Tom's Western NY Trail Conditions

Anyone riding the trails, please email reports and I will post them below

These reports cover the trail system centered in the Varysburg/Strykersville region about 35 miles southeast of Buffalo, NY. Many of these trails are part of the Folsom Trailblazers Snowmobile Club system, though this webpage is NOT formally associated with that club.

Phone - 716-652-9495

Thank You Notes:

I put a lot of time into this website during the riding season, and I enjoy it. When I hear from guys who have found the information useful, it makes my day! Thanks go out to these guys who have taken the time to write me!

Mike O. wrote:

This below came in from Paul Z - thanks, Paul!:

Har, Har, har! My wife is still laughing her ass off six hours after reading that, Paul! She thinks I am just about addicted enough to our morning drives that I might fall for that!

Thanks, Mike. I probably will again, but I will be asking for help if anyone else is interested in doing it part time. We'll also try to expand our coverage to some of the adjoining club trail systems.

Winter just won't go away! Although local trails in western New York remain officially closed to my knowledge, there will be plenty of chances for local riding around the region this weekend. Thanks to up to five or six inches of snow in areas last night, and temperatures down to 20 tonight and tomorrow night, you'll be able to find plenty of good spots to play if you live in the country. Respect landowners and only ride where you know you're welcome.

If you want to travel, it looks like one more weekend of generally good to very good riding in Ontario. There's still plenty of snow on the trails (bare roads, though). Temperatures will drop to the low teens at night over the weekend before rain and much warmer weather finally reach Ontario next week.

- Tom

Update, March 26, 8PM:

A guy who goes by "Muskoka Minute" on the Hard Core Sledder Ontario forum is the grooming coordinator for the Muskoka Sno-Bombers in Bracebridge area. He posted this morning that he has 14" to 16" of new snow in his driveway from last night, and they groomed many trails last night. Read the below paragraph and head for Muskoka region for great spring riding!! Looks like sun and slightly above freezing temperatures tomorrow will melt what's on road sections, but the trails should be generally very good the following few days, with nightly temps in the low teens.

Wish my sleds weren't broken down:(

Update, March 26:

Consensus is that best riding is in the Huntsville - Bracebridge - Dorset - Dwight area and also south and east of there. Snow actually is much thinner as you go north towards North Bay.

Update, March 24th, Monday:

We did a drive through check of the Folsom trails this morning, and the bare spots are growing. Trails are officially closed and I think this is it for the season. Still plenty of spots where locals are playing around in the remaining snow.

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO RIDE - my sources and the various websites indicate excellent conditions still in parts of Ontario. From my recent trip experience and what locals are saying on the net, I'd go to Huntsville - Dwight - Dorset region. They had LOTS of snow a couple of weeks ago and the most recent storm on March tenth hit hardest in the area just to the south and east of Huntsville (Dorset - Dwight). They were still grooming most of those trails this past weekend, and riders are reporting the best conditions of the year in some places with very light traffic. There are bare roads where the trail runs a road, but that is only a few spots. There is still three to four feet of snow in the bush when you step off the trails!

Update, Sunday, March 23:

Happy Easter everyone!

There is some decent riding in our area here and there still as the thin snowcover slowly melts in the strong sunshine. The very cold nights have been helpful, and we could have great riding around my farm in East Aurora if I hadn't broken the motors on both my sleds last week!

GREAT STILL in Ontario! - - - there is still excellent riding on well groomed trails in central Ontario. There were many reports over the weekend of the best riding conditions of the year between Bracebridge, Huntsville, and Algonquin. There is still FOUR FEET of snow in the wooded areas! Although many roads have gone bare in the bright sun, all the woods trails are still great. There will be continued very cold night temperatures most of next week and it is even supposed to snow again for several days.

I would be on my way back up if I hadn't burned down my ZRT motors due to some mysterious simultaneous problem. (Low oil? Water in gas? Other mystery?)

Have fun with some of the latest spring riding in recent years if you can take off a few days for Canada!

Update, March 20, Noon:

We've had two to almost three inches of snow in the Folsom hills as of noon, with more light snow falling. I just did a drive around and found the trails and fields covered. I would not ride this afternoon, since it has been pretty warm and nothing is frozen up. Trails remain officially closed.

But tomorrow and Saturday may be another story. Temperatures will be dropping to the low 20's tonight and to 16 tomorrow and Saturday nights. If we hold the snow we have and things freeze up, there could be some riding this weekend. Certainly there will be ditch banging opportunities for locals and a chance for anyone who needs to try out a new sled at home. Check with the Folsom club website to see if they open the trails again after things freeze up tomorrow. I can see the call going either way.

Update, March 18, noon:

The Folsom area trails are again closed until further notice. Probably for the rest of the season, although there will be cold temps this weekend. But only a little snow is in the forecast.

I will be posting stories on this website off and on until next season. I'm especially interested in hearing from those of you who regularly go out of town to ride with your favorite destinations, favorite hotels & motels, and special tips for those who are new to Road Trip Snowmobiling. We'll try to develop a library of useful out of town riding information.

I expect to post trail reports again next year. But we now have two good sources for Folsom area trail reports. Since Mike took over the club website their trail reports are much better than in previous years. Maybe Mike and I will spell each other or check different parts of the trail system next year. One way or another there will be very good trail condition reports for the Folsom Trailblazers system next season!

On a personal note, after riding older ZRT 600 sleds for the past 12 years, I put down a deposit on a new Cat today. It's the first brand new sled I've ordered in a long time, and the first time I've ever done a spring "Snow Check" order where I'll have to wait six months to see my new toy! But I will be in the modern age next season with the latest in suspension technology - very exciting.

Update, March 17th, 9AM:

Because of last night's very cold temperatures, Folsom area trails have officially been opened again for one last day today. PLEASE stay off bare spots on fields in respect to land owners.

But you will find fair to good conditions in many areas. Get out there quick for one last ride before things warm up in the bright sun this afternoon! Hve fun. This is probably it. Some very cold weather coming again this weekend, but not much chance of worthwhile snow.

Just got home from a trail check. Although many of us thought yesterday that the trails would be mostly gone today, it's not so. Click above to see pictures taken near Byrncliff two hours ago.

There was heavy cloud cover in the region all day yesterday, and that helped a lot. We lost much less snow than would otherwise have been the case. With below freezing overnight last night and a light new snow this morning, I would call the trails in the area fair to good early spring conditions. There will be slushy spots and some of the hilltops are going bare. But there's plenty of places you could play or test a new sled today and tonight it is getting quite cold (down to 19). Except for the hillsides and windblown hilltops, the trail base is still decent almost everywhere.

Tomorrow morning there could be some excellent riding. That said, the Folsom Club website has not updated since Mike called the club trails closed yesterday. Unless they update with a "limited - open" announcement, respect the club's request and stay off club trails, especially any thin to bare areas where you could tear up a landowner's crops or turf.

Update, March 16th, 9AM:

We're getting moderate snow showers here at our farm in East Aurora now, over a lightly frozen and crusty snow base after a night of slightly below freezing temperatures. We'll have good riding on our farm today. Ride at your own discretion on formal trails and respect land owners where trails are thin to bare. Most area clubs list trails as "closed", even though there are fair to good conditions still in many places.

Update, March 15th - about Done

We will be posting a few long trip reports and other stories of interest to snowmobilers here in the coming weeks. Check back if you're bored and in need of a snowmobiling "fix".

We expect to be maintaining this website again next year, though the recently improved trail reports on the Folsom Club website make us less important to the area. We'll likely do some trail reports and more human interest snowmobiling stories next year. I'm also interested in offering more detailed recommendations and trip reports to help people with less experience doing "road trips" plan their out of town snowmobiling. Personally, I've become more and more discouraged with snow conditions here in western New York. Meghan and I made three out of town riding trips this season and plan more next year.

