Snowmobile Trail Grooming Reports 2008

January 1, 2014: Extreme cold conditions - new record in Bangor of -10 F on January 1. Some areas are still clearing trees and restoring power after the ice storm on December 22. Nearly 20 inches of snow on the ground in this area, with two or more in the high country.

Caution: Ice on streams and lakes is not yet fully safe for snowmobiles. Check local conditions before crossing. One groomer has already broken though the ice in northern Maine.

Check out NOAA'a 24-hour snowfall map for Maine and other northeast snowmobile areas.

For more trail details, visit our snowmobile trail alerts page.

The following trail reports from winter 2008 might wet your appetites and give you some trip planning ideas. There was so much snow and great trail conditions last winter that many areas gave up making reports so they could put all their manpower into dealing with all the new snow.

Then, check out the current 2008/9 Snowmobile Trail Reports.

• Greenville Trail Report - 1/16/08: Annual B52 Ride is this Saturday - lunch at noon, and ceremony and ride at 1:00 PM. Up to 8 inches new snow on Monday, over a 12-20 inch hard base. 
• Greenville Junction/Squaw Mt. Area Trail Report - 1/21/08: ITS 88 from Wilsons at the East Outlet around the back side of Squaw Mountain to the intersection with the Greenville Trail System will continue to be groomed on a regular schedule. The groomer went out after the 6+ inches of new snow on Friday and again on Saturday. Conditions on most of our trail are great. There are some icy corners, so please use caution (slow down and help keep the snow on the trails). We hope to open the club trail through the mountain soon. There is still too much mud and water for the groomer.
  - 1/11/08: ITS 88 from Wilsons at the East Outlet around the back side of Squaw Mountain to the intersection with the Greenville Trail System will once again continue to be groomed on a regular schedule. We've made it through the January thaw with lots of snow still on the ground and more coming down as I write! There are some wet spots and icy corners, so please use caution. We are in hopes to open the club trail through the mountain soon. Area clubs have been working hard signing and preparing the trails, yet it is still early season. Use caution, watch your speed, and stay on the marked trails! Attention Fishermen: First Annual Ice Fishing Derby with Ricky Craven-planned for the weekend of January 25th. No limit on togue! Great fun and prizes.
• Rockwood - 1/30/08: All trails are currently groomed and in excellent shape with over 2 foot base. Route 66 across Moosehead Lake to Mount Kineo and Kokadjo is now safe and open for passage.
  - 1/20/08: Trails are currently in excellent shape with about 22 inches for a base with the addition of 6 inches of fresh snow. Please use caution for any icy spots on the trails. Moosehead Lake in Rockwood has frozen over, but the ice is not thick enough to provide safe passage to Mount Kineo yet. We will post when passage is safe.
  - 1/12/08: Trails are currently in great shape with about a 15 inch base. With recent rain, we have a hard-packed base wit some icy spots, but today's 3 inches of fresh snow has helped improve the trails. Please use caution for any icy spots of flowing water on the trails. Moosehead Lake in Rockwood has frozen over... but the ice is not thick enough to provide safe passage to Mount Kineo yet. We will notify you when passage is safe. Always use use caution when venturing onto any frozen body of water and check with locals for ice thickness and hazards first.
• Pittston Farm Trail Report - 1/11/08: Trails are groomed, in good condition and ready to ride with plenty of snow, even after the rain this week we still have several inches of nice snow and a packed firm base to ride on. The Seboomook trail has even more good snow than the the Jackman trail. Be careful of a couple of soft spots and water hazards on the trail from Jackman. We groomed our trails last night and fixed some difficult spots but be careful and watch out for soft spots. It is currently snowing and we have about 3" of snow since about 7am. just what we need to add to our firm packed surface already
• Kokadjo Trail Report - 1/14/08: No current reports yet for 2008.
• Brownville Trail Report - 1/22/08: Connector 110 south is open, use caution, we are filling most all wet holes but they still might open up again. Connector 110 North was groomed again yesterday and all should be good, although the traffic on this trail on weekends is very heavy. B-Pond is good, there is one wash out up from the Peabody field that we are having problems with but it should be covered now. Lakeview trail just got groomed, more signs put up and some brushing has been done, more to come. Beech Ridge Trail is open to Schoodic.
