Please Help Support the Costs of Winter Trail Grooming at DTE Energy Foundation Trail
Please purchase a grooming badge and sticker from us for $25 if you use the groomed trails at DTE this winter. All badge proceeds go into grooming costs – fuel, equipment maintenance, etc. Grooming badges will be mailed out on Friday of each week. Please display them proudly, hanging them from your saddle, pack or jacket so that everyone can see you are a supporter!
Purchase DTE Trail Grooming Badge
https://squareup.com/store/PotoMBA/
This winter, the Potawatomi Mountain Biking Association is embarking on an effort to give DTE Energy Foundation Trail users an epic “Four Season” trail experience.
We have planned out three groomed loops at DTE to give fat tire bikers, cross-country skiers and snowshoers the ultimate winter flow trail experience. The three loops will include all of the Green Lake Loop, the “lowland” parts of Big Kame just west of Green Lake Loop, and (hopefully!) all of the 8 mile Winn Loop which formally opened last August. These three groomed loops – Green Lake (5.2 miles), Kame Lowlands (just over 1 mile) and Winn Loop (8 miles) – will provide just over 14 miles of winter groomed trail to explore.
Grooming costs money!
The Poto Chapter uses a snowmobile and a recently purchased Snowdog track sled to groom with two different propriety singletrack groomers designed by Helzemco, a design, prototyping and fabricating engineering firm located just north of Chelsea. The Snowdog groomer cost around $4,000. Add to this the costs of fuel for the groomers and parts, maintenance and labor, and grooming becomes a worthwhile, but costly endeavor! For this reason, we are asking you, our groomed trail users, for targeting giving to fund the costs of grooming at DTE. If you are a regular groomed trail user at DTE, please consider donating to the cause. This is best done by clicking below and paying directly into our DTE Trail Grooming Fund.
The groomed portions of the trail have just recently been marked with maps and directions. Look for signage and maps on the trail and at the trail head off M-52. We will also soon be identifying each of the three loops with the DTE Winter Trail Groom Arctic Fox logo on this page. Green Loop will be marked with fluorescent green versions of the logo, Kame Lowlands with fluoro blue and Winn with fluoro orange. We will also be posting more information on groomed trail etiquette on the trail head kiosk.
What is “Winter Groomed Trail Etiquette”?
When sufficient snowfall exists on the trail (typically 4”-5” or more) such that it would impede regular foot and bike use, we will be grooming the trail to provide for a hard, compacted trail tread (surface). While this trail tread is firm, it still does not lend itself to normal season foot and bike tire use. Normal foot use will “post hole” (create deep depressions) and normal bike tire use (under 3.8”) will “pizza cut” (create deep, meandering channels) in the groomed tread, rendering it less-than-satisfying for all users. For this reason, when trail is groomed, it is:
ONLY OPEN FOR USE BY FAT TIRE BIKERS, CROSS-COUNTRY SKIERS AND SNOWSHOERS.
The equipment utilized for these uses all create “floatation” which suspend the user on the top of the trail tread without “breaking through”. We respectfully ask that normal foot and narrower tire mountain bikes stay off the groomed trail and turn their use to the plethora of other non-groomed trails and pathways in the local area. Fat tire bikes should be over 3.8” in width, and run under 10 p.s.i. in each tire (around 5 p.s.i. is typical).
For updates on groomed trail conditions throughout the winter, please visit our DTE Trail Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/dtetrail
DTE Trail – Winter Snow Grooming Map (PDF Document)
Enjoy your winter trail experience!
Follow link below to donate to the DTE Trail Grooming Fund.