Have a great off season and check back here now and then.

Update, March 14, 2PM:

Slightly below freezing temps are expected tonight, and even lower temps Saturday night and Sunday night, with high 30's during the day Saturday and colder Sunday, then high 30's and sun Monday. If the sun stays behind the clouds as expected this afternoon and Saturday and Sunday, I think there will be decent riding on the weekend, especially in the morning while it is still crusty from the cold nights.

Looks like the final big meltdown Tuesday through Thursday of next week.

Check the Folsom Trailblazers website for their trail reports and for info on when the trails are formally closed. Mike has been doing a nice job over there with trail reports recently. Their link is just above today's report here.

Update, March 13th:

We may get a two day period of solid below freezing temps Saturday night into Monday morning, with Sunday night temps in the teens. If most of our base holds up over the weekend (some snow may fall on Sunday), Monday morning could be nice riding.

Then it's into the forty's daytime with cool nights early next week. Spring riding conditions may last into late next week locally. Longer on Tug Hill and perhaps to April 1st in much of Ontario and Quebec!

Update March 12th:

I'm sorry that Meghan and I have missed some of the most important trail reporting weeks with the trips we've taken this winter. We are back now and will post some more reports during the final weeks of this riding season.

Following are two trail reports from Mike Osinski, one of our readers. Thanks to Mike and we welcome reports from any of you out there.

And another report from Mike yesterday:

Looks like we still have some good spring riding! Although temperatures will be in the high 30's for the next few days, they drop back below freezing every night, and BEST OF ALL, it looks like it is going to be cloudy most of the time. The real killer at this time of year is bright sunshine. I'd guess there will be riding for at least the rest of this week, and maybe a little longer.

Oh, yeah. You want to know how the riding was for Meghan and I in Ontario the past few days? Sorry ladies and kids, there's no other way to put it but, "Fu*&in' Awesome!!!!". Just how awesome? Awesome enough that I almost don't care that a seized the motor on my ZRT just before we came home!

Update, March 8th:

The Folsom club is down to just one groomer for this final weekend, since the 110 has a broken wheel or something. The big groomer was headed out to pack trail when I was out there in the middle of the day taking pictures. They were headed from Byrncliff over the hill to do the A&A railbed and back. Perhaps they'll get more done later tonight and tomorrow. It would be good to get as much packing of trails in as possible since temperatures were warm when this snow began and there is some wet snow under the newer powder from this afternoon. With cold temps tonight, anything that gets packed a bit will freeze up nicely.

I will miss what may be the last nice riding of the year here, since Meghan and I are headed up to Ontario looking for that last perfect ride of the year. Have fun and try to save us a little snow for when we get back before the next, and perhaps final meltdown!

Update, March 7, 3PM:

I did not drive out to look at trail conditions today, but a look out the window and at weather radar on the computer tells me good things are happening! Based on our ride yesterday, I can comfortably predict good riding from now right through the weekend, so long as you don't mind the blowing snow.

WATCH OUT for washouts and such on the trails!

Saturday looks to be pretty stormy, but I'm sure some will ride. The storm looks like it will calm down on Sunday and there should be good riding late in the day. The first half of next week should be good, until we hit another (final?) warmup the middle of to late in the week.

Meghan and I rode from Byrncliff to Strykersville and back early this afternoon. Although many of the hilltop sections of trail were blown nearly bare, and cornfields and plowed fields were nasty, the ride in general was surprisingly good. Wooded sections were very good, since the blowing snow of the past few days has settled in any sheltered areas like the trail corridors. Field trails over smooth hay fields or along tree lines were also good to very good.

The Local Riding Forecast:

We have a winter storm watch for our entire western New York area from Friday afternoon through the weekend. It is a tricky forecasting situation, with just a few degrees on Saturday spelling the difference between all snow or mixed sleet and even rain for part of the afternoon. Even with the worst case, we are likely to see nice riding conditions return from late Sunday through Monday and Tuesday, at least.

Best case scenario looks like a possibility of widespread snowfall of a foot or more by Sunday morning. With the long range forecast indicating above normal temperatures again by late in the week, this could be the final decent riding of the year - maybe the final riding period! So, groomer guys, I'd crank up the machinery Saturday night and Sunday night to show us some awesome trails for the few days after this storm!

Meghan and I are probably heading for Ontario Sunday afternoon to try and find one of those really great rides to end our season!

Update, March 5th, noon:

More snow is forecast for Friday and Saturday, so a decent weekend is shaping up.

As of 9PM Tuesday night, an icy, granular precipitation is falling in East Aurora, and radar indicates the same over the trail system. It is not snow, but it is not sleet or ice, either. There's almost an inch already.

If this continues and then turns to snow tomorrow morning, we could be back in business on the Folsom trail system. Just two to three inches would be enough to ride considering the remnants of the frozen trail base shown in today's pictures! Keep your fingers crossed.

Update, March 4th:

It does look like winter is returning with a vengeance the last half of this week and into next week, so we may get a bit more riding.

And the north country didn't melt as badly as we did here. Old Forge and Tug Hill will have riding again the rest of the week and beyond. And Ontario is expecting a major winter storm north of Orillia tomorrow on top of lots of snow left from late February.

We'll report more as we check our sources and we'll keep our fingers crossed for local riding.

Update, Tuesday, February 19th:

There hasn't been anything useful to report the past few days after Sunday's meltdown. The Folsom club website listed the trails as closed yesterday.

Road Trip Information:

In the meantime, maybe it's time for a road trip to real snowmobiling country. In case you haven't been on a road trip recently, I'll give you some information below about my favorite out of town destinations. The problem we face as snowmobilers here in western New York is that although we have a local tradition of snowmobiling, and we do get lake effect snow, we are really only on the very edge of real winter climate. Western New York simply doesn't get quite enough snow, and has thaws that are too frequent for us to be able to count on riding all winter. Lately it seems like one winter out of three strings together several good weeks in a row!

For those willing to drive five to ten hours, better snowmobiling conditions are available. The other lake effect snow regions within driving distance of western New York include upper Michigan with lake snows off Lake Superior and Lake Michigan; the Muskoka region of Ontario, with lake snow off of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay; Tug Hill and Old Forge with lake snow off Lake Ontario enhanced by the higher elevations of Tug Hill and the Adirondacks; and finally Quebec which has both higher elevation in the mountains, a more northern climate, and nearby bodies of water.

Since there are dozens and dozens of good snowmobiling destinations, I invite you readers to send in recommendations on specific places to go riding in the north. We'll try to collect some useful advice here. I have not ridden in Michigan, so I'll hope for a writeup from someone on that area.

Muskoka

You can find cheaper motels in the area, or if you want to splurge, the four star Deerhurst resort and conference center is just outside Huntsville and also right on the trails. Rooms at Deerhurst are $125 to $200 or more a night.

Trail permits in Ontario are required and are $90 for a three day pass (minimum - no one day passes anymore) or $235 for a season pass ($180 if you get it early) . Meghan and I usually spend three days in Muskoka and we plan on spending $850 to $1000 for everything, including gas to get there, snowmobile gas, permits, food, and motels.

Old Forge

We spent about $850 last week to ride three days in Old Forge, including all travel expenses up and back and our expenses and trail passes in Old Forge.

Quebec

This is a vast province of Canada, with many possibilities for great snowmobiling. Meghan and I traveled to the Mount Tremblant region of the Laurentian Mountains a few weeks ago when there was no snow at home. We stayed in St. Donat just outside the Mount Tremblant National Park. Other nearby towns friendly to snowmobiling include St Zennon and St Michael.

