Mercer snowmobile trails open

By TOM LAVENTURE

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MERCER, Wis. - Around half of the 255 miles of funded snowmobile trails in the Mercer area are now open, according to the nonprofit group that maintains them.

Members of the Mercer Area Sno-Goers Inc., snowmobile club attended the Iron County Parks and Recreation meeting Thursday and were present when the committee approved opening day Thursday, said Tom Ziegler, vice president of the Sno-Goers.

"There is probably more than 50% of trails open right now," Ziegler said. "We can't have any trails going across the (Turtle Flambeau) flowage or any of the lakes yet with the ice not substantial enough to hold anything."

There is a lot of snow and slush on the lakes right now, he said. Once the ice is frozen more areas of the trails will open, he said. The Sno-Goers website (mercersnogoers.com) or on Facebook. The Mercer Area Chamber of Commerce has a snowline for trail conditions at 715-476-SNOW.

With 600 members the Sno-Goers are the second largest snowmobile club in the state, Ziegler said. The volunteers are pulling trail groomers on the club's four tractors daily, and a new tractors is scheduled to arrive within a week, he said.

Trail 17N is groomed and in great condition, according to the latest snow report on Thursday. Volunteer groomers were out improving Trails 12A and 12B, Trail 10, Trail 19 and Trail 20. The groomers report the conditions are great but with some wet areas remaining. Trails that remain closed include 51E and 17S in Vilas County, Trail 182 in Price County and Trail 11 in Ashland County.

"Please expect early season riding," said Tanner Hiller, Sno-Goers public relations.

Riding the Flowage or Lake of the Falls is not advised until it has been marked, he said. Other lake traffic is also not advised.

"We update the trail conditions at least once a week and right now I believe it's going to be more often as we get the trails going and opened up," Ziegler said. "We're going to open as many trails as we can but that's all depending on open water and swamps and all that."

The Sno-Goers report there were 115,589 riders who rode the organization's 10 trails for the 2019 snowmobile season between Dec. 1, 2018 through March 1, 2019. Trail 17 North reported 35,119 riders, while Trail 51 East had 25,980, followed by Trail 10 East with 22,924. The rest of the trails ranged from 580 riders to 10,547 riders.

The Sno-Goers are planning their Winter Blast annual fundraising event for Jan. 18 at the Groomer Barn. The public event has everything from pancake breakfast to games and raffles, antique sled exhibits and more, he said.

The Sno-Goers are also planning to open a local chapter of Kids and Adults On Snowmobiles (KAOS), a statewide snowmobile club designed to make youth an integral part of the snowmobile club, Ziegler said. KAOS membership is open to any youth between 14 and 18 years of age.

"It gives kids a voice and input in how the club is ran for the year by attending spring and fall statewide meetings," Ziegler said.