Trail Report Update January 4, 2025
Latest trail report from Dwight Kimber!
It's been a busy week with heavy traffic. Overall, the trails are holding up well. Our most challenging trail to keep up with so far has been 7N out of Star Lake. The amount of traffic on this main corridor has made it nearly impossible to keep flat. Another batch of fresh wet snow will most welcome.
We are grooming nightly, and will continue until the temps get above freezing as projected later this week. The 4-6" of new snow expected tonight will be very helpful if it has any moisture in it. Dry fluffy snow does not help at all as it will not stick.
Wednesday and Thursday appear to be our most challenging days this week with temps pushing 40 and at least partial sunshine. Our best hope to salvage the base is for people to refrain from riding during those warmer days. If that happens, we should be in really good shape again by next weekend when temps drop back down.
Plum and Star lakes are now marked. They are bumpy, but rideable. Please stay along the marked route.
Apparently, we have to keep reminding people to slow down for corners. If you aren't able to keep your sled on your side of the trail, you're going too fast and putting the safety of others at risk! If you feel the need to show off the speed of your sled, save it for the lakes. SAFETY TRUMPS EGO!
Ride RIght & Ride Safe!
Mark your calendars for these upcoming Barnstormer events:
Saturday, January 10 – Brats on the trail at TIN #217 from 10:00 – 4:00.
Saturday, January 17 – Breakfast at Stillwaters from 8:00 – 11:00.
Saturday, February 7 – Chili dump at The Murm from 2:00 – 5:00.
Sunday, February 15 – Pizza fundraiser at Hillside Tavern from 4:00 – 8:00.
Saturday, March 14 – Drawing for Snowmobile Raffle at Sayner Pub at 5:00!
December 29, 2025
Latest trail report from Dwight Kimber!
Thank you all for your snow dances! Last night's storm dumped about 14" in our area. The first half was heavy wet snow, followed by dry powder. While we need heavy wet stuff on the trails, it also caused a considerable amount of damage. There are limbs & trees down throughout our entire system.
The initial intent was to get out and groom today and tonight. However, we won't be pulling the groomers out until we get through the whole system to clear trees. Once that's done, we'll follow up with the groomers. This is going to take some time, so please be patient with us.
If anyone is venturing out with their sleds today, be aware there may be sections of trail that are unpassable until trees are cleared. Feel free to strap on a chainsaw and give us a hand while you're out there. Any help we can get today will be very much appreciated. Once this is done, the trails are going to be amazing!!!
Ride RIght & Ride Safe!
Mark your calendars for these upcoming Barnstormer events:
Wednesday, December 31 – Breakfast at Sayner Pub from 9:00 – Noon. Blessing of the sleds at 12:30 under the arch.
Saturday, January 10 – Brats on the trail at TIN #217 from 10:00 – 4:00.
Saturday, January 17 – Breakfast at Stillwaters from 8:00 – 11:00.
Saturday, February 7 – Chili dump at The Murm from 2:00 – 5:00.
Sunday, February 15 – Pizza fundraiser at Hillside Tavern from 4:00 – 8:00.
Saturday, March 14 – Drawing for Snowmobile Raffle at Sayner Pub at 5:00!
December 26, 2025
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Here’s the latest trail report from Dwight Kimber! As Dwight mentioned, snow should be coming so please don’t ride aggressively to help preserve our trails. Looking forward to the Blessing of the Sleds and Breakfast at the Sayner Pub on Wednesday!
The weather is currently not our friend. We've got above freezing temps forecast today through Sunday. The good news is that we are expecting snow Sunday night into Monday and the temps look like they'll be dropping and staying low for next week.
The Barnstormers have been out these past couple days and have groomed the majority of our system. There is limited snow cover, but most of the system is flat and rideable. Corners are going to be extremely icy right now and potentially hazardous. We will likely suspend grooming over the weekend until more snow arrives.
The warm temps these next three days won't hurt us too badly, unless there is heavy traffic. The damage from riding on soft trails won't be fixable without a decent amount of snow. If you are going to ride during these warmer days, please, please, please refrain from being too aggressive!
We do have one section that is down to the dirt and should be completely avoided! Trail 6-9-11 between TIN 204 and 225 is NOT RIDEABLE. Please stay off of this section until we get more snow!
Both Plum and Star have been reported to have 8" - 12" of ice. We are told that they'll be marked as soon as there is enough snow to secure the barrels. It is still recommended to stay off the lakes until they are marked.
