2018 Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine

Multiple spring snowstorms set us up for epic spring riding! Read on for a recap of the 2018 snowmobiling season at Northern Outdoors in The Forks, Maine.

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine March 27

With daytime temps in the high 40’s and night time temps in the low teens we’ve been able to continue grooming operations by night and enjoy comfortable riding conditions during the day.

We groomed the entire trail system Monday night and it is in generally good shape! If weather permits we will groom Friday and Saturday nights. There’s still plenty of riding to be had once you get out from the trailheads and in-town access points.. . . . Enjoy the last few days of the season, we will be closing the lodge after lunch on Sunday, April 1st.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
Intown is quite rough. Once out of town just a mile, things improve greatly. Power Line section near Moxie Pond is good. There is a 1 mile stretch of shared, plowed road at Moxie Pond . . . Go easy through there.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Fine ride all the way through. Take ITS 87 south to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail, then loop back around onto the Pleasant Pond Trail and back to The Forks. This is a great 65 mile loop with spectacular scenery around Moxie Mountain. Ride right under the 300’ tall wind towers! (see more: recommended rides)

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Good snow cover. Decent all the way from the Bingham Wind Farm Trail back to ITS 87.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Good snow cover. Nice going all the way through.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Open and groomed all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

VIDEO TRAIL UPDATE – Thursday, March 29

Tune into Zach’s last snowmobile trail conditions report for the 2018 snowmobiling season. Trails in The Forks, Maine are holding up pretty well to the spring weather with the best snowmobiling on The Pleasant Pond Trail and the Bald Mountain Trail… also currently the best way to ride to Greenville and Moosehead Lake. Groomers will be out Friday and Saturday nights for the final weekend of snowmobiling in The Forks. Thanks for another great winter season at Northern Outdoors!

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine March 20

Welcome to the first day of spring and some of the best late season riding we’ve seen in years. Plenty of snow, temperatures down in the low teens at night allows great grooming and setup, and moderate temps during the day for comfortable riding. We groomed the entire trail system Monday night and it is in great condition! For the rest of the week we will be grooming Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. All sections have plenty of snow and the riding is pretty awesome . . . . Enjoy it while it lasts!

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
Intown gets beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve greatly. Power Line section near Moxie Pond is good. There is a 1 mile stretch of shared, plowed road at Moxie Pond . . . Go easy through there.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Fine ride all the way through. Take ITS 87 south to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail, then loop back around onto the Pleasant Pond Trail and back to The Forks. This is a great 65 mile loop with spectacular scenery around Moxie Mountain. Ride right under the 300’ tall wind towers! (see more: recommended rides)

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Good snow cover. Decent all the way from the Bingham Wind Farm Trail back to ITS 87.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Good snow cover. Nice going all the way through.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Open and groomed all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine March 13

Forecast is for 12″+ of snow from the Tuesday / Wednesday storm. Groomers will be out Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. All sections have plenty of snow and the riding is pretty awesome . . . . Enjoy it while it lasts!

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
Intown gets beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve. Good riding all the way to the ITS 88 intersection.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Fine ride all the way through. Take ITS 87 south to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail, then loop back around onto the Pleasant Pond Trail and back to The Forks. This is a great 65 mile loop with spectacular scenery around Moxie Mountain. Ride right under the 300’ tall wind towers! (see more: recommended rides)

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Good snow cover. Decent all the way from the Bingham Wind Farm Trail back to ITS 87.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Good snow cover. Nice going all the way through.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Open and groomed all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine March 9

Received 12+ inches of fresh snow from the Wednesday/Thursday storm. Both Tuckers were out Thursday night and groomed the entire trail system, except the Bald Mountain Trail (will be groomed Friday night). Groomers will be out both Friday and Saturday nights as well. All sections have plenty of snow and fine riding. It will be a good weekend to get out on the trails!

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
Intown gets beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve. Good riding all the way to the ITS 88 intersection.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Fine ride all the way through. Take ITS 87 south to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail, then loop back around onto the Pleasant Pond Trail and back to The Forks. This is a great 65 mile loop with spectacular scenery around Moxie Mountain. Ride right under the 300’ tall wind towers!