The first thing to remember if you're considering a Quebec trip is that it is FAR! We drove nine hours to get there and almost 12 coming home when we detoured through Montreal to sight see. St Donat is about 60 miles northeast of Montreal.

Trail passes in Quebec are $50 a day or $150 for a week. Gas in Canada and especially Quebec is expensive. We were paying over $4.50 a gallon for premium or plus grade.

We spent just over $1200 for a quick trip including 3 nights of motels and two days of riding. Of course if you stay longer, your per day cost will go down.

We stayed at the La Cuillere a Pot motel at a little over $100 a night. Rooms are clean but not very upscale. The bar and restaurant are excellent. They go out of their way to cater to snowmobilers. (We took the "basic" room; I recommend the extra $30 for their "deluxe" rooms.)

Theft? We've heard all the rumors about theft in Quebec. I talked to a lot of people, and although it does happen, I don't think it's much more of a problem there than anywhere else. Our theft deterrent plan is simple: we ride five or six year old sleds; we lock them together with a BIG chain and park them for the night right next to two brand new sleds locked up with a smaller chain or cable. Just try to encourage the thief to steal your neighbor's stuff instead of yours!

Summary:

We hope the above information is useful to folks who do not have experience traveling out of town to ride. Send in your report of your own road trip. We'll try to make a collection of specific recommendations from our readers. We'll post a more detailed report of one or more of our road trips soon!

Weekdays are best! The best snowmobiling destinations do get crowded on weekends, and even with perfect trail grooming every night, trails start to get beat up by noon many places. If like us, you can take off during the week, it's the way to go. Conditions are awesome during the week at all the places I've described above!

We had a good ride with conditions ranging from fair + in the woods and on narrow trails to good and very good in field trails and on some trails that had been recently groomed.

By the time we finished this afternoon, with heavy traffic and strong sun on the trails, conditions had deteriorated a bit but were still fair in the woods and narrow trails to good and very good on most fields. (Fields facing the prevailing winds of this past week were blown thin and plowed fields were a bit bumpy. We still have only five inches or so of snow most places.)

If you're planning to ride tonight or early Sunday morning, conditions will be about what we experienced later this afternoon - fair to good.

We rode out of Byrncliff on S41 and C4B to Strykersville. Most of this ride was good to very good on the way out and getting a bit bumpier on the way back later this afternoon. Then we went on around C4A through Java and over to the A&A railbed trail. Conditions in Java were very good in nearly all fields and fair in the woods.

We checked out part of the A&A - a bit bumpy. A couple we met there said, "We've seen it worse." That's a good way to put it! We doubled back on S43 which is usually one of the smoothest trails on the system, but it was only fair today.

We checked out parts of C4 and C4B north of route #20A, and conditions there were generally good to very good with bumpy sections where the wind had blown snow off the hilltops.

So get out and ride tonight. Temperature will be in the mid teens tonight, allowing good riding again early Sunday, but with rapidly rising temperature Sunday going all the way up to the mid forties.

It's President's Weekend - if I were planning the grooming, I'd go out tonight so we'd have a great half day tomorrow. Three quarters of the trails I rode today would benefit from a groomer pass. The remaining quarter is too thin in snow for it to do any good. So I can understand that the guys may choose not to invest the time in grooming, since we're only going to get in half a day tomorrow.

We just got home from Old Forge (great conditions and perhaps a record number of sleds for President's Weekend shaping up). We stopped at Byrncliff and checked out some of the surrounding trails on our way home. You should have decent riding in this area over the weekend, especially Saturday and early Sunday morning before another of our nasty warm ups arrives for a brief visit Sunday afternoon.

There were no trailers at Byrncliff when we stopped at about 7PM, but there were quite a few local riders buzzing around on sleds and about a half dozen parked at the resort. There were groomer tracks on trail S41 near Byrncliff, so at least some of the trails have been groomed in spite of the thin snow cover on the ground. I'd estimate the snow depth at 3" to 5" in the area, though it varies a lot because of all the wind the past few days.

The cold temperature today and tonight has put a nice crust on the snow we have, which should make for some fast riding in the morning! I'd call the trail conditions generally good to very good where the groomers have been, but watch out for thin and icy spots and perhaps a few water and mud holes still open.

We'll give you a much more detailed report early Saturday afternoon. Stay tuned.

(weather will suck Sunday afternoon through Monday lunch time. Then colder weather and more snow arrives for much of next week.)

Update, February 12th:

With wind subsiding a bit and some decent snowfall in the forecast for the next day or two, our trails should be looking pretty good by Wednesday and for the rest of the week!

Update, February 10:

I drove out through the Varysburg area this morning to check the trails. It is a miserable day to be outdoors all across western New York! Lots of blowing and drifting snow and frequent white-out conditions. There were a few hardy cross country skiers at Byrncliff, but no trailers or sleds and no visible tracks. There has been very little new snow since Friday, but the high winds have blown some fields bare or nearly bare and dumped the snow in other places. There is still slush showing here and there in low areas, though that should freeze up fast in today's conditions with plunging temperature in the area.

Riding conditions would be fair today if you want to torture yourself out in this weather. Trails generally snow covered except on open fields, with mud holes and slush here and there.

We need snow with less wind to really put the trails back in shape. That looks like it might be Tuesday. I'd plan rides beginning Tuesday night and Wednesday if I were you. We might have that long awaited period of extended decent riding from Wednesday on for the next week or more!

Update, February 8, 9:30PM:

Hi guys,

We just checked out Byrncliff on our way home from a few days in Quebec (awesome!!).

Byrncliff was a ghost town - nobody there at all. There is 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground with a temperature of 32 degrees. There had been two sleds through on the thin snow covered trail. Riding conditions Saturday morning, if you can't wait, will be thin snow, early season like, with plenty of slush and water holes on the trails. Temperature rising during the day with possible rain. Stay off the trails unless you are desperate.

We need some more snow and real cold temperatures to freeze things up. Which we will get, starting tomorrow night into Sunday! Sounds like a decent dump of lake snow on Sunday and more snow daily all of next week.

And now, to make you feel real bad, here's a picture I took yesterday in Mont-Tremblant National Park north of Montreal:

Update, February 5th:

Nothing I can say. This sucks!

I do not want you to hate me, but since we're in a summer business and I don't have a regular work schedule, Meghan and I are loading up and heading to St Donat north of Montreal for the rest of the week. We'll bring you back pictures! Bye, Bye!

Even though it's very warm today, it's been a couple of days since we've seen the trails, so we drove out for a look after lunch. There are only a few sled tracks here and there, which is good. Better to stay off the trails in these very marginal conditions.

Still bad news for the next few days, including the possibility of very heavy rain and possible large scale flooding tomorrow night and Wednesday. Sorry.

Update, February 1st:

I don't plan to go out and look at the trails today myself, but the weather news ain't good, as you can all see for yourselves. There is still a small chance, getting smaller with each forecast, of enough snow tonight to allow "limited conditions" riding over the weekend.

Next week looks even worse than it did yesterday.

Can you spell "N-O-R-T-H B-A-Y"?

Update February 2nd:

There is a very light snow cover on the trails. Conditions are poor - marginal. And not looking any better for the next four or five days. Sorry.

Update January 31, 1PM:

Without this base, we'd need much better snow in the coming days before we could ride. With the base, almost any new snow will allow us to get out and ride. Some snow is coming over the next 24 hours - maybe quite a bit, if the rain stays south of here. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Outlook:

Best guess on the outlook for riding is that there will be snow on the trails tomorrow (Friday), but it will be a messy, sleeting, slushy day and not fun for riding. A mild freeze Friday night should set us up for fair riding conditions on Saturday and Sunday.

