St. Paul & the Iron Horse Trail

[badmonkey]

went up yesterday with my wife. we rode from St Paul to Lindberg, than tried following the trail north to Bonnyvile. Lost the tail markers somewhere on the pipline(which was great, lots of snow)that leg took us 3-1/2 hrs to go 84 kms. finally made it the Iron Horse Tail north of Bonnyville then followed it back around to St. Paul. all done it was 8 hrs of steady riding and 140 mile ride. even got suck once, wife pulled me out with the sno bungee. too all that mark and maintain the trails up there.........THANK YOU FOR A GREAT DAY! Question: will the gates on the trail be locked up on April 1 or will we be able to get in one more ride............still lots of good snow.:d:d Also how do you get on the trail to go south from St Paul??

 

[ridehard]

from all of the volunteers on the Iron Horse Trail and the 5 Clubs involved in the IHT Grooming Fdn: you are welcome!
The link from Lindbergh to Bonnyville is not opened at this time due to some things that need to be dealt with by the B'ville Club.(like you, others have found their way thru there) The Elk Point Club marks and grooms(as able) 1/2 of the stretch going North of Lindbergh, and have kept if opened....kudo's!
Keep coming back and bring your friends. ASA Trail Passes purchased from any of the Clubs (St. Paul, Smoky Lake, Cold Lake or the two already mentioned) help to keep the groomer powered up.
Going sledding.............

 

[badmonkey]

been ASA members for quite some time, will the gates be locked on april 1? and how do you get to the cabin south of St. Paul?

 

[ridehard]

Sorry, was getting out the door and skipped your questions:
The trail gates are never to be locked, but are closed after April1. The Texas gates on the sides still allow for passage, or one can open and then re-close the gate if preferred.
I doubt that they will be closed immediately after April 1, but the farmers do have that right.
The South trail from St. Paul Townsite: signage starts on the far West end of Upper Therien Lake, and continues generally southbound to the N.Sask River cabin. The cabin which is located 3 or 4 miles south of St. Paul was burned down last fall and is in the early stages of being rebuilt. The trail still runs thru that cabin site. From the St. Paul Stageing area, go east on the IHT to 881, follow tracks (no signage) south past Sobeys, then bear West, then south-west 1/2 mile to Lake front. Follow tracks on lake (at your risk/discretion) South-West, around rocky point, then due West to end of lake, where the first trail signs begin. This has not been groomed for a few weeks now and can be expected to be only in fair condition.

Today's ride: trail base is holding well with no dirt/gravel exposed yet. One 1/2mile windswept stretch a few miles West of St. Paul would have some exposure now, but has passable ditches.
Some melting should be expected in the next few days.

Hope this helps.

What shape are your clubs trails in?

 

[jwood99]

Just wondering how the trails look this year?

 

[pipes]

Just wondering how the trails look this year?

pretty skinny on the snow around Bonnyville yet.

 

[ridehard]

I'm agreeing with "pipes". West towards Smoky Lake is better, but Ashmont-East is rideable, but skinny.

 

[ridehard]

The snow is mostly gone, and the quads are out in full force.
Tracks off ----tires on.