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Good snow cover. Decent all the way from the Bingham Wind Farm Trail back to ITS 87.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Good snow cover. Nice going all the way through.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Open and groomed all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine March 1

Warm temperatures and a strong sun this week have degraded our trails further. We will not be grooming until we get some more snow, possibly next Wednesday. Good news is that the trails are hard and flat. The trails are down to the very solid base that was established early in the season, and don’t get bumped up with traffic. Bad news is that there are icy spots, with some bare ground in places. Trails are all passable. Some sections are good, some are very poor where you have to “bob & weave” to stay on snow. Please read the report carefully to find out where the best snow and riding is. There are sections you want to avoid . . . . particularly ITS 86 between The Forks and Moxie Pond. You can get out and find enjoyable riding, but you have to pick your spots.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section is beat up, but passable. Some bare spots and ice till the Boise Road. Hodges Road section around Mosquito Mountain is in very poor shape and has a number of bare spots and ice. Again, all passable with some “bobbing & weaving”, but not particularly pleasant. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Pond is rough. There is a 1 mile section of plowed road around Moxie Pond . . . . . down to dirt/mud most of the way. Snow conditions are good from Moxie Pond all the way to the ITS 88 intersection and on to Greenville or Rockwood.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Some corners on the Divide Road section and heading to Pleasant Pond are getting bare. The riding south to the Caratunk Spur is ok. From the spur south has numerous bare spots. The 1 mile windswept section on the south side of Moxie Mountain is bare, but passable off to the side.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Good snow cover. Nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Good snow cover. Decent all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and passable.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Open all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. Just a few bare corners. The big hill off the Flood Road is down to bare ground for about 20 yards.

***To travel from The Forks to Greenville, the recommended route is ITS 87 south to the Pleasant Pond Trail. Go east on the Pleasant Pond Trail then head north on the Bald Mountain Trail to ITS 86. Then head east on ITS 86 to Greenville. This is a little longer than taking ITS 86 all the way. But the snow cover and riding conditions are much better. You will avoid the 4 miles of very thin snow and bare spots on the Hodges Road section of ITS 86 around Mosquito Mountain. Also avoids the Power Line section and 1 mile of plowed road (down to dirt/mud) around Moxie Pond.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine February 27

We received 3” of snow on Sunday. Trails are still thin in some spots. Groomers are out doing what we can with what we have. Good news is that the trails are hard and flat. Bad news is that there are icy spots, with some bare ground in places. Trails are all passable. Some sections are good, some are poor where you have to “bob & weave” to stay on snow. Certainly not mid-winter conditions but, if you want to get out and ride and enjoy the scenery, you can. Just be careful out there.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section is beat up, but passable. Once out of town a couple miles, things improve somewhat. Some bare spots and ice till the Boise Road. Hodges Road section around Mosquito Mountain has a number of bare spots and ice. Again, all passable with some “bobbing & weaving”. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Pond is rough. There is a 1 mile section of plowed road around Moxie Pond . . . . . . very icy and scratchy through there. Snow conditions are good from Moxie Pond all the way to the ITS 88 intersection and on to Greenville.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Some corners on the Divide Road section are getting bare. The riding south to the Caratunk Spur is ok. From the spur south is thin in spots with ice. The 1 mile windswept section on the south side of Moxie Mountain is bare and icy, but passable off to the side.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Good snow cover. Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Good snow cover. Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Open all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. Just a very few bare corners. The big hill off the Flood Road is icy . . . . Get a good head of steam going up it and keep to the side.

***To travel from The Forks to Greenville, the recommended route is ITS 87 south to the Pleasant Pond Trail. Go east on the Pleasant Pond Trail then head north on the Bald Mountain Trail to ITS 86. Then head east on ITS 86 to Greenville. This is a little longer than taking ITS 86 all the way. But the snow cover and riding conditions are much better. You will avoid the 4 miles of thin snow cover on the Hodges Road section of ITS 86 around Mosquito Mountain. Also avoids the Power Line section and 1 mile of plowed road around Moxie Pond.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine February 23

