Winter Trail Report: Ely MN – February 21

Thanks to the Ely Chamber for sharing the latest trail reports. And if you’re heading up – we suggest you stay at the Timber Bay Lodge!

Snowmobile Trails

The 26 mile Stony Spur was groomed Wednesday night and is in good to excellent condition.

Taconite Spur from Babbitt to Ely was groomed on Tuesday night and is in good to excellent condition.

The Bear Island Lake trail was groomed on Tuesday night—strong winds have blown the fresh snow across the trail.

The Tomahawk Trail & Local Trails: All trails will be groomed again before the weekend. Expect good conditions.

The Taconite State Trail and local snowmobile trails – With the recent snowfall and cooler temperatures trails are in good condition with a 1-4 inch base.

Bear Island State Forest – The Putnam and Fishing Lakes Trails traverse forested, rolling topography through birch, ash, and pine stands. Several small lakes dot the landscape along these scenic trails.

Cross Country Ski Trails

The Hidden Valley Cross Country Ski Trails – There are over 15 kilometres of trails groomed and tracked at Hidden Valley. No Current Report. Please, no dogs on this trail.

The Birch Lake White Pine Plantation, – is groomed and conditions are excellent for classic skiing.

The Babbitt Golf Course Trails are groomed and tracked for both skate and classic. Conditions are excellent for both classic and skating.

The Bear Head State Park Trails – are machine groomed and accommodate both beginner and expert skiers. Norberg, campground and beach trails were groomed on 2/14. Trails are in fair to good condition due to the warm weather and rain last week. Watch for icy portions of the trail.

The North Junction Trails – The additional few inches of snow have been great for these trails. It has reduced the iciness and the trails are back in really nice shape.

The North Arm Trail – Because they are not machine groomed, they can be challenging at times even for intermediate-skilled skiers. Users should check on current ice conditions and proceed with caution on the lakes as ice conditions can change rapidly. The North Arm Trails were severely made worse this past week by melting temperatures and rain. However, it is currently snowing and this should improve the skiing conditions –hopefully back close to the great conditions we’ve had this winter up till a few days ago.

Trezona Trail –is groomed for classic and skate skiing and is in nice shape. (Dogs are allowed.)

Silver Rapids Trail – groomed by the weekend.

The Bear Island XC Ski trail – groomed by the weekend.