© 2024 WXPR
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Snowmobiling winds down after successful season

pixabay.com tjsanzen

With warmer temperatures on the way, snowmobiling across the Northwoods is wrapping up.

Lincoln and Langlade counties closed several of their trails last week, with their northern neighbors expecting to follow suit this week.

“Things are at the end of the year conditions,” says Bill Lemke, a Cross Country Cruisers trail manager who helps maintain trails in Minocqua, Woodruff and Arbor Vitae. “The iciness has set in. The machines bounding on the trails has made the ice and the snow very hard to the point where it’s difficult for us to even cut the moguls with the blade and the dreg on the grooming machines.”

Despite the worsening conditions, Lemke says it was a great year for snowmobilers.

He says the season lasted for 11 weeks of grooming in Oneida County, compared to six or seven last year.

“I don’t know how we did it, but we managed to keep the trails in very, very good condition even though we didn’t have much snow,” he says. “It was a very wonderful year.”

Lemke, like others who enjoy winter in the Northwoods, is sad to see the season end.

“My favorite season is winter,” he says, “so it’s sad to see it go.”

Erin Gottsacker worked at WXPR as a Morning Edition host and reporter from December 2020 to January 2023. During her time at the station, Erin reported on the issues that matter most in the Northwoods.
Up North Updates
* indicates required
Related Content