Trail Conditions
Oatka Valley Trails are Closed.
Trail update 3/9/10 AM. All trails are now closed due to lack of snow on large sections of the trails. It does not look like we will be seeing any more major snow in the future either. We will be working on getting the groomers put away for the summer on upcoming weekends. Trail signage will be taken down in the begining of April as long as it is dry. Anyone that would like to help, whether working on groomers or removing stake and signs, please contact Mike Black @ 585-322-9009.
Trail update 3/4/10 AM. We brought all the groomers back to the barn last night and this morning. Chances of grooming much after today will probably be slim. Even trails with the most amount of snow on them are getting bare in spots. There is a good chance that all trails will be closed by this weekend. Better ride today or tomorrow!
Trail update 3/3/10 PM. Trails are now closed in the eastern portion of our trail system. Trails in the Warsaw valley, Perry, Silver Springs and Portageville area have lost most of the snow on the trails. The trails in the Bliss, Wethersfield, Orangeville and Dale area are still open and groomed and hopefully will still be by this weekend. When headed east, if you come to a bare trail, please turn around.
Trail update 3/2/10 PM. We are still grooming trails at night. Be careful near windmill roads as sometimes they fall to make a proper opening for us when they plow them. Trails are holding up and in good shape, but I am not sure they will make it thru the weekend with the warms temps that are forecast. Might be the end of the season for us.
Trail update 3/1/10 PM. Trails are being groomed at night due to the warm temps during the day. Most of the major trails should be groomed by tomorrow morning, with grooming continuing until the snow is gone. Hopefully not too soon either! Riding at night should be good.
Trail update 2/27/10 PM. We received 6 to 8 inches of snow today and it is still snowing. Temps are hanging around the freezing mark which is not helping with the grooming. Groomers are out tonight. Most trails will have been groomed at least once by tonight. Without being able to groom during the day, there will be trails that need to be groomed that we will not get groomed as soon as needed.
Trail update 2/26/10 AM. We received 4 to 6 inches of snow overnight. Hopefully the wind will leave some of that snow on the fields. Groomers will be out today and tonight. Grooming during the day might be tough after this weekend due to the warms temps during the day, but as long as we have groomable snow, we will be grooming at night.
Trail update 2/13/10 PM. We received a couple of inches of powder snow today, trails are poor to good with some bare spots. With more snow groomers will go out possibly tomorrow.
Trail Update 2/11/10 PM. We lost a lot of snow on the fields today due to the wind. We have tried to groom some of the trails but it has been tough to get across the almost bare fields. Trails will be in poor to fair condition. If you come to a bare section of trail, turn around and head back.
Trail Update 2/10/10 PM. Trails are now open, but trails will be poor to fair condition, SO DRIVE CAREFULLY! Still not a lot of snow out there in places like fields. We have not started grooming yet, but may start tomorrow. We still need lots more snow!
Trail Update 2/10/10 AM. Trails are still currently closed, but with any luck, maybe there will be enough snow by this afternoon to open them up. We received 2 inches of snow in the Bliss area by this morning and it is still snowing. Hopefully we do not get to much wind this afternoon. Update later this afternoon.
Trail Update 2/5/10 PM. Trails are still closed. We need a big snowfall to get the trails open. We have received a little snow here and there, but not enough to make a difference. Shredd and Ragans Sled Fest has been cancelled for this year. Hopefully next year it will work out.
Trail Update 1/29/10 AM. Trails are closed. Shredd and Ragan Sled Fest has been postponed due to lack of snow. New date will be February 6th.
Trail Update 1/28/10 PM. Trails are still closed. We received snow today but it it is hard to tell exactly how much due to the high winds. All fields are still down to bare ground with just a coating of white on top. We will need a lot more snow to open the trails. It is not looking good for Shredd and Ragans Sled Fest. We will find out in the morning as to whether it is a go or not. Check back here in the AM for more details or listen to 103.3FM.
Trail Update 1/20/10 PM. We received 1 to 2 inches of snow in the last 24 hours. We will need a lot more than that to open the trails. Prior to this snow, the open field trails had no base left and were down to bare ground.
Trail Update 1/15/10 AM. It was near 40 degrees all day yesterday and did not go below freezing during the over night. The trails across the fields has melted. With the warm weather forecast for the next week or so, it looks like trails will be closed for a while. The season is still young though.
Trail Update 1/11/10 PM. We are grooming trails in the western side of the trail system. All trails need more snow! Trails that have been groomed are still not in the greatest shape. Many fields are still almost bare, which sometimes makes it difficult to get to a section of trail that can be groomed. Also, watch out for deer. They seem to be everywear this year. Conditions will vary from poor to excellent.
The southern trail out of Letchworth Park that heads to Bliss is going to be open this year. The park has rerouted the trail to get around the section that washed out. The trail will also be open to Portageville too.
Trail Update 1/9/10 AM. All three groomers have been out since yesterday morning. The western portion of the system should have been mostly completed by last night. Groomers will be out all weekend. We will try and groom the entire system as long as there is enough snow. Conditions should be from excellent to poor. There are a lot of fields that have limited snow cover, so be careful.
Trail Update 1/8/10 Noon. All three groomers are out now. One groomer reported rough and slow going over some of the fields, but lots of snow to work with in other areas. All trails that have enough snow on them to groom will be groomed hopefully by tomorrow night.
Trail Update 1/8/10 AM. We received a small amount of snow overnight and hopefully we will get more during the day today. We are going to try and get two of our groomers out today to groom the western portion of our trail system. The Bliss, Wethersfield, Orangeville and Dale areas should get groomed today as long as the fields have some snow on them. The trails in the eastern portion will be groomed as soon as snow levels get deep enough. Trail conditions should improve after todays grooming.
Trail Update 1/5/10 PM. Trails are open but riding is limited. Trails will be in poor to good condition. Trails in the most western part of Oatka’s system have more snow. The eastern part of the system does not have much snow. Some trails could be groomed, but getting the groomer to the area that needs to be groomed is almost impossible due to sections of the trail that are almost bare other than 3 to5 inches of powder. One section that needs to be groomed is C-3, the railbed out Bliss that meets up with Tri-County. That section is rough! Some sections of that trail have enough snow to groom, other sections are down to stone. If we could get a few inches of heavy wet snow we could get started grooming. Otherwise, we will need 6+ inches of powder.
Trail Update 1/3/10 AM. Trails are open but riding is limited. Trails will be in poor to good condition. Most fields will be wind blown with little snow. Woods will have snow, but no grooming will be done until we receive more snow in the fields. Watch out for dangerous trail conditions such as water, ice, ruts, bare ground and rocks.
As always, we are looking for more groomer operators. If you have volunteered in the past, please do so again. If you have never operated a groomer but feel you can do it, give me a shout. If interested in helping out with trail work or running a groomer, contact Mike Black, Trail Coordinator @ 585-322-9009 or mblack@localnet.com
A new Wyoming County map is out at local establishments and can also be obtained at our regular meetings.
ATVs are not allowed on trails maintained by Oatka Valley unless you have specific permission from the landowner to be there.
