Vilas County Wants To Widen Snomo Trails To minimum Of 16 Feet!

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whitedust

Well-known member
Wow!!! That did not take long Vilas County approved min 16 foot snowmobile trail width for all county & state owned land.
 
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Hoosier

Well-known member
whitedust said:
Wow!!! That did not take long Vilas County approved min 16 foot snowmobile trail width for all county & state owned land.
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Not a big fan of this myself. We primarily ride out of a relative's cabin north of Eagle River but still in Vilas. Like you said, we LOVE the ability to ride one day in technical twisties and the next in the UP on wide open trails, forest roads and grades. Personally, when they have good snow, I think it's 100x more fun to put 150 miles on in Vilas and the surrounding areas averaging 25-30 MPH's than to put on 250-350 in the UP at 60 MPH, or more if you get stuck on grades. Just my opinion, which isn't worth much. Don't get me wrong - I love riding in the UP also.

I don't see this as a safety issue. You will have people on the wrong side of the trail no matter how wide. The wider the trail, the faster they'll be coming from the other way. I like my chances at 25 compared to 50. Last time we were up, I had a couple close calls with Ricky's on 107 at speeds you just can't hit in the Wisconsin twisties.
 
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Hoosier

Well-known member
Banjo Man said:
It just seems peculiar that Vilas would say that they are doing this for passing safety. Means that they would be promoting more passing on the trails and as much as I do not like being behind a slower group for any length of time, I could still wait for a stop or intersection to pass.
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I agree. I don't know why everyone is in such a hurry all the time. If a group won't let you pass - take a break for 10 minutes.
 
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lenny

Guest
as a groomer, I am inclined to think it will not change much and more certain it will not give desired results but I can say it will be costly and you'll pay one way or another. The issue I see is that most riders and more so aggressive riders tend to ride closer to the center of the trail and use less of available real-estate. I say this because our groomers have been widening the trail to max width and yet the edges are basically unused. When I groom I tend to groom narrower to be able to double hit the most available traffic width possible. We can always spread out if we need the snow to mix back in but all in all most rider do not use the trail width and more grooming to a narrower space make for smoother trails. Wis is no doubt different but the principle remains the same. IMO we can compare this sort of intervention from local gov like intrusion from the feds.

Will the rider NEVER take 100 %of his/her responsibility. How many changes need to be made for mistakes or carelessness? I guess the gov will not stop till we all have body wraps on ourselves and nerf style sleds,,,,hey,,not a bad idea
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
Hoosier said:
Not a big fan of this myself. We primarily ride out of a relative's cabin north of Eagle River but still in Vilas. Like you said, we LOVE the ability to ride one day in technical twisties and the next in the UP on wide open trails, forest roads and grades. Personally, when they have good snow, I think it's 100x more fun to put 150 miles on in Vilas and the surrounding areas averaging 25-30 MPH's than to put on 250-350 in the UP at 60 MPH, or more if you get stuck on grades. Just my opinion, which isn't worth much. Don't get me wrong - I love riding in the UP also.

I don't see this as a safety issue. You will have people on the wrong side of the trail no matter how wide. The wider the trail, the faster they'll be coming from the other way. I like my chances at 25 compared to 50. Last time we were up, I had a couple close calls with Ricky's on 107 at speeds you just can't hit in the Wisconsin twisties.
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I'm thinking approved but a goal that will take a few years to accomplish & trails on private land have to be wide enough to allow groomer thru but that may not be 16 feet. NW Forest County links with Vilas & lots of narrow twistys there but not much else just forest. I have mixed emotions about it like you say Twisty riding a lot more fun & that 150 miles = to 250 wide open stuff in UP. I like both too but recently spending more trail time in Vilas Twistys same amount of trail time but less miles but more skill required to ride Twistys by far.
 
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erkoehler

Member
Not a fan of this, I love the narrow trails and the scenery created by a recent snow fall.

I dont need a paved highway to ride on, that takes the fun out of it.
 