Trails took a beating with the recent warm weather. Seasonal temperatures have returned and groomers are out doing what we can with what we have. Good news is that the trails have solidified FLAT. Bad news is that they are very hard and icy, with some bare ground in places. Trails are all passable. Some sections are good, some are poor where you have to “bob & weave” to stay on snow. Certainly not mid-winter conditions but, if you want to get out and ride and enjoy the scenery, you can. Just be careful with the ice.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section is beat up, but passable. Once out of town just a mile, things improve somewhat. Some bare spots and ice till the Boise Road. Hodges Road section around Mosquito Mountain has a number of bare spots and ice. Again, all passable with some “bobbing & weaving”. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Pond is rough. There is a 1 mile section of plowed road around Moxie Pond . . . . . .  very icy and scratchy through there. Snow conditions improve from Moxie Pond all the way to the ITS 88 intersection.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Some corners on the Divide Road section are getting bare. The riding up to Moore’s Bog is fair. From Moore’s Bog south is thin in spots with ice. The 1 mile windswept section on the south side of Moxie Mountain is bare and icy, but passable off to the side.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Still has good snow cover. Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Still has good snow cover. Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Open all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. Just a very few bare corners, but icy. The big hill off the Flood Road is very icy. BECAUSE OF THIS IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT ONLY EXPERIENCED RIDERS WITH PICKS USE THIS TRAIL.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine February 20

Trails are in fine shape with good riding everywhere. Temperatures will be warming up over the next 2 days. Consequently, we will not be grooming on Tuesday or Wednesday due to high temperatures. We will resume grooming on Thursday and both Tuckers will be out every night right through the weekend. We’ll have to wait and see how the warm temperatures and traffic affect the trail. We hope to get things smoothed out after temps cool off on Thursday.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section can get beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve. Boise Road section is great. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Pond is rough. There is a 1 mile section of shared road around Moxie Pond . . . go easy through there. From Moxie Pond all the way to the ITS 88 intersection is very good.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Groomed and very good riding. Spectacular, scenic ride around the base of rugged Moxie Mountain! Head out on ITS 87 south around the mountain, hit the Wind Farm Trail, and return on the Pleasant Pond Trail . . . .  a beautiful 65 mile loop ride!
See more: great rides.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail. A sweet ride to the 300′ wind towers.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Groomed with fine riding all the way through from Northern Outdoors to West Forks.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Grooming the trails with Jim

 

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine February 15

Trails are in fine shape with good riding everywhere. We will be stepping up grooming shifts a bit over the next 10 days, to keep up with the increased traffic from school vacation week.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section can get beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve. Boise Road section is great. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Pond is fine. There is a 1 mile section of shared road around Moxie Pond . . . go easy through there. From Moxie Pond all the way to the ITS 88 intersection is very good.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Groomed and very good riding. Spectacular, scenic ride around the base of rugged Moxie Mountain! Head out on ITS 87 south around the mountain, hit the Wind Farm Trail, and return on the Pleasant Pond Trail… a beautiful 65 mile loop ride! See more: great rides.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail. A sweet ride to the 300′ wind towers.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Groomed with fine riding all the way through from Northern Outdoors to West Forks.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Tour the Trails with Zach

 

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine February 7

It’s been snowing hard most of the afternoon in The Forks. We are expecting 8”- 12” total by the time the storm winds down late tonight / early Thursday morning (scroll down for total snow accumulation update below.) This will be just what our groomers need to fix up the rough spots that needed more snow. Both Tuckers will be out Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights smoothing things out. Should be great riding with mid-winter conditions.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section can get beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve. Boise Road section is great. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Lake should be fine after this storm. From Moxie Lake all the way to the ITS 88 intersection is very good.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Groomed and very good riding. Spectacular, scenic ride around the base of Moxie Mountain!

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail. A sweet ride to the 300′ wind towers.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Groomed with decent riding all the way through from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. A little rough for the last mile as you approach town. The trail is flooded near Northern Outdoors due to an ice jam on the river. There is a detour which is well marked.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine February 2

Generally speaking trails are in good shape. Could use more snow on woods trails. Sections of trail on unplowed roads are in very good shape. Some corners are developing ice, so be careful.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section is still a little thin in places and gets beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve. Boise Road section is great. On the section going around Mosquito Mountain, there are a couple ditches that the groomers haven’t been able to fill completely. Go easy through there. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Lake is rough. From Moxie Lake all the way to the ITS 88 intersection is very good.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Groomed and very good riding. A little thin and icy in spots for about 1 mile going around the windswept area on the south side of Moxie Mountain. (Check out Luke’s recent ride up to the Moxie Mountain Overlook.)