Then a near carbon copy of this past week arrives next Monday and Tuesday with a big warmup followed by falling temperature and more snow by Wednesday and Thursday. Hopefully there will still be a base on the trails at that time.

We are right about at the time of year when real winter arrived last season. There's still hope for a prolonged period of good trail conditions.

Update, January 29, noon:

Update, January 28, 10AM:

There was extremely heavy sled traffic over the weekend because of the Folsom Dice Run and vintage sled show. Riding conditions this morning are fair. Meghan and I went for a short ride covering the trails radiating from Byrncliff early this morning. The base is hard packed with small stutter bumps widespread. There is a base, and you can certainly get in a decent ride today. There are only a few bare spots here and there. More frequently there is dirty packed snow from the very thin base. Some fields have developed stutter bumps and small moguls, while others remain pretty smooth. Nearly all woods trails and narrow spots are bumpy.

There were four or five trailers unloading at Byrncliff when we pulled out a little before ten AM. Have fun. Keep your fingers crossed that the rain forecast tonight is not too heavy. Please stay off the trails Tuesday. Wednesday will be cold again with some snow (high winds?).

NOTE: C4 trail just east of Byrncliff heading towards Varysburg is CLOSED today because of utility construction work.

Congratulations to the Folsom Trailblazers club for catching a slam-dunk of a day for their Dice Run and Vintage Sled event. The sun was out for much of the day, no wind, and temps just below freezing. Lots of sleds and spectators showed up and everyone was having a good time while we were there. (What a difference from last year, when the event was run in a snow squall!)

Trail conditions were good to very good wherever we looked at lunchtime. I have not talked to any groomer guys so I'm not sure what might have been done over Friday night, but it appeared that at least some of the trails were groomed again since my report yesterday. In any case, they looked very good, with a few bumps near corners and road crossings as you would expect with the heavy weekend sled traffic. No doubt there are also bumpy areas in the woods. Field trails looked very good.

With a firm base, I would expect conditions to still be pretty good tonight if you're thinking of heading out late. Temperature is going down to about 20 overnight, so there will be decent riding Monday morning if you're off. Meghan and I are going out for a while in the morning.

As you all probably know, temperatures are expected to soar to near 50 on Tuesday. I hope everyone stays off the trails on Tuesday since it is going to quickly get cold again Tuesday night. Riding should be good again the rest of the week, with next weekend possibly bringing another warming trend. Be grateful for the past week - real winter has not set in for the long term yet.

Today's riding conditions are fair to very good in some places. There is very heavy sled traffic today. (All lots at Byrncliff were full by 11AM, with many trailers - mine included - parking along the street) With the heavy traffic, the trails are very hard packed and showing bumps where you would expect. Many field trails are still very good. The A&A rail bed section of C4 was groomed several times at the end of the week and it was holding up surprisingly well as of 1PM.

I rode the Byrncliff - Strykersville - A&A - back to Byrncliff loop and some of C4 north of #20A late this morning through lunch time. I had a decent ride. Conditions with the very heavy traffic this afternoon and probably even more later today and tonight will beat the trails up more as the day wears on. But the base is already so thin and so firm now that conditions will not get a lot worse. Nearly all the Folsom trail system was groomed Thursday night or Friday, so the base began the weekend in good condition. If you're thinking of coming out tonight (Saturday night), I would expect much of your ride to still be good conditions. Check today's picture album to get a better idea of what to expect.

Light snow is expected to fall for much of the afternoon - not enough to change anything, but enough to keep the trails white!

I was very torn about whether or not to ride myself today. I really enjoy freshly groomed trails and wanted to get out before the weekend crowds. But I rode a lot the past two days and my senior citizen body is showing a little wear and tear. With the weather forecast calling for blowing snow, I figured I'd pass it up today.

Add in the fact that a band of moderate lake effect has settled in late this morning right over the Folsom trail system. The weather service has changed their forecast and upped the predicted snow to 3" to 5" for the afternoon. Watch out for near white-outs in the heavier snow slurries and wind gusts. Have fun - I wish I was out there with you again today!

Update, January 25, 9AM:

Let 'r Rip, boys! Folsom groomer operator, Jim, talked to us by phone this morning and reports that "everything south of #20A was groomed again last night". Along with my first hand report of good to very good yesterday, I expect you will have great conditions on the Folsom trail system if you ride today. Have fun.

Update January 24, 6PM:

Late word is that the trails in Strykersville that had not been groomed by this afternoon may get done tonight. Also, several bursts of briefly heavy lake snow have been popping up in the Varysburg - Strykersville area this afternoon and this evening. I've had calls reporting about 2" of fresh snow on the trails late this afternoon.

Thinking of riding the Folsom Trailblazers trails tonight? Conditions are generally good to very good, considering the still thin base on most trails. With all the snow that fell yesterday, you might be surprised to hear that there's still a thin base, but the snow that fell was a very light, fluffy powder and does not pack well. But we'll take it!

Some people involved in the grooming decisions considered not grooming for a couple more days to let the new powder settle. That would have been a defensible decision. But I am glad that the choice was made to hit the trails right away. Yes, they will break down again quickly. Yes, they will need to be done over soon. And yes, we need more snow. But the good grooming effort last night and today will help pack a base and was well worth doing in my opinion.

I offer applause for the Folsom groomer guys. They have put in a huge effort yesterday and today to do the best they can to take advantage of this new snow. Most of the system has seen one pass of a groomer in the past 24 hours, and some sections like the A&A rail bed have had several passes. I couldn't ask for more.

Meghan and I rode from Byrncliff east through Varysburg and down the A&A to North Java and Java. All of that had been groomed by mid afternoon. From Java Center through the trailer camp ground to Strykersville on C4A had not been groomed when we rode through in early afternoon. It was not bad, but could use a groomer pass.

From the west side of Strykersville near the Red Apple gas stop, a groomer had been through the woods and up over the hill to S43 and had groomed all of S43 back to C4A.

We did not ride the north side of #20A and the Bennington loop, but we saw the fresh groomer tracks headed north of #20A on both C4 and C4B, so much of the north side has been done.

I also compliment the groomer guys for making a good effort to groom the connecting trails heading to the adjacent club trails. Jim has twice mentioned hitting the trail heading towards Rock Glen, and today the Folsom part of C3C heading south towards Arcade was freshly groomed right up to the end of the Folsom trails where the "Drift Hoppers " take over.

Meghan and I rode all of the Folsom Trailblazers system south of #20A this afternoon. Conditions ranged from fair to very good. Some places in the woods where the trail is narrow and everyone's pounding the same track are pretty thin and rough. Most field trails are good to very good, especially if you like drifting through six inches of fresh powder and hitting drifts the way I do. Whoooo-hooooo!

Heading east out of Byrncliff on trail C4 and then C4A, we found good ungroomed conditions to the A&A railbed trail. Jim had groomed that last night, and it was still pretty good this afternoon. C4A through North Java, Java, and over to Strykersville was good on the fields but pretty rough in the woods. An exception was the section through the trailer park which was very good in the woods.

Cutting across S43 from C4A to C4B near Strykersville was very good, since it is mostly field trail with good snow cover. Jim lives not far from this trail and measured snow in his yard from 13" to 17". I checked snow depth when I stopped in a field on C4B and there was a solid 12" plus where I measured and it is still coming down as I write.

C4B and S41 heading from Stykersville back to Byrncliff were getting a little rough in some places by the end of the afternoon. There were a lot of guys calling in sick today apparently! The lower lot at Byrncliff was full of trailers. There were lots of sleds parked by the resort, and over in Strykersville, the parking lot at the Pub was full of sleds when we pulled in. Most riders we spoke with felt conditions on the trails were fair to pretty good. Although there is a big difference in conditions from place to place, I'd give it a "good ride" rating on average.