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Deleted member 10829

Guest
As both a snowmobiler and a groomer, I think it's a great idea! We are talking 16 feet, that's not that wide, it's only 5 yards and 1 foot! Most drags are 10+ feet wide, so even if you groomed all the way to the edges, you would have at least 4' of overlap in the middle. And it's not like they are taking away the turns and hills, they will still be there. I'm guessing most trails are already 10-12 feet wide, so it's adding 2-3 feet per side, not much at all when you really think about it.
 
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snowchief

Member
I think this would be awesome. I like some real tight twisty trails to keep you in shape but seems the get beat up more. I don't think you can beat a nice wide trail with smooth long wide turns rolling over the hills thru the pines makes my hand twitch thinking about it.
 
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ridesrx

Member
The narrow trails are the reason I drive right through Vilas, and into the U.P. I like twisty, hilly trails as much as anyone, but I don't like narrow trails. It's too dang dangerous. I wouldn't even dream of bringing my kids out there on the weekends. Things like wider trails might get my group to want to ride in Wisconsin.
 
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Team Elkhorn

Guest
I think the sport is changing and the trail infrastructure needs to keep up or fall behind. In the old days we would put less miles on in a day. We'd stop at more pit stops. And actually take in the beauty of the northwoods. Now it seems more about the numbers on the odometer so you can brag on the interwebs about your mileage. Times have changed, sleds are faster, and I guess people aren't going to slow down. They may as well try to make it safer for everyone. I'm not saying the old days were better, just different. Personally I'd like to see more one way trails too, or trails with a center median. I wonder how long it will be before they finally have state wide speed limits?
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
mspease said:
As both a snowmobiler and a groomer, I think it's a great idea! We are talking 16 feet, that's not that wide, it's only 5 yards and 1 foot! Most drags are 10+ feet wide, so even if you groomed all the way to the edges, you would have at least 4' of overlap in the middle. And it's not like they are taking away the turns and hills, they will still be there. I'm guessing most trails are already 10-12 feet wide, so it's adding 2-3 feet per side, not much at all when you really think about it.
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Mark you are right on with this observation! I didn't think about it until the county started to discuss the topic of 16 foot min width trails. Trail 17 between Phelps & Eagle River seemed very wide this year thinking maybe 30 feet in places with an excellent groom that held together well but really it was as Lenny said somewhere on the website the groomer started to widen by dragging in snow from both sides & the result was a smooth, flat, wide trail which was big fun to ride:) 16 foot really not that wide when all is considered.
 
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alley mechanic

New member
I like the narrow trail in valis i makes you feel you are on a trail not a road, most of the grooming is done at late night now days not too many sleds on trails late night as it was back in the 70s i also belive it might have a negative impact what people think about about snowmobling in that it is a conservation issue about taking down more trees , so with taht said i dont think it is a good idea,

alley mechanic
 
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polarisrider1

New member
Not to go all greenie, but how many trees have to die for this 16' interstate. merge lanes next? someone please explain this to me????
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
polarisrider1 said:
Not to go all greenie, but how many trees have to die for this 16' interstate. merge lanes next? someone please explain this to me????
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A lot of the widening is part of logging contracts on State, Fed & County lands so many more trees are being havested piggybacked to trail widening & of course replanted. The jack pines I saw marked for harvest along trail 10 were way overdue for logging & trails were super tight had to stop for every oncoming sled too narrow to pass safely. 16 feet not that wide as mspease stated. This is a good thing ultra wooded forest area trees will not be missed & jacks grow back quickly. I live in a logging town & trees grow like weeds around here does not take long Aspen first then pine & maple follow & that is the natural way. Most of Vilas county was clear cut in 1930s & you can see it if you know what to look for. Currently Fed & State want to do much cutting to give trees a chance to grow much larger & makes sense to me but I live here & can see the trees grow. Trails on private land may or may not be widened but think most landowners will go along with saftey plan. I would a rather see a tree die than 1 rider... trees grow back a human life is over.
 
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