Distances and Best Route from Iron Mountain MI to Houghton

[dooski]

Hoping to get a bit of friendly advice from my John Dee friends.

I am planning a trip for the end of January. Our plan is to pick up three buddies at the airport in Milwaukee and drive up to the Florence Wisconsin area on Thursday. We are going to pick up the rental sleds that night from Iron Mountain and head back to the cabin near Florence. We then hope to get up Friday morning and ride up to Houghton, Stay in Houghton Friday night and ride back on Saturday. We then will high tail it back to Milwaukee so they can catch there flights. They come every year and this will be there 4th trip. They have extensive motorsports backgrounds and are very proficient riders. My question is what is the best route and how many miles are we looking at by trail? I know this is a pretty grueling schedule but at 230 per day for sled rental I would like them to get the most bang for there buck on the trails. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[zimmbob]

Wow, that's going to be one heck of a ride. Looks like the best route is Trail 5 north to Trail 8 (west). Then from there, you've got two choices. Go north on 15 up through Baraga all the way to the lake (then I'm not sure how to get to Houghton, probably some local trails or the lake edge), OR you could take a little longer way but probably nicer, but cutting south a little on 15 and meet up with 109 and take that all the way to Twin Lakes and Trail 3, and go North to Houghton on that one.

I'd bring gas cans, you might find yourself needing them in spots.

 

[lookin4snow]

Made that trip many times. My cabin is south of Florence, and we have rode to Calumet in one day and stayed there for the evening. I keep a log and will check it tonight and post the mileage and hours it took us. It's a nice ride. I would take one route up and to have a change of scenery take a different route back to minimize the number of miles that you ride the same trail. And we have never had an issue with gas, just make sure you are full when you leave Iron River and head north.

 

[todds]

Ditto what Lookin4snow said. No problem if you're smart about filling up. I'd stay clear of Baraga. Last time we took 109 out of Twin Lakes (heading back home on Sunday morning) and it was a blast! Our crew was cutting first tracks in over a foot of LES for miles.

 

[lookin4snow]

If you go from Florence up the grade to Crystal Falls, then North to Amasa and up to Sidnaw, then to Twin Lake, Houghton, and then Calumet, the distance will be about 180 miles. This was an easy day with a couple stops as the trails are usually in great shape to move right along.

The snow is usually thin in Baraga so unless there has been recent snow, I would recommend steering clear and not going through Baraga.

This route is excellent and we had an awesome time. I'm sure you will too.

 

[dfattack]

Dooski,

I agree with what others have said with a few minor tweaks. I have a home in Spread Eagle, WI. (See NCN Cams snowflake over Florence, WI area) and have made similar trips numerous times. One of my regular trips is from Spread Eagle to Big Bay and Back. That's about 275 miles give or take. Zimmbob suggested taking 5 north to trail 8. I'm usually not a fan of Trail 8 west of the junction of trail 5 & 8. Unless there is a lot of snow, it can be a little rocky. Right now there isn't a lot of snow on trail 5, but is worth riding. A good friend of mine grooms trail 5 north all the way up to where Moose Country takes over south of Republic. They do a nice job in the Dickinson County club (Iron Mountain). They make the trails wide whenever they can. I have made this trip twice in the last two weeks. In fact last week was thinner than the previous week. Based on John's forecast it doesn't look like this is getting better so my initial thoughts are stay away from trail 8 west of the 8/5 junction. Take 5 north to Trail 14 then head west. 14 is one of my favorite trails. I know they are logging, but I recently read on this site where the logging is complete and should be open by the 15th. If it is, this is a wide fast trail where you can make up some time. Trail 8 is slower going. I don't have really any suggestions once you are in L'anse.

On the way back, trail 3 to 109 to Sidnaw is a good idea to break up the trip. I usually like to come home a different way when I can. Once through Sidnaw go down 15/8 a short distance and head south (not sure what the trail number is) but you turn south before Kenton. At this point you have two choices to bring you to Iron River. Once in Iron River get on Trail 2 and head back to Florence. Trail 2 (the grade) is been in great shape and after a long day, it's nice to open it up a little to get home.

I hope this helps you and have a great safe trip.

 

[fishs_summit]

Man That sled rental is Highway robbery! not much choice for such a tight schedule.

 

[dooski]

Thank You All for Your Advise !!!

We are all getting really excited about the trip. We are working out the final route plan with your insight.

Sled rental does seem steep but they are 2010 500ss (liquid 600's)

We rent from Iron Mountain Power Sports. They are great guys and work with us on pick up and drop off. We arive late Thursday and they let us pick them up that night so we can head strait out friday morning . They are also flexable on returning the sleds on Sunday so we don't have to kill ourselves getting them back by 8:00AM.

We rented from Trackside one year and they were 15 bucks cheeper but they are very strick about pick up and drop off. 100 per hour that you bring them back late. (I can understand this if they are renting them out the next day but I don't think that is often the case on a Sunday.

We had a problem with one of their sleds two years ago that cut our trip short. This was not their fault becasue the sleds were new but they did not offer a replacement and charged my buddy per hour that the sled actual ran. They would not work with him at all. Not even for a discounted rental the following year.