be here, and we are looking forward to a good
one. We have been working hard again this fall brushing and signing
trails, organizing the map, and a new groomer drag came the other
day too. There is a lot more, but the point is that we have been
working hard to make our trail system the best it can be for you
guys.
For those of you that
aren't familiar with our system, we have about 130 miles of trails
in northeast Wisconsin that stretch from Crivitz into the Nicolet
National Forest, and from Crooked Lake to Silver Cliff, and beyond.
The heart of the system
is the area around High Falls and Caldron Falls Flowages. The
area offers the beautifully scenic River Trail, as well as a wide
variety of places to eat, drink, stay, and pick up supplies. There
are supper clubs, lodging from modest cabins to deluxe condos,
traditional north woods trail stops, and more. The flowages/Twin
Bridge area is a favorite destination of many snowmobilers.
But wait, there is
more. Just to the west of the flowages, our trails ride into the
Nicolet National Forest and the new Peshtigo River State forest
for some great scenery and wildlife. Just to the north, we have
the popular trail stops in Silver Cliff, and some great trails
that explore the thousands of acres of Marinette County Forests.
Our trails connect
to some excellent snowmobile trail systems including the Paul
Bunyan Riders (Lakewood), the Near North Trail Riders Club (Athelstane),
the River Road Riders (Crivitz & Wausaukee), and the B&B
club to our southwest (Mountain, Crooked lake). It is quite a
trail system.
We have some great
events on the system over the winter. The High Falls Radar Run
and Fish-O-Rama draws thousands of people the first weekend in
February. The Caldron Falls Radar Run is usually Super Bowl Saturday.
There are snowmobile ice drag races and radar runs all winter.
There is ice bowling, poker runs, and all kinds of events. We
definitely have fun up here in the winter.
~~
One question we have
had with increasing frequency is, do we allow ATVs on our trails.
Yes and no. There are parts of our system that ATVs are welcome
on. Primarily it is the areas to the north end of the system through
Marinette County Forests, where there are ATV trails in the summer.
Those trails also connect to the Dun-Good Riders club to the north,
and the Near North Trail Riders Club to the east, both of which
welcome ATVs.
In the Nicolet National
Forest and the Peshtigo River State Forest, ATVs are not permitted
by the management bodies of the forests. In between, some land
owners welcome wheelers, some do not. We have been working hard
on the map to make it as clear as possible. Wheeled riders will
want to remember to ride when it is cold out, and never over 32f.
The wheels can cause damage to the trail base when it is soft,
something to avoid if at all possible.
Trail grooming is something
that the Iron Snowshoe Trail system works hard at. They have both
farm tractors and Tucker Sno-Cats to keep the trails smooth. They
have a crew of guys that put in long hours keeping it flat and
the equipment running. There is a system of trail bosses who call
out the groomer for each area as it needs it, sending the equipment
where it can be best used. It is a system that has evolved over
many years, and one to be proud of.
~~