There is definitely enough snow to start running the groomers. Because the new snow is powder, you could argue that it would be good to let it settle a day or two. But with the pretty heavy traffic today, the sleds have packed down a lot of the powder. I say get the groomers moving. I have unofficial reports that the Folsom Club may be grooming Strykersville tonight; Byrncliff to the A&A and out towards Rock Glen tomorrow, and Java Thursday night. We'll report definitely when it happens.

Adam Leas sent in the following report from his ride Tuesday night:

Update, January 22, 8PM:

I just had a nice phone call from Folsom groomer operator, Jim S., reporting continuing heavy snow on the Folsom trail system tonight. He and some friends put in 100 miles of riding today around the Folsom system from Byrncliff through Java and Strykersville, then down through Chaffee and Arcade and up through Holland and back through Wales Center. He said riding was decent everywhere and especially in the Chaffee - Arcade - Holland area where there was a little more snow.

Jim reports that most of the Folsom system he rode today was in decent condition with the exception of some of the wooded sections that were pretty thin. Also some nearly bare spots on windy hilltops, as we reported earlier today. Jim also said the "A&A" railbed trail was getting pretty moguled up today, but he is leaving in an hour with one of the groomers to work that over.

If it keeps snowing all night in our area, as it may, we should be in pretty good shape and have enough snow to start grooming the whole system. Jim said he'd call in another report tomorrow. Good job, Jim!

Update, January 22, 6PM:

We drove through part of the trail system near Byrncliff today. There was one trailer in the Byrncliff lot when we drove by. The few inches of snow that fell yesterday was very wind blown. There looks to be good snow cover on some trails and others through hilltop fields are blown nearly bare. We'd rate riding conditions at fair to good still, with more snow needed.

A good snow fall is expected tonight, but with high winds again it may not settle on the parts of the trails where it is needed most. A little more is due tomorrow with lighter winds, so conditions should improve by Wednesday night and Thursday.

Update, January 21, 1:30PM:

We just had a phone call from one of the Folsom Groomer drivers, Jim, and another from a friend of Meghan's. I thought we'd pass along a little more information. Jim reports heavy snow continuing in the area. He and friends rode yesterday through much of the Folsom trails and down to the Milestone in Chaffee. They had a pretty good ride. Meghan's friends yesterday rode successfully from Java over through Springville and Concord. Although the snow is still pretty thin, it is widespread and people are riding. Jim also told me he had friends who rode down Chatauqua yesterday and were in one to two feet of snow.

Snow continues to fall in Old Forge so conditions should start to be pretty good there after they clean up from the weekend crush - lots of riders were there over this holiday weekend.

Muskoka is also getting snow and opening some trails as limited, but they still need some more snow. Things are getting better, though.

Update January 21, noon:

Meghan and I just returned from a long driving check on most of the Folsom trail system. Riding conditions today are fair to good. There has been quite a bit of traffic over the weekend with little new snow, so the trails are hard packed on a thin base. The good news is that with this thin packed base and very cold weather over the weekend, we now have a well frozen trail foundation. Looks like four to five inches of snow most places - more where it has drifted in, less where it blows on the hilltops.

More Snow Falling now!

Although there was little snow on the Folsom trail system over the weekend, light to moderate snow was falling steadily all morning as we checked the trails and it continues as I write. Radar shows the lake effect plume to be extending right over the Java - Strykersville - Varysburg riding area this morning and showing little movement. We should pick up more snow than the weather reports expected today!

We saw only one sled on the trails as we inspected this morning, but there were 14 trailers in the Byrncliff lots when we were there just before noon, so some of you are taking advantage of the Monday holiday. The snow this morning is coming down in big fluffy flakes, so it's very pretty out.

Below: trail C4A behind the Strykersville Pub

Below: looking north from Minkel Road on S43A

Update, January 19th, 1PM:

We drove out to Bryncliff and checked trails about an hour ago. A light snow had fallen and more was coming down, but we're still looking at less than 6" on most of the Folsom trails. There were three sleds parked in front of Byrncliff and two trailers in the lot. Conditions are fair in some areas to good on some of the field trails. Mud and slush holes are beginning to freeze up with the dropping temperatures. You could certainly get in a ride this afternoon. It will get better every day for the coming week.

Looks like scattered lake effect throughout western NY over the next several days. Varysburg to Strykersville area should get some. Looks like slightly more as you go a little more south towards Holland and Arcade - we'll see.

Update, January 17th:

No real news today - we're treading water with early season conditions. Temps in the mid 30's aren't helping, but at least it's been cloudy most of the day so not too much of our thin base has melted.

From tonight on temperature will be dropping steadily with some snow daily. Trails should be rideable and getting a little better every day through the weekend. Possible lake snow on the weekend, so we may even see some grooming when the winds calm down Sunday and Monday. Fingers crossed for good luck, everyone!

Update, January 16th:

Hello everyone. People were out riding the trails last night and a few this morning, with conditions from fair to good. There is more snow in West Seneca, Cheektowaga, and East Aurora than there is on much of the Folsom trail system. Byrncliff got only perhaps another inch since noon yesterday.

Conditions on the hay fields are quite good, with adequate snow cover except in low wet spots. But without any frozen base, you'll be running through water, slush, and mud holes frequently today and tonight, and again Thursday when it will be warmer. More snow along with much colder temperatures arrives Friday night, so we should have decent riding on the weekend.

Update, January 15, noon:

Hello everyone,

We've got good news and bad. The good news is that a bit more snow than expected came down last night and this morning and it's still snowing lightly in some areas. Although we have five inches at my place in East Aurora, we carefully measured only four in the Byrncliff parking area at 11am this morning and about three inches in Strykersville at the Red Apple. There's snow cover on all the fields and trails and everything looks nice and white.

Bad News: The snow came down over very warm, wet ground. Nothing is frozen up. The picture below looking south from Armbrust Road is typical of many low spots on the trails and in fields - note the large areas of slush.

More Good News is that temperatures will plunge Friday and over the weekend and we may get a good lake effect event on Friday and Friday night. We can only hope that the ground and base freeze up before a big dump of snow. And that's no sure thing, with a brief warm up to 40 coming on Thursday, and the ground insulated by the current snow cover.

So should you ride? It will be messy in the current conditions with so much slush and mud under the thin snow cover. BUT, I would encourage the eager riders to get out on the trails over the next two days and beat them down. That way when it gets cold at night, especially early Friday before possible major snow, the base can start to freeze. If no one rides, the ground will be slower to freeze up and we could have a mess with heavier snow over an unfrozen base.

Update, January 5, 8PM:

Congrats to those of you who got in a ride on thin snow today. Meghan and I stayed home and rode on our farm in East Aurora where we've still got snow cover as of tonight.

With temperature staying above freezing overnight and rising to near 50 tomorrow, we can say goodbye to any riding for the next week. Looks like colder weather will return at the very end of next week, so hope for the best then.

We will not post another update until snow returns. Check back Thursday and we may have an idea of what's in store for us.

Update, January 4th 9am:

We may post another update later today. Conditions should be similar to those reported for yesterday, although some additional snow fell overnight. Here's a report from Patty, who rode the trails after we did Thursday evening:

"Hi Tom,

I just wanted to Email you quick and let you know how our ride went.

We just got back about an hour ago at 10pm from Byrncliff.

We headed down the way you told us to- from Byrncliff to Strykersville

and back. We clocked it at about 32 miles. We agree, the riding was

fair to good in areas. Open corn fields were the real difficult areas

because of the furrows and such. The other issue was the wooded areas.

