A New Winter Season Takes Shape on the Norpine Trails

Our trail base is in reasonable condition, the groomers are waiting for enough snow to begin grooming the trails. Pre-season maintenance was accomplished again this year with the help of the North Star Ski Touring Club and other volunteers, who manually cleared trails of encroaching tree branches and downed trees. A wet fall and soggy trail conditions made mowing the trails difficult but recent freezing cold weather has allowed mowing to be accomplished for this season. Seasonal winds and wet heavy snowfalls always complicate the situation by bringing down additional trees and limbs and brush leaning over the trails that need to be removed. A special effort was made this fall to widen the trails and remove leaners that create problems when heavy wet snow falls. Hopefully, this work will make a difference this winter.

During the 2019-20 season, Norpine will be continuing last year’s pilot project to look at shared-use of most of the Connector Trail between the Lutsen Ski Hill Road to the Cascade River State Park Snowmobile Parking Lot with fat-tire bikers. Biking, winter or summer, is not allowed on that part of our ski trail that goes through the DNR’s Lutsen Scientific Natural Area. This Restricted Area is well marked at both ends of the ski only trail through the SNA and needs to be respected by all bikers. The Connector Trail segment that is open to fat tire bikers features both a tracked ski lane for classic skiers and a packed lane for skate-skiers and fat-bikers. Bikers must yield to skiers and are prohibited from using the Hall and Massey loops. Riders need to check the Fat Tire Biking Logo at the top of this webpage for rules and the Trail Report to see when trail conditions are suitable for use by bikers.

Because winter fat-tire biking is experiencing such tremendous growth, our hope is that shared-use with fat-bikers will bring additional support to our club and business partners, ensuring that we will have both the financial and volunteer resources needed to keep our trails maintained and available for winter recreation.

New Equipment Storage Building for Norpine

If you’ve got big expensive equipment, then you need a place to store it! In 2016, Norpine constructed a new garage in which to store all of our trail equipment in one sturdy and safe place. This was a huge undertaking for our small Norpine Trail Association, both financially and physically!

Financially, the project was made possible by a $15,000 8-year loan from Cook County, by a $5,000 grant from the North Star Ski Touring Club (NSSTC), from state funds generated through DNR ski pass sales, contributions by the Lutsen-Tofte Tourist Association (LTTA), Norpine members, and Norpine business sponsors. Site preparation and construction work was done mainly by volunteers. Thanks to everyone that made this building possible, especially Bob Pranis and Pete Harris, who took the lead role for planning and directing this huge project.

Please show your support by making an additional financial contribution to Norpine. We now have capability to take online donations through PayPal (see DONATE button at top of page) or an old-fashioned check or money order would also light up our life! Send contributions to Norpine Trail Association, 1628 Croftville Rd., Grand Marais MN 55604

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