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail. A sweet ride!

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Groomed with decent riding all the way through from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. A little rough for the last mile as you approach town. The trail is flooded near Northern Outdoors due to an ice jam on the river. There is a detour which is well marked.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine January 24

The recent Monday night / Tuesday storm gave us 5″ of snow, then some sleet and freezing rain, and finally a little plain old rain on top. With colder temperatures, groomers went out Wednesday and report that trails are smoothing out very nicely. Both Tuckers will be operating Thurs, Friday and Saturday nights. Overall trail conditions are very good.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
In town section is still a little thin in places and gets beat up quickly with the heavy traffic. Once out of town just a mile, things improve. The 1 mile Power Line section near Moxie Lake is rough. The logging operation just north of the Shirley Road has moved out. We have opened up and groomed ITS 86 all the way through to the ITS 88 intersection. Good going all the way to ITS 88.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Groomed and very good riding. A little thin and icy in spots for about 1 mile going around the windswept area on the south side of Moxie Mountain (check out Luke’s recent ride up to the Moxie Mountain Overlook.)

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail. A sweet ride!

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Groomed with decent riding all the way through from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. No major ice/rut issues on the trail. The trail is flooded near Northern Outdoors due to an ice jam on the river. There is a detour which is well marked.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine January 18

Trail photo from our neighbors in grooming, Coburn Summit Riders Trail Update

Everything has frozen up hard after the rains of a few days ago. Lost quite a bit of our snowpack, but still a good base on the trails. Trails are hard. We had an inch or so of snow on Wednesday to help with lubrication. Most sections are decent riding. Biggest issue is water that pooled on the trail, then were ridden through by sleds. These spots are now frozen, rutted messes. All are easy to get around, but you have to ride carefully as you can come up on these icy spots quickly. Most of these frozen, rutted spots are on the 5 mile trail section of ITS 86/87, between town and the Boise Road. All other trail sections are fair to good riding.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE
Quite a few areas where water pooled and refroze after the rain, from town out to the Boise Road. Worst section is the last mile before the Boise Road. Numerous frozen, rutted spots. All easy to get around, but be careful. We will not be grooming the 5 mile section from town to the Boise Road until we get a significant snowstorm (6”+). Groomers can’t do anything with what is there now. From the Boise Road heading east toward Greenville is fair to good. The logging operation just north of the Shirley Road has moved out. We have opened up and groomed ITS 86 all the way through to the ITS 88 intersection.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM
Groomed and fair to good riding. A little thin and icy in spots for about 1 mile going around the south side of Moxie Mountain.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL
Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL
Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail. Decent ride.

CARATUNK SPUR
Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL
Groomed with decent riding all the way through from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. No major ice/rut issues on the trail. The trail is flooded near Northern Outdoors due to an ice jam on the river. There is a detour which is well marked.

The rain hurt, but there is still some fine riding to be had! Should be a nice weekend to be on the trails, with temps in the 30’s.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Snowmobile Club
The Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine January 11

We have solved our fuel icing issues with the groomers. Both have been running fine this week. All trail sections have been groomed and all sections are in good to excellent conditions. Looks like some rain coming through on Friday. Any rain should be easily absorbed by the deep snowpack we have. Things are forecast to cool off again on Saturday, so the groomers will be back out on the trails again on Saturday night.

ITS 86 FROM BERRYS STORE HEADING EAST TOWARD GREENVILLE. Good shape all the way to the Shirley Road. Power Line section at Moxie Pond is fine. ITS 86 from the Shirley Road heading east toward Greenville is closed due to logging. Per request of the landowner . . . NO SLEDS THROUGH THERE PLEASE! We are hoping to open this section next week.

ITS 87 HEADING SOUTH TOWARD BINGHAM. Groomed and in fine shape all the way.

BALD MOUNTAIN TRAIL. Groomed with nice going all the way through.

PLEASANT POND TRAIL. Groomed all the way to the Bingham Wind Farm Trail. Great ride!

