Trail 15 - Gem

[bruzzer86]

Last weekend marked our group's 19th trip (out of 20 years) heading up to the UP and we had a fantastic time. Based out of Bergland, we put in 545 miles in 3 days. Besides a few bumps on trail 13, trails were good to great for 500 of those miles! A big THANK YOU to all the clubs and groomers who make it all possible.

On Saturday (2/7) we did a route that started from Lake Gogebic to Watersmeet to Bond Falls and eventually to Sidnaw for lunch. This wasn't our first time in the area, but it is about as far east as we get (as any overnight trips are to Copper Harbor and back). As we were enjoying a little live music and food at Sidnaw Station, a couple of us made the call for the group to take a new way back, trail 15. This ended up being a great decision as those 35 miles between trail 8 and trail 2 were the best of the trip.... what a great stretch! There is obviously not much there in terms of destinations or stopping points which likely is why I never hear anything about it. Maybe we just hit it on the right day, but that trail only brought smiles to the group. From there we ripped trail 2 back west, had a quick visit at Roger's Bar and returned home (215 miles all in).

Lots of smiles and laughs were had and can't wait until our next visit. Hopefully the snow will be plentiful again and we get to visit more of trail 15 and others like it.

 

[goofy600]

Glad you enjoyed it, yes 15 can be fantastic when it has snow as it does this year and as you stated long way between stops keeps traffic down. Took bottom half of 15 to Amasa last week and was fantastic.

 

[indy_500]

I rode it a handful of times in between 2011-2014, just a phenomenal trail with zero traffic! Haven’t gotten back to it since unfortunately. Where we tend to base out of, running that trail is just too many miles in a day to run it (for the other half). Used to stop at the rusty sawblade in Amasa with my dad.

 

[dfattack]

Glad you found that trail! We most likely passed each other since I rode that trail on the same day. It's one of my regular routes and can't say enough about it. Remember trail 107 too just west of 15 that brings you back down to trail 2. 107 is in my top 3 in the entire U.P. Last week when I rode with Euphoric1 and Venturenorth I asked them why they thought there is so much attention to the trails in the western part of the U.P. and all we could think of was the list of destinations, because it certainly can't be the trails. Yes, there are nice trails in the western part of the U.P. as I've ridden most of them but I honestly don't think you can compare them to what I define as the central U.P. In my opinion from Bruce crossing/Watersmeet in the west to Big Bay in the north to Gwinn in the east and Iron Mountain in the south has the best trails in the U.P. I've ridden almost all of them as far east as Grand Marais. Again, there are nice trails all over but in my opinion the hidden gems are where I stated. I would include Florence/Forest county Wisc in this as well. It may sound like I'm biased since I usually base out of Florence but I'm open minded about this. I like to explore new areas and honestly was driven by that desire for the first 10 years after getting back into the sport and keep coming back to this favorite area of mine. This all assumes good snow conditions. The southern range of what I outlined is typically out of the lake effect bands so when we don't have enough system snows trails go to crap fast. I can't say enough about the Blue ox club and how they are maintaining their trails. They are top notch and they have very good signage which is lacking in some areas.

 

[euphoric1]

Glad you found that trail! We most likely passed each other since I rode that trail on the same day. It's one of my regular routes and can't say enough about it. Remember trail 107 too just west of 15 that brings you back down to trail 2. 107 is in my top 3 in the entire U.P. Last week when I rode with Euphoric1 and Venturenorth I asked them why they thought there is so much attention to the trails in the western part of the U.P. and all we could think of was the list of destinations, because it certainly can't be the trails. Yes, there are nice trails in the western part of the U.P. as I've ridden most of them but I honestly don't think you can compare them to what I define as the central U.P. In my opinion from Bruce crossing/Watersmeet in the west to Big Bay in the north to Gwinn in the east and Iron Mountain in the south has the best trails in the U.P. I've ridden almost all of them as far east as Grand Marais. Again, there are nice trails all over but in my opinion the hidden gems are where I stated. I would include Florence/Forest county Wisc in this as well. It may sound like I'm biased since I usually base out of Florence but I'm open minded about this. I like to explore new areas and honestly was driven by that desire for the first 10 years after getting back into the sport and keep coming back to this favorite area of mine. This all assumes good snow conditions. The southern range of what I outlined is typically out of the lake effect bands so when we don't have enough system snows trails go to crap fast. I can't say enough about the Blue ox club and how they are maintaining their trails. They are top notch and they have very good signage which is lacking in some areas.