Because of the minimal snowfall thus far, these areas didn't get hit

with as much snow with the overhanging trees which made those trails

slick with ice and rocky. I would say if you go out riding just BE

CAREFUL and drive slow. The open fields have lots of small streams in them

that are not frozen over and it's easy to come zinging along and land

yourself in them. Otherwise, for those of us that ARE desperate, the

riding was A-Okay. Many hay fields were nice and snow covered for a

smooth ride. The good news was it snowed a little here and there the whole

time we were out and when we were loading up to come home the snow had

picked up and was coming down pretty hard. Anyway, it was more than

worth it, we were happy to get at least one short ride in before the

giant meltdown this upcoming week and I only got a few chips in the new

skis this time around. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed the forecast is

WRONG.

PS- When we pulled into the parking lot today at Byrncliff Rick said.

"Oh look, at least we're not the only idiots riding the trails today-

there's one other snowmobile trailer here." It turned out it was you and

Meghan. HAHA!! :)"

Update, January 3rd:

One of the pictures in today's album shows Patty and Rick who drove all the way down from their homes on the shores of Lake Ontario to get in a ride. They knew conditions would be marginal, since they are regular readers of this website. (Thanks for your nice words about our reports, guys!) When asked why they drove so far for these conditions, they said, "Hey, we're desparate! We've got nothing to ride on at home."

Also, we welcome the Holland SnoRascals to this website as link partners. We are glad to have clubs link to this site. Even though we concentrate on reports for the Folsom Trailblazers club trail system, snow condition reports from this site should also be pretty good for adjacent trail systems.

Soon we will add a page to this site with links to many other trail condition websites.

Update, January 2nd, 1PM:

The trail system got maybe an inch or two of new snow since yesterday. There's from 3" to 5" on the ground, with considerable variation because of blowing snow. At least the ground is covered most places now, and the cold temperatures are freezing things up. If you ride, use GREAT CARE watching out for ditches and washouts that are concealed by very light blown powder snow.

Conditions today though Saturday morning will be fair to very good in some field trails that have good snow cover. There will be wet and muddy spots as the thin snow is quickly beaten into wet areas not yet well frozen. Very few riders have been out yet, but that will quickly change Friday night and Saturday as riders try to get in a quick one before the huge meltdown coming Sunday through Tuesday. If there is much traffic, the thin snowcover will become very thin and hard.

Update, January 1, 2008:

Temperatures have been hovering above freezing so the base is not well frozen at all and many washouts remain from the flooding last week. If you go out (not recommended), ride with care. Riding conditions today would be poor to fair, with many wet and muddy spots.

Things may change significantly for the better overnight with plummeting temperature and several more inches of snow. Some places will get 4 to 8 inches, but the forecast maps do not favor the Folsom trail system for the heaviest snow. Fingers crossed, all!

Riding should be decent early season conditions Wednesday through Saturday morning, with the coldest temperatures of the year freezing things up nicely Wednesday and Thursday.

Sadly, we are looking at near record high temperatures from Sunday through at least next Tuesday. We may be back to square one then. Bummer. Ride this week.

Update, December 31st, 1PM:

Things are looking up for the next few days, but only a few, sadly. Possibly heavy snow for a little while now and then over the next few days and very cold temperatures by Wednesday. We might have some decent early season riding Wednesday through Saturday morning. Maybe even by noon Tuesday, but things will not have frozen up until late Tuesday night when the temperature drops.

Big warm-up likely by the weekend, with temperature rising to near 45 by Sunday afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed the the weather boys are wrong.

Update, Dec. 30th:

Looks like both Tug Hill/ Old Forge and the Muskoka region in Ontario will be ridable this week if you want travel.

Update, December 26:

With considerable snow in Old Forge and Muskoka, Ont, and slightly colder temperatures both places, looks like some of us will be prepping our trailers for road trips!

Update Christmas Day:

The Folsom trails did NOT get any more snow after yesterday morning. There seems to be about two inches of snow most places - grass showing through in the fields. I had been hoping for a marginal ride tomorrow morning before it warms up but that doesn't look likely. I'd rate conditions as poor - barely ridable. There is considerably more snow where I live in East Aurora and near the city. Sorry.

Update, Dec. 24:

BEST CHANCE TO RIDE? Wednesday morning early. It sounds like Christmas night will be calm and partly clear with quite cold temperatures, so whatever snow we have then will be nicely crisp and mud holes may have frozen over. Temps will quickly rise Wednesday, to 40 or over, and then will be only slightly below freezing at night and well into the 30's or 40's daytime the rest of the week.

Sorry there's not better news!

Update, Dec. 23rd:

Well, the trails are out of business at least for a matter of hours. The big melt down started slowly, but by this morning (Sunday), all the creeks and streams are really ripping and low spots in the fields are either lakes or rivers. There's a little snow left here and there, but much of the system is down to bare ground. Good news is that the cold front is just now blowing through and temperatures will be back to the freezing range in a few hours. But you know that from watching TV!

Keep your fingers crossed that the lake effect machine sets up in the right areas to replenish our snow! Another important issue will be how much damage was done to the trails and bridges by flooding. Be very careful if you are one of the early ones back out on the trails after we get more snow!

Update, December 21:

Weather still looks promising for Christmas week if the trails aren't totally washed out by Sunday's rain.

Update, December 20th:

Keep your fingers crossed that the rain is less than predicted and the lake snow event a strong one. Temperatures look to be below freezing for much of next week, but not the arctic cold that we need to properly freeze up the trails.

Meghan and I took our sleds on a short ride this morning as the trails officially opened. We rode from Byrncliff up over the hill to the Red Apple in Strykersville, around through the village and back up over the hill. Conditions were fair to quite good first thing in the morning and got slushier and wetter as the day warmed up. It was early season riding conditions with many wet spots and open mud holes. The field trails were generally good to very good.

I met a couple of guys at the Red Apple gas stop in Strykersville. They had just ridden up from Arcade and they reported the riding had been "pretty good for this time of year" all the way up.

No grooming on the loop we rode, but Jim S. , one of the Folsom club groomer operators told me he went out right after the club meeting last night and groomed from Byrncliff up over the other hill through Varysburg and all the way down the A&A rail bed trail, so that should be pretty good today, so long as it doesn't get too beat.

Early Season Grooming - "To Groom or not to groom, that is the question":

There are some good arguments for keeping the groomers parked until the base freezes up and we have a little more snow. I understand that. But I also believe that the larger more successful clubs should do everything possible to get a groomer around all their trails on the opening day of the official riding season. Today was a good example. There were many spots on the trails where a groomer would do no good, or perhaps even harm the trail by tearing it up. But more than half the trails could have benefited from a groomer pass. More important is the public relations benefit from letting early bird riders see that the clubs are committed to grooming.

I am glad that Jim got part of the Folsom system groomed for opening day. I wish more had been done. Looks like we won't really have suitable conditions for grooming again for another few days.

Thanks to Don at A - Z Enterprise (Corner of Rte #77 and rte #20A - 585-535-7003) for doing some pre-season work on my sleds at very reasonable rates. I've always been a satisfied customer of Jancen's and I will continue to be. But since Jancen is often backed up a week or two in the shop, it's good to know that A - Z is available to do sled work and that they are located right on the Folsom trail system. Don got me right in when I needed work. Quick work - very fair prices.

Update, December 18th:

Meghan and I just did a drive around of parts of the Folsom trail system. There should be very good early season conditions when the trails open tomorrow morning. There's generally 6 to 10 inches of snow on the ground. Riders have behaved themselves and stayed off the trails until now, so they are not beat up at all in most places. A groomer has been out a little right near Byrncliff, but most parts of the trail system, especially out towards Java and Strykersville where we drove, are untouched snow. If you go out tomorrow (I am!) watch out for open ditches and thin ice on mud holes. We had a little very cold weather last week, but not enough to really properly freeze up the base.