• Jo-Mary-Katahdin area Trail Report - 2/3/08: All Jo-Mary trails were groomed on Saturday night. Received 5 to 8 inches of snow Friday night on top of a very well groomed smooth and hard base. Riding was excellent on Saturday, and unsurpassed on Sunday with little traffic encountered (see photo of ITS83).
  - 1/15/08: The Katahdin Loop trail to 86, the B Pond Trail, Yoke Pond Trail, the warming hut trail were groomed, 83 North to the 111 connector has been groomed and all are good to excellent. a) South Twin Lake to ITS 86 (Katahdin Loop Troop). b) South Twin to Schoodic Rail Bed (Connector 111). c) B Pond Trail. d) Club Trail.
• Katahdin Region-Millinocket area Trail Report - 1/31/08: Yesterdays warm up and limited rain ended with a quick cool down and a blast of snow at about 5:30 pm. Temps are now in the mid teens and the trails are still flat and now just a bit harder. We will begin grooming the system this morning and continue through tonight until it is complete ahead of Fridays predicted snow and mixed precip. Fridays Storm is predicted to start as as snow, turn to a mix and then back to snow by day break Saturday. Our area is due to recieve in excess of 7 inches of new snow with up to a 1/4 inch of ice is also possilbe. Rest assured the base will be flat and ready for the new snow and if conditions do not justify grooming Friday during the storm we will be out again Saturday and Sunday night.
  - 1/16/08: Grooming went well last night with one exception. Had a cooling system leak that turned back the Cat headed to Whetstone. We covered the lower end of 85/86 east to the Stratton Trail and a portion of the Stratton Trail before that Machine had to turn back! Otherwise we covered most of the system as reported below and conditions are great!
  - 1/15/08: Picked up 6 to 10 inches of new snow system wide. Groomers will be busy tonight and now on a regular schedule on all trails. Expect excellent riding and great views here in the Katahdin Region. See yesterdays report and the pictures below for more detail.
  - 1/14/08: Wow! That’s the least I can say about the riding in the Katahdin Region. I spent the better part of yesterday checking the trails and what I found was just amazing. It cooled down Saturday night, enough to allow us to get the groomers back on the trail, and by Sunday morning with just a few exceptions everything was firm, fast, and flat as a pancake. Add to that, beautiful sunshine and spectacular views of Mount Katahdin and I can’t imagine why everyone wasn’t riding here! A couple of highlights included the fastest, flattest Piston Alley, aka, the Baxter State Park State Road on ITS 86, I have ever seen. The Logan Pond Trail through the Red Pines before Sandy Stream, the triple-decker pallet bridges around the wet spots on the Wild Kingdom Trail/ alt. 83 and the wide open cruising in the Jo-Mary country and it was without a doubt some of the best riding I have done. The good news is it's here to stay. With the exception of the Stacyville road, ITS 85/86 east, (which was plowed until early January) almost all of our trails now have a solid foot of packed snow making up the trail base. Better still, this is not a chunk of ice but a hard snow mass, easily groomed but tough enough to stand a days' hard use. Our only remaining trail issue to keep us from perfection is limited water crossings. Friday and Saturday we took care of all the crossings on the Wild Kingdom Trail, and Sunday we started again on the Pole line, which we will finish today. By the time we are done we will have invested more then 100 pallets and well over 100 man hours to beat back the water in the Twin Pines and Jo-Mary trail systems. In addition to great snow we can now offer you riding that shouldn’t require you to use your sled like a personal watercraft!
• Shin Pond-Bowlin Matagamon Trail Report - 1/22/08: 3 above zero this morning. These are great temperatures to keep our trails in great shape. NOTE: The SCRAGGLY LAKE LOOP will be open only on Saturday and Sundays, it will be closed Monday-Friday due to logging, it is unsafe to share the road, due to the high snow banks and narrow road there will be no sleds allowed on this trail during the workweek. PLEASE show respect and honor this, you will be ticketed if caught on this trail Monday-Friday. NO EXCUSES. We feel fortunate to be able to continue to ride this trail on Saturday and Sunday. ITS 85 Bowlin Camps to Matagamon and North is groomed and in excellent condition. 71D to Grand Lake Seboeis is groomed and in good shape. Club Trail 64 is great. Connector trail 114 to Shin Pond is groomed but we are rerouting 2 miles of trail today (logging is going on here also). You will need to watch for the reroute signs. PLEASE STAY OFF THIS PLOWED ROAD. It is a very steep hill. We need to remember that we are riding on the best trails in the Northeast because the landowner shares the land with us and they need to continue to work their land.