I would agree about the western draw being the destinations Darren, That trail we took the first day we rode would probably not be a preferred route for lets say... neon sign stoppers, or families with kids as even though I thought it was one of the nicest trails I have ridden, not only because of lack of traffic, the mixed scenery as well, but the long distance between stops may not be for some. it was one lonely trail once the sun fell but again some of the nicest trails I have ever ridden! as far as the "destinations" go I will admit I am also guilty of the draw of those and also part of my enjoyment of the ride as I have my favorite stops, whether it be for their food, their atmosphere or the people who operate them I do ride certain areas just so I am able to visit my favorite stops. I am also a scenery nut and there are areas that no matter how many times I ride them I will never get sick of or tired of seeing and a bulk of that is in the western U.P. and yes sometimes you have to deal with higher traffic and why I have learned to ride sunday thru thursday, since I have done that I have never had a time when I said to myself that the traffic was terrible and to be honest I also enjoy it when we stop for lunch or dinner at an establishment and there are alot of fellow riders because lets face it IMO what other time of the year can you walk into a bar, pub/grille or restaurant where either there are people eager to strike up a conversation with you or dont hesitate to do so when you initiate a conversation. I enjoy meeting fellow riders and I to me there just isnt any other time of the year where the comradery runs deeper than running into fellow riders at destination stops or having a drink at the bar after a days ride. To each his own but there are many reasons why I enjoy the ride... the ride itself, destinations, scenery, the people, tranquility and being to shut the world off around me for a while. Darren you shared areas with me I have never ridden and look forward to seeing again. I have one more trip left, had to book out a week later with fingers crossed on weather and conditions but with exception of the kee I will have ridden pretty much most of the upper peninsula this year, Had absolute trail greatness, met new people, one of which I hope to ride with next season (pclark) and hopefully not just near miss crossed paths with heckler56 for 2 years in a row now, meet in person and maybe ride with at some point, saw new areas and I can honestly say ONE OF THE BEST RIDING SEASONS I EVER HAD!!!

 

[venturenorth]

Couldn[t agree more with both of you.....was really surprised at trail conditions in Florence area, would love to come back next year.
My season is probably at an end now, warm up this week has cancelled our Big Bay / Grand Marais trip. Family issues late Feb. for me.
Somewhere around 1500 mi this year, sure can't complain after last season!! Thank You !!

 

[snomoman]

A nice loop that I have taken a few times, starting at Sidnaw filling station, take trail 8 west to trail 15 south, then take trail 2 west to Trail 107 north, back up to trail 8 east, back to Sidnaw filling station, A 100 mile loop of absolute snowmobile heaven

 

[dfattack]

A nice loop that I have taken a few times, starting at Sidnaw filling station, take trail 8 west to trail 15 south, then take trail 2 west to Trail 107 north, back up to trail 8 east, back to Sidnaw filling station, A 100 mile loop of absolute snowmobile heaven

totally agree

 

[euphoric1]

A nice loop that I have taken a few times, starting at Sidnaw filling station, take trail 8 west to trail 15 south, then take trail 2 west to Trail 107 north, back up to trail 8 east, back to Sidnaw filling station, A 100 mile loop of absolute snowmobile heaven

Add 109 in on that too.... snowmobiling heaven!

 

[goofy600]

So, my opinion as all have stated the central area if the snow is good has some fantastic trails but also as stated can have some really long runs and if it go bad or if cold that is not fun. Yes western UP is busy but has some fantastic trails when you can catch them fresh groomed. Big thing in central UP is snow conditions and there is one particular club that struggles to get out and do a good job which can really mess up trying to get to some other areas.

 

[pclark]

I would agree about the western draw being the destinations Darren, That trail we took the first day we rode would probably not be a preferred route for lets say... neon sign stoppers, or families with kids as even though I thought it was one of the nicest trails I have ridden, not only because of lack of traffic, the mixed scenery as well, but the long distance between stops may not be for some. it was one lonely trail once the sun fell but again some of the nicest trails I have ever ridden! as far as the "destinations" go I will admit I am also guilty of the draw of those and also part of my enjoyment of the ride as I have my favorite stops, whether it be for their food, their atmosphere or the people who operate them I do ride certain areas just so I am able to visit my favorite stops. I am also a scenery nut and there are areas that no matter how many times I ride them I will never get sick of or tired of seeing and a bulk of that is in the western U.P. and yes sometimes you have to deal with higher traffic and why I have learned to ride sunday thru thursday, since I have done that I have never had a time when I said to myself that the traffic was terrible and to be honest I also enjoy it when we stop for lunch or dinner at an establishment and there are alot of fellow riders because lets face it IMO what other time of the year can you walk into a bar, pub/grille or restaurant where either there are people eager to strike up a conversation with you or dont hesitate to do so when you initiate a conversation. I enjoy meeting fellow riders and I to me there just isnt any other time of the year where the comradery runs deeper than running into fellow riders at destination stops or having a drink at the bar after a days ride. To each his own but there are many reasons why I enjoy the ride... the ride itself, destinations, scenery, the people, tranquility and being to shut the world off around me for a while. Darren you shared areas with me I have never ridden and look forward to seeing again. I have one more trip left, had to book out a week later with fingers crossed on weather and conditions but with exception of the kee I will have ridden pretty much most of the upper peninsula this year, Had absolute trail greatness, met new people, one of which I hope to ride with next season (pclark) and hopefully not just near miss crossed paths with heckler56 for 2 years in a row now, meet in person and maybe ride with at some point, saw new areas and I can honestly say ONE OF THE BEST RIDING SEASONS I EVER HAD!!!

We'll definetely ride next year Brian, I think a ride up to Lake Superior would be awesome. On another note, one good thing is coming from the warmup, I'm starting to see the shingles on my roof and the ice dams are slowly melting away.