Winter Fat Biking

CAMBA grooms and maintains miles and miles of winter bike trails in Sawyer and Bayfield Counties. In addition, there are literally hundreds of miles of plowed town roads to tour.

Cable/Seeley/Hayward Trail Update (12/5/2024) – We understand how much everyone looks forward to enjoying the trails, and we want to share that the trail captains have decided to hold off on grooming for now. We know it can be disappointing, but we encourage you to explore the ungroomed trails in the meantime. With warmer temperatures predicted for this weekend, it’s important that we avoid creating an icy base that could affect everyone’s experience. As TJ wisely reminded us, sometimes the hardest part is simply having the patience to wait for the right conditions. We truly appreciate your understanding and support during this time, and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us. Thank you for your understanding!

Mt Ashwabay Trail Update (12/5/24) – After receiving 6 to 10 inches of snow last weekend and an additional 2 to 3 inches yesterday, it was time to start packing the Ashwabay fat bike trails. The focus was on areas that don’t utilize the summer trails, as they had the most snow. While conditions are likely soft, it’s still worth a ride for the adventurous. Snowshoeing would help with compaction, so feel free to bring a lopper since there are a few saplings protruding from the trail.

We will need to wait a bit longer to groom again, as some areas have thin coverage. It’s worth noting that some of the summer single-track trails have only a thin layer of snow and have been boot-packed. Trails such as Get Up, Get Down, Diesel Bear, Magic Carpet, and Dirt Lip Part 3 are ridable on a fat bike. However, the remainder of the trail system has more snow and is essentially closed or suitable only for a backcountry adventure.

Where to ride:

  • CAMBA grooms trails for winter riding in Hayward, Seeley, Cable and Bayfield. See Trail Maps section for Winter for trail length, level of difficulty, description and detailed maps.  For daily fat bike trail conditions and grooming plans, visit CAMBA Trail Conditions.
  • Care should be exercised during transitional seasons when the frost is going in and coming out of the ground. Trails are particularly vulnerable to rutting at these times.
  • Riding is prohibited on all state-funded snowmobile trails in Bayfield County. This includes all groomed snowmobile trails except those using town roads. Bayfield County has a specific ordinance prohibiting anything except snowmobile use on these trails.  Sawyer County policy discourages the riding on snowmobile trails in the winter.
  • CAMBA does not endorse riding on snowmobile trails.
  • Groomed ski trails: As a general rule, bikes are not allowed on groomed ski trails in northwest Wisconsin.
  • Town roads – snow covered dirt and gravel roads are open to winter biking. Some of these roads may also be snowmobile routes, but if it is a public road, it is open to bikes. Use extra caution on these routes.
  • Winter Fat Biking FAQs

Winter Hiking

We all want to be outside! But where can we go? The rights of bikers and walkers on groomed trails depends upon whether the trail is on public property or private property.  CAMBA is launching an effort to foster a better understanding of this topic, encourage trail courtesy, and suggest alternative trails for walking.

 

Trails on Private Property

The Hospital Gateway Trails are on private property where the property owner has decided that no walking of any kind is allowed on groomed bike and ski trails in the winter. 

 

Trails on Public Property

Most of CAMBA’s other winter trails are located in the county forest. We cannot restrict walking anywhere in the county forest.  The most we can do is to ask walkers to be respectful and use snowshoes or to at least walk on the edge of the trail. 

 

Be Nice. 

We need to be respectful when we encounter walkers on our groomed trails and ask them to respect other users. Many trail walkers don’t understand that they might be having an adverse impact on other users’ enjoyment of the trail. They don’t know that it is better to use snowshoes or walk on the edge of the trail instead of down the center. They might not know of alternative walking trails.

 

Alternative Trails for Walking

A number of alternatives exist for walkers as outlined below.  We will be updating our website, and identifying other communication channels to reach this audience and support their enjoyment of the trails.

 

In Hayward

  • Hospital Road Trailhead snowshoe trail 
  • Sherman and Ruth Weiss Memorial Library walking trail, (now groomed by CAMBA)
  • Town of Hayward Recreational Forest

In Cable

  • Cable Community Center 
  • North End Trailhead

Thank you for supporting the Trail Courtesy initiative!