If you want to ride this week, get 'r done the next few days. Temps in the 40's coming Saturday and Sunday. I'm looking at tomorrow morning (Wednesday) and Friday morning being the best riding times, while things are still frozen from the night time temperatures.

Update December 16: As you all know, we didn't get quite the storm that was predicted. But there's snow enough so that we'll be riding when the trails open this week! Keep your fingers crossed that the "rain or snow" coming Thursday is snow. Picture below at Byrnecliff yesterday:

Update, December 9th, 2007:

Some thoughts on Grooming from one snowmobiler

Part A - Thanks to the Groomer Guys!

Part B - Dream Grooming - A Wish List

Part C - What's Possible?

A Call For Publicized Grooming Schedules

Scheduled Grooming

What's Really Possible?

If We Have a Schedule, Will We Look Bad if We Get Behind?

The Snowmobile Rights and Responsibilities Act - Unintended Consequences

Just My Opinion

Tuesday, March 20, Noon:

It should all be gone tomorrow, with today's bright sun and tomorrow's warm temperatures.

Monday, March 19, Noon:

After a cold night, well below freezing, widespread light snow is falling in all of our riding area. IF (big IF) the changeover to rain expected in some parts of western New York for a few hours later this afternoon is brief, we may have passable snowmobiling conditions through Wednesday morning. Temperatures will remain below freezing all day tomorrow and may drop into the single digits Tuesday night!

All the snow should disappear over the Wednesday and Thursday time period, except the big drifts, so get in any last rides between now and late Wednesday morning.

I did not check the trails myself this morning. I expect my report from yesterday afternoon (below) is still pretty accurate; we did have several hours of sun with temperatures just above freezing for about three hours late Sunday afternoon, so the few bare spots I saw likely are a little bigger. But I doubt we lost much snow cover. And today's snow is replenishing some of that.

Sunday, 3-18, 3PM:

I just went out riding for a couple of hours. I rode for about 2 hours, and though you can see from my pictures that there were a few sled tracks on the trails, I passed not a single sled in that time. There were no trailers at Byrncliff when I started or when I finished my ride. Where is everyone? Riding conditions are pretty darn good!

I left from Byrncliff and took S41 through the woods and up over the hill to C4B, then turned south towards Strykersville, then took S43 back east across Rte #77. I did not ride all the way to the A&A, but turned around and went back to Byrncliff the way I came, mostly because I had not expected riding conditions this good and I was low on gas! I am upgrading my trail condition report to Good to Very Good on 75% of the trails, especially across fields and on the longer runs through woods. I had a great ride!

But watch out for "death traps"! Watch in low spots, even in big fields, for hard to see wash outs that cut across the trail. And there are a few real washouts at small creek crossings and bigger drainage areas. (see my photo album link below) But otherwise, conditions are surprisingly good. It was a windy day, which was good in today's conditions. Fresh powder was blowing onto anyplace where the trail was packed lower than the surrounding snow. The wind had scoured the snow very thin on a few hilltops, especially on S43, but only for short stretches.

Trails are quite smooth, since "nature's groomer" had been at work earlier in the week. (The melt down with low sled traffic allowed the trail surface to level off in most places before refreezing.)

Below: Picture at 2:30 this afternoon (3-18-07) - not bad for March 18th! Trail C4B - but watch for a few small washouts and raised ice sheets near here.

Sunday morning, March 18, 8AM:

Although temperatures are supposed to remain just below freezing today, the expected snow showers are not materializing, and instead we're looking at bright sunshine. Riding should still be decent early this morning, but the sun will quickly eat up the trails wherever bare ground shows through. Ride early if you plan to play today.

Saturday, March 17, 8PM:

Kenny T. was out on the trails early this afternoon and sent in this report:

Looks like we're about done getting snow, maybe a few more light flurries. Have fun on the trails Sunday and Monday morning. There may be some snow around until Wednesday, depending on whether we get rain Monday afternoon, but it will be pretty thin after Monday, no matter what.

Saturday, March 17, Noon:

Trail conditions from Byrncliff to Strykersville are Fair to Good. Very definitely ridable, but no one is riding. I saw one sled track this morning and no one in the Byrncliff parking lot, so the trails are all yours if you want a last ride. A gentle snow was falling all across the Folsom riding area this morning and continues now. There was 3 to 5 inches of new snow on the ground in most places with a carefully measured 5 inches on a level part of the Byrncliff parking lot at 11AM. As of 1PM, Buffalo radar shows moderate snow continuing over our riding area.

The trails looked Good in most places, but beware of unexpected washouts and wet spots or open water in low areas on the trails. If you want to let 'er rip, go slow across a section of trail to check for dangerous conditions, then turn it on on the way back. Ride safe in these late season conditions. I saw a few nasty ditch crossings and frozen ruts this morning.

Snow, light most of the time, is expected to continue for a while this afternoon and again tonight with 17 degree temperatures tonight. Riding should continue Fair to Good through Sunday and again Monday morning after another night with temperature in the teens. Monday might or might not be warm enough for rain, which would wash away this new thin snowcover. The "Fat Lady" will definitely sing her last song by mid week.

I also checked the trails in the Strykersville area and there is snow cover and decent conditions there. You could have a ride today from Byrncliff to the Pub and back with mostly Good conditions. I did not check Java or the Bennington Loop trails today and cannot vouch for them, but I see no reason why similar conditions will not prevail on most of the trail system.

Below: Dutch Hollow and most secondary roads in the area were snow covered this morning (3-17, 10:30 AM)

Below: Trail S41 just east of Rte #77 looking south, 11AM, Saturday, March 17th; compare to the picture further down the page from two days ago in the same spot

Below: Just north of the tree line, here is the trail coming from Byrncliff towards rte #77 where I was standing for this picture

Below: The Byrncliff parking lot at 10:45 AM, Saturday, March 17; 5 measured inches on the level

Thursday, March 15, 10PM:

Hello everyone. It's not often that I make three reports in one day, but very interesting things are going on with the weather and the "late season winter storm" on the east coast. I'd consider gassing up the sleds for the weekend. There is still some uncertainty over the exact amount of snow we'll be getting in the Byrncliff area, but it sounds like enough to ride on! I'm planning on a Saturday ride, myself. (Keep in mind if you want to try to ride that all water crossings and creeks will still be open.)

Thursday, March 15, 4PM:

Well. "the Fat Lady" has sung- - - - - Probably! There are numerous bare spots on the trails, with completely bare south facing hills in many areas, along with bare hill tops where the wind usually blows. There is no longer really a cohesive rideable trail system.

BUT - - - it is surprising how much packed snow base still exists in many places. Check my pictures below from this afternoon. The temperature is dropping now and will be in the teens for the next several days with highs remaining just below freezing. - - - And there is a deep low pressure center and winter storm moving up the east coast, with significant snow expected from New England well inland ALMOST to us. We will certainly see some snow tomorrow and Saturday. IF the late season storm shifts just a little more to the west than the weather service is now thinking, we could see enough snow to ride again on many parts of the Folsom trail system. It might be worth holding off on officially closing the trail system for another day to see where the storm tracks.

Back to our area, here are a few pictures showing the snow base left in many spots; if you're from out of the area, you may be surprised by what we've got left! If we do get even 3 to 5 inches of snow tomorrow and tomorrow night on top of the remaining trail base in the pictures below, you'd be able to trailer to Byrncliff and have some good riding on the nearby field trails which still have some snow base now. Altogether now, fingers crossed!

Below: Looking south from Rte #20A near Dutch Hollow Road at 3PM, March 15; note that the actual trail is still snow packed through the otherwise bare cornfield!

