Snowmobile Season is Underway with the Portage Lake Lift Bridge in Place

The mats are down, snow is being flattened, and the snowmobilers are rejoicing with the portage lake lift bridge staying in place for the winter. The Keweenaw snowmobile club members and volunteers started filling in the bottom section of the bridge with snow for snowmobilers travels north and south in the copper country. The snow that the club spreads over the bridge marks the true start to the region’s snowmobile season.

“We started this work back in early October, coordinating with the Coast Guard, DNR, MDOT, the City of Houghton, City of Hancock, and all of the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club members and volunteers that are here helping today. We ha some back and forth last week, with the warmup. And the canal opening back up. And then they had extended the possibility of the bridge moving. So we were trying to do it Monday this week. And luckily we got her parked on Tuesday. And here we are Wednesday morning putting snow down. Thanks to everybody involved that’s making this possible. Hauling snow through the city of Houghton and their equipment. So, it’s a big help from those guys.” – Ryan LaPorte, President Keweenaw Snowmobile Club

There are a few trail updates that visitors should be aware of before taking to the Keweenaw’s trails. Trail three from Dollar Bay to Lake Linden is the largest section. And will have rehabilitation work begin this coming spring. Keweenaw Snowmobile Club President, Ryan LaPorte, says visitors also need to watch for logging trucks in some areas.

“We’ve got a couple of things going on right now. One thing we are working on is 122, we are waiting on the reroute approval from the DNR. And a little bit of logging is going to be going on between Lake Linden and up to Gay. So that section of trail is closed right now. And then we’ve got a shared section of trail on Trail #3. So anybody coming up here to ride next week, until we say that logging is complete, please be prepared for logging traffic. It’s well signed, well documented, and it’s plowed section of road. And then we’ve got a section of 132 west, That goes between Trail #3, kinda near the turn off for Eagle Harbor, into Lac La Belle, that is closed as well.” – Ryan LaPorte, President Keweenaw Snowmobile Club

Crews packing snow on the portage lake lift bridge will post to the club’s facebook page when snowmobilers can officially begin crossing. Stay safe and have fun in the copper country this winter. You can find more trail updates throughout the winter on the snowmobile club’s facebook page, as well as information about becoming a member, and future club events.