gashog

Thanks- that makes life a lot easier for me.

According to the webmaster of the Club there is a good chance the trail will be open by this weekend. This is according to a post on their Facebook page.

I know 31 Mile lake can be a little touch and go. 2 years ago it was marked as open and we crossed. The next day the QPP pulled us over in Maniwaki to check our passes and took us to a map and explicity said do not cross this trail (322) on 31 Mile. I guess we got lucky as we had done it twice. Anyway, we will be doing our yearly ride the 2nd week of February leaving from the Roddick lake area and would appreciate any crossing updates on this particular lake. Thank you

Thanks to all that responded. Our trip went well, but hit some warm weather. Trails had lots of snow but groomers were unable to get out and it caused some seriously poor trail conditions in some sections. I agree with all the comments. The UP was soo busy on a Saturday we waited in line 30 minutes to gas up. Yet, at times the trails were so wide and fast I think only the far north of Quebec (Parent to Clova) could compare. There were sections I found myself bored doing 80MPH the trails were so straight and at times easily hit 100 plus MPH. I would also say another difference I noticed was that the UP trails seemed to lack a lot of the up and downs. In other words very flat. That is either good or bad based on personal preference. I was happy with the trip, but can't say I would choose it over Quebec but it was darn good.

Hi, We do a trip every year in Quebec in the Maniwaki area and head north as I have have a lakehouse in the area. This year as always was good. However, I have a chance to do a second trip in the UP of Michigan I have tried to find out the major differences between the two areas but nothing conclusive. I suspect MI is just much slower due to the amount of traffic. Anybody have anything else to add? just looking for differences...

This was a unique year with the rain then freeze that made those roads harder than normal. My friend made it in with 2wd Tacomoa pulling a sled. Interesting roads yes..but not really all that difficult. I agree though you have to pay to play.

This is a pretty decent map that has lodges and hotels marked. You can look at the trails and mileage and pick lodges to call that make sense. http://www.woodrunnertrail.ca/PDF/Carte_sentiers.pdf 100 lacs, Balbuzzard all up in that area as well

North of Mont Laurier you very quickly can see Devil's Mountain and Windigo falls on your way North. Last week we stopped at Fer De Chaval outfitter up trail 13 and had lunch. It was very nice and I would guess maybe 100 miles from Mont Laurier. Once there you are about 40-50 miles to Parent. Our plan before the rain hit and messed stuff up was to leave from Maniwaki and sled to Fer De Chaval for the night. The next day put in a very long haul from Fer De Chaval to Parent then Clova and back down to Rabaska lodge. I think the the total 3 day trip (back to Maniwaki) was about 800kms 450-500 miles. Bottom line though is the trails are great starting in Mont Laurier and heading North. Pick a few dates, call the outfitters and make sure they have rooms and you can't lose.

We planned to leave from about 20kms south of Maniwaki (Bouchette) on Feb 2nd, but upon arriving realized there really was no way to ride from there after the rain and then freezing conditions. We called around and lucked into a cabin at Notawissi outfitter north of Saint Anne Du lac. From there the trails were pretty darn good considering. Some ice spots but the groomers had been out and did a good job of breaking the ice up. We did various day trips to Devils Mountain, Fer de Chaval (Sp?), Club Scott, Mekoos and up the trails towards Clova. All in all the trails were good. Maniwaki got hit with abouot 3-4 inches on Friday (8th) and we saw folks sledding all over there and I assume the trails are decent there now. We got hit with the coldest week I can recall in a long time though. Minus 20-30 celcius most mornings and some real windy, made for a lot of warm up stops. If your planning to hit that area the trails are good again.

We were suppose to stay at my lakehouse close to Maniwaki but the trails were not passible. We headed North and got a cabin at Notawissi. Trails here are good and get better going North. The line is around Ferme Neuve. Now we got about 2-3 inches Tuesday night so if Maniwaki got that it should at least be ok. They are calling for 5 inches or so for this Sunday.

The line is at about Ferme Neuve. Mont Laurier is ok but icy, North about 15 miles the trails are solid again. They got about 3 inches this week and the trails are all pretty solid now. This Sunday it will be great as they are calling for 10cm's of snow.

This just in from Les Ours Blanc - The trail system through Maniwaki close to Mont Laurier. All the trails could be icy. Trails on lakes are icy and you can also drive through water spot. On lakes, stay inside the marked posts. Be carefull!

Hey Crazysnow, Too bad we won't be seeing you boys on this years trip. It was fun last year, although I am told the bar in Ferme Neuve is now closed. I upgraded to an Apex this year, but my brother is still rock'n Mach1. He had the whole engine removed and rebuilt this year. Crazy

I am flying in from Texas tomorrow and some friends are driving in from Ohio. Hard to cancel at this point. Any update from someone in the area on just how bad the trails were hit with yesterdays rain? Are we going to have a nice relaxing week in a hotel? Some are saying with todays freeze the trails will pure ice and completely closed. Anybody have some info? Thank you

We are doing a similar circuit starting Feb 3. Leaving just south of Maniwaki (Bouchette) and heading up to Fer De Chavalle (sp?) day one, from there through Parent, over to Clova and down to Club Rabaska on the resevoir and back to Bouchette. Even funnier, 3 of my riding partners are driving up from Ohio and I am flying in from Dallas. Plus one local friend.