Welcome

  Welcome to the Mountain Trails Grooming Association website. Winter is making a brief return and we are grooming for this weekend.  Routes are still being determined and will be posted here and on our schedule page. 

The forecast is for warmer weather with rain this next week, so grooming will be on hold again after Sunday.

 You can view the schedule by clicking on the Schedule tab. 

Grooming Report 3/15

 

Today was a long groom of 64 miles. We started in Cub Creek to Banker Pass, Goat Wall, Blackpine Hut, Yellowjacket, Whiteface and back to Cub Creek.  Temps were on the cooler side this morning at around 16 degrees, most of the day temps were in the mid 20's.  

The trails groomed out really well with lots of nice new powder at higher elevations.  It is really great to see the trails being used this well late in our season.

Grooming Report 3/14

Sweetgrass Butte

Grooming was good today with nice cold(16 degree) snow that flowed and packed into one of the best trails this season! 

The good news is lots of fresh powder snow up high. We were able to get a good groom on Cub Creek, Banker Pass, Sweetgrass and Sherwood Forest.  

The bad news is the Eightmile road is very thin and probably won't last long.  Ride now and use Sherwood Forest loop or go out of the new trailhead at Cub Creek.
 

Grooming Report 3/13

 Lots of people out enjoying the new snow on Hwy 20.  We just finished grooming it to get the fresh snow packed down a little more.  Temperature is 33 degrees and the trail groomed up well.

We will continue to groom Hwy 20 until WSDOT begins clearing.

Grooming Report 3/13

 Winter is back! We will be grooming some routes for this weekend - which ones are still to be determined by available snow depth.  We will post updates here later today.

Grooming Report 3/6

 

Spring is upon us and the trails are definitely showing it.  We groomed Hwy 20 this morning, temps started in the low 30's but when the wind came in it increased quickly. We have cooler temps and snow predicted for next week which will help maintain the trail.

Today was not a good day for pictures of the trail so we took some scenery pictures instead. 

Grooming Report 2/25

 

Groomed all of Eightmile - Sweetgrass area today, including Sherwood Forest, Cub Creek and Banker Pass.  The trail had received 3" - 6" of new snow in the last couple of days which groomed out to excellent trail riding conditions. 

Spring conditions are here with warming temperatures and little to no expected new snow.  Trail conditions can deteriorate quickly so ride now while conditions are good!

Grooming Report 2/17

 

It was a nice crisp morning in the valley but slightly warmer on Hwy 20.  The trail groomed out well and the roughness created from the heavy use this weekend is all smoothed out.  The trail is receiving some fresh snow this afternoon.

We also groomed Lower Hart's Pass today.  We removed the moguls as much as possible with the limited snow on the trail. It is also snowing on Hart's. 

Grooming Report 2/13

 

We groomed Sweetgrass today from Cub Creek to Banker Pass, Sweetgrass Butte, and Eightmile Road. While Spring conditions of ice, rocks and dirt are showing on all trails, this trail is still mostly in good condition.  

The bypass trail at Cub is very poor but the main road is compact snow to the trail on the 100 road.  Third creek has decent snow but on the shallow side.  It is still a good ride.

Grooming Report 2/12

 

Grooming Goat Creek today for the MVSA Bucket Run on Saturday 2/14.  It is typical Spring conditions in the lower elevations.  There is some new snow up higher that groomed into an excellent trail.  Should be a fun ride on Saturday!

Yellowjacket Update

We were hopeful that more snow could help with the Yellowjacket trail but unfortunately there is just too much damage from the atmospheric river earlier in the season.  We will not groom this trail this season. We understand the Forest Service will work to restore it for next year. Here are a few more pictures of the trail or where it should be.
 

1/26 Grooming Report

 

We attempted to open and groom Yellowjacket today but this was the end of the trail for now.  A big thank you to MVSA club members and the FS crew for helping cut wood!  We were able to clear the trees in the switchback and several other trees before we came to the multiple areas of complete ice coverage. This trail has many areas with water, ice, mud and rocks in the lower section(see pictures below).  Unfortunately, the Yellowjacket trail will need to get significant new snow before we can attempt this again.

1/22 Grooming Report

 

Removing moguls on lower Harts Pass.  We also groomed Hwy 20 this chilly morning with a temperature of 4° at Cutthroat. The Harts Pass trail to Ballard has 2 washout/slide areas and 1 area that has had water in the trail but is now frozen with patchy snow. The snow is thin which prohibits completely removing the moguls, so we anticipate they will be back soon.  We just need more snow!

1/21 Grooming Report

 

Beautiful chilly 11° morning on the way to Buck Lake. Tree removal was completed today on the Sherwood Forest Loop.  A big thanks to Methow Valley Snowmobile Club members for cutting the trees. 

There has been lots of water on this section of trail. Most of it is frozen now but will return with warmer temperatures. Be careful crossing Ortell Creek, it is currently running a lot of water for this time of year and there is not enough snow for a snow bridge. 

We also groomed from Eightmile to Sweetgrass today.  The trail is holding up well.  The drifts on top are still a little bumpy.  Even Sweetgrass needs more snow!

Trees

More

MVSA cutting trees

Sherwood Forest

Water Crossing

Cub Pass

Sweetgrass

1/20 Grooming Report

 

Today we groomed W. Buttermilk Rd to Black Pine Lake, Poorman Creek, Libby Creek and to Foggy Dew. Temperatures were 12° at the start. We removed 15 trees and several rocks from the trails. The snow is light at lower elevations and a little better higher up.  There is dirt showing on the trail in Poorman Creek. This trail will not be groomed again until we receive more snow. 

Black Pine Lake

Black Pine Lake

Wheeled Vehicles in Libby Creek

Libby Creek

Between Libby Crk and Gold Crk

Poorman Creek