Snowmobiling in the Upper Peninsula has been a fun recreational sport for much of the community to enjoy. And while local sheriff offices want visitors and residents to enjoy the scenery and trails. Officers also want everyone on the trails to stay safe.
Deputy Matt Eberly, who specializes in off-road rescue and recovery, patrols close to 600 square miles of trails and road crossings throughout the snowmobile season. His work involves both enforcement and emergency response across the region’s vast network of recreational trails.
“A lot of times what I’ll do is I’ll have the snow loader loaded in a trailer and I’ll patrol from the truck, checking trail crossings, working for registration and trail permits,” Eberly said. “Our trails are two-way and you don’t know what’s on the backside, especially the last couple of years, I’ve been actually seeing more families on the trails.”
Just last weekend, Eberly patrolled more than 300 miles of trail on his snowmobile. Covering such extensive terrain requires close cooperation between law enforcement and local snowmobile clubs to identify various hazards.
“They see things that we haven’t seen and while I’m on patrol I see things that they don’t know about,” Eberly said. “Snowmobile accidents or snowmobile fires are a major danger because when a snowmobile catches fire it’ll burn right down into the middle of the trail which leaves a big hole and if the groomer doesn’t get there to fill that hole in we could have a fatal accident from a snowmobile flying along and hitting it.”
While Keweenaw County has not experienced a snowmobile fire incident this winter, Eberly stressed that proper maintenance protects machines from most fire-related problems.
“I knew when one snowmobile fire started because the subject took off with his brand new sled, didn’t pull the owner’s manual out of the engine compartment and it was laying against the exhaust,” Eberly said. “Caught the owner’s manual on fire, caught the sled on fire. But I think the biggest thing is maintenance. These snowmobiles take a pounding. You got to take your time and go through them and check everything out.”
Just like how sleds take a pounding, trails do as well. Slowing down heading into a corner maintains the trail’s condition, and allows riders more time to anticipate turning the skis or seeing oncoming traffic. Eberly encourages riding sober. Going as far to encourage riders wait until they return to their hotel before having a beer. Efforts by the Michigan DNR, snowmobile clubs and law enforcement has curbed drinking on the trails. However, Eberly adds, riders have taken up long trail rides. He says the danger with traveling well over 100 miles in a single day starts with having enough riding experience, careful attention to conditions, and the stamina to ride that far.
“On the trails going from point A to point B is not the place to party,” Eberly said. “As far as speed goes, I always say use the terrain as your speed limit. If there’s a blind hill or a blind corner, slow up. When you hit a straightaway where you can see forever, yeah, open it up, have some fun. If you see headlights coming at you, slow down, get to the far right though. Again, you don’t know if that’s an experienced snowmobiler coming at you or someone who’s just rented a machine has never been on one before.”
Eberly noted that this weekend will bring heavy trail traffic. Over the years, he has observed increased recreational activity on and near trails just before the annual Copper Dog race. This uptick can include encounters with non-motorized recreation users such as snowshoers.
“You’re not alone out there. So just be careful,” Eberly said. “Everyone has a right to enjoy their outside activity. So have fun, but be respectful.”
The sheriff’s office encourages riders to “Ride Right” this snowmobile season and provides additional safety information online. With families increasingly using the trails, officials stress the importance of responsible riding practices to ensure everyone can safely enjoy the Upper Peninsula’s winter recreation opportunities.
