Northern: Upper Penninsula Trails

[Todd Scott]

Post trail conditions and problem reports for all trails in the Upper Penninsula

[bikesatori]

Whole lot o snow.

[bikesatori]

Drying out in most places, still a lot of spots to walk though. - supposed to be mid 70s on wednesday!! Does anybody else on this forum ride around the Marquette/Ishpeming area?

[bikesatori]

Excellent! In the 60s-low70s last couple of days, although rain is seen in the future. Trees are almost leaving, and the bugs aren't bad yet. That's too bad I seem to be talking to myself in this thread. We need more MMBA representation and participation in the UP!

[Todd Scott]

[We are working with a few UP groups to share more trail info and work together. It's a noted deficiency that we're addressing.]

[bikersam]

The trails in Copper Harbor are 100% open and are in great condition. Mostly hardpack between the bedrock, dry but not dusty. Great trail cohesiveness right now. Volunteers constantly hard at work fine tuning the trails to make it oh so much nicer. Buckle your chin strap and expereince some of the most challenging singletrack in all of Michigan!

[bikesatori]

Trails are excellent all over UP - Copper Harbor, Marquette/Negaunee/Ishpeming, Munising, H/H, etc.
And, Fall is rolling in - small signs are arriving, leaves are turning. Perfect weather for hitting the trails!

[bikesatori]

Last day for Marquette Mountain chair-lift biking is tomorrow- 10/03!!

[bikesatori]

Copper Harbor Trail system has quite a number of windfalls crossing the trails. The water level is also waaay up and there are quite a few "backcountry" river crossings w/out bridges, so be prepared to take off the shoes and get wet carrying your bike accross some rapids. French Annie trail is a giant swamp too.

[haapf]

!!!!!!!Benson Grade rocked today!!!!!! The hike up was kinda snowy. I was preparing myself to get to the top and find muddy trails. Instead, they were nice and hard packed (with the exception of a puddle or two) and then just covered with leaves. My god did it feel great to get out again. The warm up trail (I don't know the name) just up the road was pretty much ready to go too. It had one puddle and a snowy patch left, the rest was dry.

Dirt jumps will be ready by the end of next week!

[michiganclydesdale]

Bikesatori, I hear you when you post here - I don't live in the UP, but I do spend some time there. Besides the O2S & Superior Fest, I spend other time there when on business. I like the Harlow lakes trails, North side of Marquette Mountain fire road, and some stuff up near Big Bay. I also stay with a buddy in Gwinn, and there's an awesome ORV trail down near the horseshoe lake campground (near the charlie lakes).

I like reading your posts about what's going on up there!

[Jibbs_02]

I rode Split-tree Upper today April 15 and it was mostly dry. There was some slippery mud in sections and a very little bit of snow. The main problem was the leaves. There were lots of leaves covering the trail which hide rocks and holes but also make it hard to slow down on the technical descents. The drops seem steeper now than last year but that might just be in my head. However all that was worth it when I got to the fast downhill section with the big banked turns. You’re going so fast that all you see is a blur and you hit this big 8 foot tall, steep bank and have only a split second to adjust for the next one. Then it goes into a steep valley and back up the other side.
Anyways, If you don’t know the trail that well take along someone who does because the leaves can hide the trail. Happy riding and get out and enjoy this unseasonably warm weather.

[haapf]

What the heck happened? I went to Mt. Marquette today (carp river area) expecting the lovely singletrack that used to cover that place, I was also hoping for the beautiful stunts that were build out there. Instead, I get the "Noquemenon Trail Network," no singletrack, and an occasional log to roll over. The once great singletrack is now a freaking highway for bikes. You can ride almost 3 abreast down their "singletrack" This was very dissapointing. There are fire roads, logging roads, random 2-tracks, and the bike path for those that can't handle singletrack. Why ruin a good thing?

[Da Yooper]

They cleaned up a lot of the stuff around Mqt. Mt. There is still some single track though. The Noque trail network is taking over everything around here. I think they are doing some good though; making trails a little safer for inexperienced people, marking the trails better,which was much needed! It's all in the name of progress and marketing this place towards the weekend warriors ( trolls ), I guess.

[haapf]

I love the markings, nice and easy to read with actual maps so you don't get lost. That is great, but I don't like how they widened the trails. I guess it will be nice for the weekend warriors though. I will just have to do more exploring now, or stay over at Benson.