  - 1/16/08: ITS 85 to Bowlin Camps and onto Matgamon Camps and continues North is groomed and in great condition (the cold temps are helping to freeze the water holes that opened up last week). 71D to Grand Lake Seboeis and the Scraggly Lake Loop is groomed and in excellent shape. Connector trail 114 to Shin Pond is open BUT some re-routing is being done this week to avoid the plowed road, please watch for these signs. Club trail 64 is open and groomed with very good conditions. There is still some logging on ITS 85 North of Shin Pond and before Oxbow.
• Jackman Trail Report - 1/30/08: We did receive some rain today but then it changed to freezing rain and then to a little snow. Trails should be great for the weekend. A brand new loop has just been opened up called the sugarcamp loop. Border Riders Club 40 Mile Loop Trail - Lake Trail is marked and open. A minimum of 16 inches of ice as long as you stay on the marked trail. ITS North to Border - One of the most popular trails. Lots of snow and great trails. ITS 88 East to Rockwood - in great shape. ITS 89 South to Eustis - in good shape. A detour has been made. The trail now goes down the mining road due to logging for three weeks. The new trail has been groomed and is in good condition. Armstrong Canada Club Trails - in excellent shape but make sure to have the proper documents for crossing the US/Canada Border. There is a 1 mile stretch of plowed road with very little snow on it. Registration fees if you decide to continue from the first clubhouse are as follows: 1 day pass $50.00, 7 day pass $150.00, Season pass $250.00. All Canadian registrations include insurance. Pittston, Seboomook, Northeast Carry Area - Lots of traffic on this trail as it is a popular destination. Groomed and in good condition. In-Town Trails are in good shape. Trail groomed last night again.
  - 1/21/08: Most riders are calling the trails very good overall. BORDER RIDERS CLUB TRAIL (40 mile loop) - good+. Pittston Farm - good. ITS 89 North is good+. In town trail - fair to good. ITS 88 Rockwood - good. ITS 89 S to Eustis - good.
  - 1/16/08: The lake has been marked, stay on marked trail while crossing Big Wood, other than that all should be good going!
• Bingham Trail Report - 1/16/08: Trails are good - 15-20 inches of snow in the woods with an 8-12 inch base on the trails. Temperatures in the 20's today and single digits this evening. Snow showers expected on and off this week, adding to our existing base.
  - 1/15/08: Before Monday's storm, we had a 8-12 inch base of hard packed snow and we received another 3 to 5 inches of snow Monday. This should set us up nicely for the upcoming holiday weekend. All of ITS 87 from Solon to The Forks and ITS 84 from Solon to Athens will be groomed multiple times by the weekend. Our club trails will also be done by the weekend. These types of conditions are ideal for grooming, so the trails should be fantastic by the weekend. Please be aware that their are a few washouts, but all are easily passable and hopefully they will fill in with this new snow and freeze up with the cold weather that is forecasted.
• The Forks/West Forks/Parlin Pond Trail Report - 1/22/08: Received about 12 inches of new snow last week, and it has helped us get the trails in great shape. Looks like another 2 or 3 inches coming in Tuesday night. All 65 miles of The Forks Trail System are being groomed on each of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, barring any breakdowns. We have a solid 2 feet of snow on the ground, and all trails have a rock hard, flat base that holds up very well to traffic. ITS 86 EAST FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING TOWARD GREENVILLE has great riding. There is a 2 mile section around Mosquito Mountain sharing a plowed road, but there is a good base of hard pack snow on the road. Short Power Line sections are fair to good. ITS 87 SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM has outstanding riding with great views of Bald Mountain and Moxie Lake. PLEASANT POND TRAIL is generally in fine shape with plenty of snow. There is a 1/2 mile section around the south end of the pond that is rough and has water in places. They are easy to get around, but you'll have to "bob & weave" through there. BREAKNECK RIDGE TRAIL TOWARD BLANCHARD AND MONSON is open and groomed. This trail and the Pleasant Pond Trail make a nice loop back to The Forks from Greenville. KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL is open all the way through (Northern Outdoors to West Forks). Very scenic trail with great views of the river. The riding right now is about as good as it gets. Because of the deep snow in the woods, there are many animals using the trails to get around. Numerous deer, moose, coyote and turkey sightings on the trails.