Ride RIght & Ride Safe!
Mark your calendars for these upcoming Barnstormer events:
Wednesday, December 31 – Breakfast at Sayner Pub from 9:00 – Noon. Blessing of the sleds at 12:30 under the arch.
Saturday, January 10 – Brats on the trail at TIN #217 from 10:00 – 4:00.
Saturday, January 17 – Breakfast at Stillwaters from 8:00 – 11:00.
Saturday, February 7 – Chili dump at The Murm from 2:00 – 5:00.
Sunday, February 15 – Pizza fundraiser at Hillside Tavern from 4:00 – 8:00.
Saturday, March 14 – Drawing for Snowmobile Raffle at Sayner Pub at 5:00!
December 21, 2025
It's a good thing we didn't listen to all the naysayers that said we opened too early and that the trails would be trashed after one day!
Every sledder I spoke to over the weekend talked about how good the trails were! My wife & I road yesterday & hit trails in Sayner, Star Lake, Conover, Phelps & Land O' Lakes. Even though it's a very thin base, it was all fairly flat and so much fun! We even saw Santa out on his Scorpion. I heard the same reports from people who rode in the St. Germain, Boulder Junction and Presque Isle sytems.
Yes, we do need more snow, for sure. Without it, we'll begin to see more icy conditions as traffic increases over the holiday week. For now, don't hesitate to go out and enjoy what we have.
The Barnstormers will be grooming on a very limited basis until we get more snow. Excessive grooming right now will do more damage than good. Start doing your snow dances!!
Ride RIght & Ride Safe!
Mark your calendars for these upcoming Barnstormer events:
Wednesday, December 31 – Breakfast at Sayner Pub from 9:00 – Noon. Blessing of the sleds at 12:30 under the arch.
Saturday, January 10 – Brats on the trail at TIN #217 from 10:00 – 4:00.
Saturday, January 17 – Breakfast at Stillwaters from 8:00 – 11:00.
Saturday, February 7 – Chili dump at The Murm from 2:00 – 5:00.
Sunday, February 15 – Pizza fundraiser at Hillside Tavern from 4:00 – 8:00.
Saturday, March 14 – Drawing for Snowmobile Raffle at Sayner Pub at 5:00!
T
TRAIL REPORTS & NEWS
TRAIL REPORT 2/23/2021
Riding reports over the past weekend were very good, even as the temps began to rise. We are still grooming nightly. Since we are not always able to hit our entire system every night, we're usually getting to each trail at least every other night. We've received a…
TRAIL REPORT 2/18/2021
Thanks to everyone who attended our pizza fundraiser at Hillside Tavern & Grill last weekend. Whenever you visit them, please tell Achille that you appreciate her support of the Sayner Star Lake Barnstormers….
TRAIL REPORT 2/10/2021
The Barnstormer trail system remains in overall good condition since the 10+ inch snowfall last week. It really helped to fill in many of the ruts & holes we'd been dealing with. The extreme cold temps and high traffic have …
TRAIL REPORT 2/5/2021
We finally got the much needed snow we've been waiting so long for! Yesterday brought us 10"+. Our groomers will be out nightly. It's probably going to take a few passes to get the base packed solid. The forecast is calling for daytime highs near …
TRAIL REPORT 2/3/2021
It looks like all of your snow dances could pay off! As of this morning, the forecast is 6-8" throughout the day tomorrow and into Friday. This would make a vast improvement to our current trail conditions. Keep your fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted…
TRAIL REPORT 1/26/2021
We've got some good news to report! The Oneida county trail system is opening at noon today (1/26/2021). Their lake routes remain closed until they are clearly marked and trails are considered to be in rough, early season condition. Please get out and support …
TRAIL REPORT 1/24/2021
Last night's snowfall brought us 3-5" of fresh snow. This was a much need boost to our trail conditions. There are still some rough areas, but overall good conditions. We'll be grooming as much as we can….
TRAIL REPORT 1/20/2021
All of the Sayner Star Lake Barnstormer trails have been groomed in the past few days. We are still waiting on Mother Nature to give us something to work with. Until then, most of our system remains in fair condition. You can find many areas that aren't bad to ride, but there is minimal base. The worst conditions are in the areas where…
32nd Badger State Games & Torch Run
The Sayner Barnstormers participated in the Badger State Games 2021 Snowmobile Torch Run. The two-day event included 14 snowmobile clubs in 4…