Below: Looking west from Sheldon Road about 3:10PM March 15; lots of snow along this part of the trail still

Below: looking the other way, east from Sheldon Road at 3:10 PM, March 15th;

Below: Looking south in the field next to rte #77 where the new groomer barn will be; still snow pack on the actual trail in this entire area, with a short bare spot just south of here where the trail is about to cross Rte #77; lots of snow on the trail along the tree line just to the left of where I'm standing to take the picture. 3:20 PM March 15

Thursday, March 15, 1PM:

The Folsom Trailblazers club website (see above link) has not QUITE said, "The Fat lady has sung", but almost. Before announcing that the trails are officially closed, they may be waiting to make sure there is not significant snow this weekend, a decision with which I agree.

I am driving out this afternoon to see if there is any hope at all for weekend riding. I doubt it. Expect a "trails officially closed" announcement any day.

- Tom

Tuesday, March 13, noon:

Surprisingly, trail conditions radiating from Byrncliff are still fair to Good spring conditions as of RIGHT NOW! No guarantee how long that will last on a near 60 degree afternoon.

I went out this morning expecting to pronounce the trails "dead", but the long cold spell we've had for over a month has allowed the trails, especially field trails, to build up a deep hard packed snow and ice base, which is insulating the frozen ground under the trails. There are a few bare spots on hillsides and in the woods, but if you want to put on jeans and a sweatshirt, you can have some fun this afternoon.

I talked to the folks at Byrncliff, and they are still welcoming sledders to unload. You'll have to ride across a few mud spots and bare spots on the grass to get to the beginning of the trail. I suggest heading west. I did not see it but I imagine the hill going east from Byrncliff on trail C4 is bare and muddy.

Take S41 west from Byrncliff, where there is still plenty of snow in the fields. Then take C4B south towards Strykersville. There was plenty of snow on this trail as far as I could see from Rte #77, Sheldon Road, Bloecher Rd, Centerline Rd., Armburst Rd, Dutch Hollow Rd, and Bartz Road. The hill trail behind the Red Apple in Strykersville is mostly bare and muddy - I would not go that way. I would stay out of Strykersville village.

Take S43 towards Bartz Road, then either run S43 out across Rte #77 (good snow, but a few bare spots on hill tops) then play around on S43A and C4A between Strykersville and Java Center.

The above is what I can vouch for. I did not travel around the Bennington Loop, but there did look to be good snow in the fields jsut north of Rte #20A as I drove by. There is snow on most of the trails visible from the roads in the North Java area, with bare spots on some hills. There looked to be brown "snirt" on the A&A, but it is probably rideable.

The creek ice is going out as I write. I watched some ice breaking up while I inspected trails this morning. There will be water in low spots and drainage crossings. Take care.

With temperature staying up near 50 overnight tonight, I don't know if there will be rideable snow tomorrow morning or not. With 60 degrees again tomorrow, I would think that would finish off the trails as a rideable system. I will not go out tomorrow, but will plan to check on Thursday to see if it is truly done.

Sunday, March 11, 10PM:

Well, maybe one more day tomorrow! The clouds hung around until early afternoon today which kept temperatures in the 30's and the sun off the fields for much of the day. Riding conditions were pretty good on the trails radiating from Byrncliff, but there was only one sled trailer there during two visits I made today. I heard only a few sleds in the distance on the trails. Very low traffic which helped keep the snow that's left on the trails.

There is a hard pack snow and ice base on most of the trails, and they are still pretty smooth. Some stutter bumps. Temperatures are going down to the low 20's with a clear night tonight, so early riders Monday morning can have a decent time playing on the frozen up trails.

Temperature forecast to go above 50 Monday afternoon, only down to 39 Monday night, and above 50 again Tuesday. That should do it, I would think.

Check back here late this week or next for some thoughts on this year's trail conditions.

Sunday, March 11, 8AM:

You should probably be on the trails or on the way out your door already if you want a decent ride today. It did get just below freezing most places last night, but things will slush up fast in today's bright sun and temps in high 30's - low 40's. There will be many decent field trails still today, but the woods and many hill tops and south facing hills began to go bare from yesterday's 50 degree temps and rain and will quickly get worse with today's sun. Watch out for water and deep slush in low spots. Watch out for deep, hard to see wash outs where drainage areas cross the trail!

Saturday, March 10, 11AM:

Spring conditions today (with light to moderate rain at the moment). Surprisingly, there were 15 to 20 trailers in the Byrncliff lots an hour ago with guys getting in their last "rip in the rain". The field trails surrounding Byrncliff have a thick, hard packed base, and looked Good to Very Good still this morning. But it was already 49 degrees at Byrncliff by 11AM, with rain falling. Hillsides and hill tops in the fields are beginning to go bare already. The silver lining in the clouds is that today's light rainy conditions will keep the sun off the trails until tomorrow morning.

Anyone riding today can get in some good runs on the field trails if you don't mind going through some muddy and bare spots here and there. Tonight they are still looking at below freezing temperatures in the area (though already we are warmer than they forecast). I think there will still be very rideable snow most places by tonight, and if there is a freeze overnight, then people who get out very early tomorrow morning (and I mean like 7 AM), should have a nice ride.

With temperatures over forty and bright sun tomorrow, we'll really be into marginal spring conditions by late Sunday. Then . . . . . . . . . . .

There is a possibility of very cold air and snow next Friday, but I expect we'll be awash in rushing streams, ponding in low spots, and mud by then. But maybe a chance for the real diehards to play one more time here and there.

Below: Leaving the Byrncliff parking lot; mud where there was ice yesterday, and the hill to the north half bare; March 10, 11AM

Below: Saturday morning; looking east from rte #77 towards Byrncliff; note the field showing though and mud near the road, but generally decent hard pack on the trail

Below: March 10, 11:15 AM; trail C4B crossing Centerline Road; still good conditions, but lots of slushy snow

Friday, March 9, 8:30 AM:

Hi guys. I'm on my way out the door for my last ride of the season probably, with awesome conditions on the Folsom trail system. Check my full report from last night below!

The trails will quickly deteriorate later today with temps near 40 and bright March sun. Worse tomorrow with rain and 46. A quick freeze Saturday night, and one more half way decent ride on Sunday morning, early, and then we're all on our own with "spring" conditions.

Check back here next week for my end of season summary and a "wish list" of what could be done to better coordinate and improve riding conditions and communication with riders for next year.

Thursday, March 8, 9PM:

I ran a full tank of gas through my ZRT this afternoon. Awesome riding conditions on the Folsom Trailblazers system! I used a lot of gas because the trails were all so good that I was riding WFO most of the time. You'll have some great riding tonight and Friday morning!

Traffic was not too heavy early in the evening when I came home, so the conditions I describe below should apply tomorrow morning, when it will still be cold, but with bright sunshine.

I left from Byrncliff and rode down C4 past Varysburg. Conditions were Good, with a few bumps here and there and some moguls on turns. The A&A railbed had been groomed, but needed another pass or two to be perfect. Decent conditions. And the rest of my ride got better and better. Once I hit C4A conditions improved to Very Good to Excellent running through North Java, the camp ground, and on to Strykersville. These trails were groomed yesterday, and it has held up well overnight!

From Strykersville I ran the C4B past the Red Apple/Kwik Fill and up the hill across Dutch Hollow Road; conditions were Great in Strykersville, and Fair to Good in the woods behind the Red Apple; there is some bare dirt showing in the woods on this hillside. From there on, conditions were Excellent on C4B all the way back to #20A. I also took a long detour across one of my favorite trails on the whole system, S43 - which was Very Good to Perfect! A great ride. S43A in Strykersville was also Excellent!