  - 1/16/08: Looks like we received around 6 inches from Monday's storm. This will help to greatly improve the trails, and should put us back on our regular grooming schedule. All 65 miles of The Forks Trail System will be groomed on Tuesday night. Last week's warm temperatures created a number of hazards throughout the trail system, including some exposed rocks/stumps, ice, and water problems. The now colder temps and the new snow will allow the groomer operators to improve/fix most of the problems. However, we urge you to ride with caution at all times. ITS 86 east from Berry's Store heading toward Greenville has a 4 mile section around Mosquito Mountain that is temporarily closed due to active logging. We hope to have this section reopened by the weekend. To get to and from Greenville, use the Pleasant Pond Trail and ITS 87. ITS 87 south toward Bingham is now opened, signed and groomed. Pleasant Pond Trail has decent riding except for a 300 yard stretch around the south end of the pond that is very rough, but easily passable. Breakneck Ridge Trail toward Blanchard and Monson is opened and groomed. Kennebec River Trail is now open all the way through. Bridge at the Pooler Ponds outlet has been completed. Enjoyable riding out there, but be careful of any hazards that may have popped up during last week's warm up. Looks like another good storm coming through on Friday. West Forks: The lake trail to Bulldog Camps (Enchanted Pond) is now open with up to 20 inches of ice. The trail is marked with trees in the ice.
• Aroostook County / Caribou Trail Report - 1/16/08: Caribou Parks and Recreation report: A January thaw has had an impact on trails and sledders need to use extreme caution as snow has condensed and freshets and small streams are still running and have created washes in many areas across the Crown. There have been many reports of stuck sleds. The best thing is to reduce speed and spread out when group riding. Friday will bring a bit of new snow but the storm is a fast mover so it doesn't appear there will be significant accumulation. Overall trail bases are good, and sledders should find good conditions from Millinocket north to the St. John Valley. There are reported problems with some sledders tearing down landowner signs. Remember, most of the trails run on privately owned land. Our ability to ride is a privilege not a right so let's all work together to foster good landowner relations. Which brings us to another reminder... please stay off the plowed road at the north end of St. Froid Lake... and stay on the marked trail. Remember customs at Escourt is not open Saturday nor Sunday and there are no gas stations in the middle of the woods. We have had some hitch hikers. Eagle Lake and Allagash are working to open the Debouille Trail. Please check before venturing out. Speaking of the lakes... they are still not safe. Rain and warm weather have undermined many ice layers so the best bet is to stay off. If you venture out stay to the marked areas the locals have established and don't venture off.
• Oxbow/Masardis Trail Report - 1/14/08: Club trail 71D between ITS 85 and Grand Lake Seboeis is closed due to logging. Trail is expected to open around mid January. Due to the rain and warmer temperatures, the use of Club trail 71A between Oxbow and Ashland is NOT advised. There is thin ice and slush on the Aroostook river. Also, we will not be able to finish signing the trail until the weather turns colder again. The warmer weather and rain this week has softened up the trails. Also, the plowed roads have a lot of ice on them. Another major snowstorm is occurring as of this update. High winds and colder temperatures tonight will cause drifting in open areas. There are several temporary reroutes due to logging operations so pay careful attention to the signs. Both Lane Brook road and 7 mile road south of Oxbow have active trucking. Stay to the south side of the road and hold the speed down.
• Benedicta Trail Report - 1/21/08: All ITS Snowgang trails were groomed on Sat. night, setting it up for the arctic blast on Sunday. ITS 81 - Benedicta/Mattawamkeag Cuttoff will be groomed on Sunday night. ITS 81n - Sherman/ShermanStation - groomed with good conditions. ITS 81/83/70 - groomed with good conditions. ITS 81 - Benedicta/Mattawamkeag Cuttoff is to be groomed on Sunday night -- should set up great with below 0 temps. Please be very aware that deer, moose, and turkeys (the flying kind) are using all trails to get around. Remember that it is illegal to bother these animals in any way, and that you will pay a fine if you do. There is no gas in Benedicta. Closest gas at Kelly's Shell in Sherman. Sherman Irving not pumping from 11 pm to 5 am.