CARATUNK SPUR. Open and groomed.

KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL. Groomed with fine riding all the way through from Northern Outdoors to West Forks. The trail is flooded near Northern Outdoors due to an ice jam on the river. There is a detour which is well marked.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Club
Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Check out video of Zach exploring the Kennebec River ice jam and here are a few photos of the ice taking out the bridge:

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine January 6

We received about 14″ of snow from the storm on Thursday. Both groomers went out on Friday. Slow going with lots of drifting snow. We were able to get all our ITS trails groomed for the weekend.

Groomed:

• ITS 86 from Berry’s Store in West Forks, heading east as far as Moxie Pond. ITS 86 EAST OF MOXIE POND HEADING TOWARD GREENVILLE IS CLOSED DUE TO LOGGING. The operation is scheduled to be finished up in mid-January.
• ITS 87 south to our turnaround with Bingham.
• Caratunk Spur.
• Kennebec River Trail from Northern Outdoors to Berry’s Store in West Forks.

 
Not Groomed:

• Bald Mountain Trail.
• Pleasant Pond Trail.

 
Now that the season is underway we should be able to resume regular weekly grooming reports on Wednesday or Thursday of each week. Stay tuned.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Club
Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

The post Winter Storm Grayson snow stick readings from yesterday are a little off due to the blizzard’s high winds, but you can get a good idea of the total snowpack and recent accumulation:

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine January 4

Looks like we will be getting about 6″ of fresh snow today (stay tuned to the snowfall with our webcam,) so we will resume grooming on Friday. The plan is to have all of ITS 86 and ITS 87 groomed for the weekend, as well as the Pleasant Pond Trail and the Kennebec River Trail. If we can get to the Bald Mountain Trail before the weekend we will, but I doubt we’ll have the time. The big issue will be the expected high winds and downed trees. That could slow our grooming progress significantly.

Trail alerts:

• ITS 86 heading east toward Greenville is closed to snowmobiles, due to logging. The landowner does not want sleds going through there. The closure is between the Shirley Road and Brochu Road. We will not be grooming ITS 86 east of Moxie Pond until the logging operation is finished (mid-January).
• The Kennebec River Trail is flooded due to an ice jam on the river, as you approach Northern Outdoors. There is a marked detour around the flooded section.

 
Ride carefully as it is still early season and there are hazards out there. Sections of trail on unplowed roads are in the best shape . . . . trails through the woods are rough. Also watch out for downed trees after the storm.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Club
Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine 12/29/17

With the extreme cold weather we have had fuel icing issues with our groomers. We have been able to get one groomer running, but not the other. Consequently we have not been able to get the entire trail system open for the weekend.

• ITS 86/87 is groomed from the Boise Road into town.
• ITS 87 heading south from the Boise Road toward Northern Outdoors has been groomed.
• ITS 87 heading south toward Bingham has been groomed.
• The Caratunk Spur has been groomed.
• The Kennebec River Trail has been groomed all the way from Northern Outdoors to West Forks.

 
The following sections have not been groomed:

• ITS 86 from the Boise Road heading east toward Greenville. ITS 86 from the Shirley Road to Greenville is temporarily closed due to logging. Should reopen within a couple of weeks.
• The Pleasant Pond Trail.
• The Bald Mountain Trail.

 
Although we have quite a bit of snow, it is early in the season and there are hazards out there. Ride with caution at all times.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Club
Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

Snowmobile Trail Conditions Report: The Forks, Maine December 26

The rainstorm and warm temperatures that we had at the end of last week wiped out our trail system. Temps have cooled off well below freezing, so water is getting locked up again. Trails are rock hard to glare ice with no lube on road sections. Wooded sections are very rough with rocks and stumps showing. The heavy rain produced running water down and across the trail in many spots. These have frozen back up, but the damage is there. I suppose you can ride, but it is pretty ugly until we get some snow. Six inches would put us back in half decent shape. We’re keeping a close eye on Friday’s potential storm.

There is some decent riding just north of us, on the Coburn Summit Riders and Jackman Border Riders trail system. Check out their Facebook pages for trail reports.

Jim Yearwood
Forks Area Trails Club
Forks Maine Snowmobile Trail Map

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