• Rangeley Trail Report - 1/16/08: SNOW DEPTH IN OQUOSSOC: 12 INCHES. TRAIL CONDITIONS: All trails are open and we are on our regular grooming schedule (every trail at every other day and on weekends the busy trails are groomed daily). We received between 2" of snow in Oquossoc and Rangeley and more (4-6") north and east of town. Trails are in GOOD to VERY GOOD condition. The weather is staying cold and freezing up the wash outs on the trails. Rangeley Lake is smooth and frozen solid again. The trail to the summit of East Kennebago Mountain is now open. Look for signs along ITS 89 about a mile after you cross Route 16 (heading toward Eustis) in Langtown. SPECIAL NOTES: LAKE RIDING IS NEVER SAFE! BE CAUTIONS OF THE WASHOUTS ON THE TRAILS-WE ARE WORKING TO GET THEM FILLED. THERE IS A BIG WASHOUT JUST AS YOU LEAVE RANGELEY LAKE AND HEAD UP ON THE TRAIL TOWARD SADDLEBACK INN. IT IS PASSABLE BUT USE CAUTION. THERE IS A HALF MILE SECTION OF ITS 84 ON BALD MOUNTAIN THAT HAS THIN COVER AND WASHOUTS SO IT IS ROUGH. MORE SNOW SHOULD HELP. THERE IS A HOLE IN THE LAKE WHERE THE TRAIL FROM THE CLUBHOUSE RESTAURANT CROSSES ROUTE 4 AND ENDS AT THE LAKE. WE HAVE PLACED A TEMPORARY BRIDGE OVER THE HOLE BUT IT IS NARROW. PLEASE DO NOT RIDE OFF THE TRAIL IN THIS AREA. WATCH OUT FOR LOGGING AND A TRAIL REROUTE ON THE CEDAR SWAMP TRAIL WHERE IT CROSSES BUD RUSSELL ROAD WATCH OUT FOR LOGGING OPERATIONS AND SHORT RE-ROUTINGS ALONG THE TOWN COVE-EAST TRAIL (DEPOT ROAD NEAR THE RANGELEY INN) THERE IS A MAJOR REROUTE OF ITS 89 THIS YEAR; ALL TRAILS NEAR KENNEBAGO LAKE ARE PLOWED AND CLOSED.
• Kingfield Trail Report - 1/16/08: The trails got all re-groomed once the temperatures cooled down after last weeks thaw and we received 3.5 inches of new snow on Monday. The Carrabassett River, ice crossing is OUT do not use it! Signs are up to re-route you across the Rt. 16 Bridge. The high winds have caused some tree blow downs, the clubs volunteers have removed all debris but please be aware new blow downs may occur. New Portland Wire Bridge Club groomed their trails with the fresh snow! 1/15/07. ITS 115 Club TRAIL 1 Black fly loop, North of Town, 1/14 Groomed from the Sled Shed to the Carrabbassett Town Line, then it snowed 3.5 inches. Very Good Conditions on this trail. ITS 115 Club TRAIL 2 Black fly Loop, South of Town, 1/15 Groomed from the Sled Shed out to Chase Farm, 1/5 last groomed to Tuttle corner/ITS 84. Excellent conditions on this trail. The Allen Pinnacle Trail is not yet groomed, very washed out, rough trail. Club TRAIL 3 Millay Hill trail to Sucker Brook/ Lexington trail, 1/16 Pipe dragged with Skandic, 1/5 trail was last Groomed with the BR-400 to the Millay Hill Road, which has a 1/2 Mile of plowed logging road. Trail only goes to the Sucker Brook hookup with Lexington / Highlanders, which leads to Bingham. Plowed road shuts off the Loop trail back to Kingfield. NOTICE: The Carrabbassett River Crossing closed until further notice. A detour has been established to cross the river using the Rt. 16 bridge, follow trail signs. This Trail has a lot of small runoff/waterbar damage from last weeks warm up. Use extreme caution and go slow on this trail until we can get the BR 400 groomer on it. Grooming this week was completed Monday night and Maine is forecasted to receive a Friday Snowstorm. Everything is flat so the snow should pile up nice for a powder ride on Saturday Morning. We will have everything groomed for Sunday! We need your help getting the brush cut back on the trails, if you have a chance bring out your pruning loppers and spend some time brushing!
• Eustis/Stratton - 1/13/08: All trails in the Arnold trail system were groomed over the last two days. The base is hard and set for new snow. Riding is good and will only improve with the new snow on Monday. Canadian Trail isopen and groomed to bugeye mountain. From end of Airport Rd to border will be groomed this week. Use caution over bugeye due to washouts. Jackman/Forks Trail is open and groomed. Rangeley Trail is open and groomed. Carrabasset Trails are open and groomed.
• Newry - 1/22/08: All trails are groomed and the riding is very good. You still need to watch for some waterholes but with this cold weather all should be set up nicely. The river has frozen so you can get from Bethel to Newry over the Mt Will trail and continue on to ITS 82 for a nice ride. Please all remember to stay on marked trails and obey all of the signs. It only takes one to ruin it for everybody.

Other Trail Reports:

Here are some great reports from other winter seasons to wet your appetite and give you some trip planning ideas. During winters when there was so much snow, many areas gave up making reports so they could put all their manpower into dealing with all the new snow.

Check out these previous trail grooming reports:

• 2010 season Snowmobile Trail Reports.
• 2009 season Snowmobile Trail Reports.
• 2008 season Snowmobile Trail Reports.
• 2007 season Snowmobile Trail Reports.