Even though there has been a recent warm spell, most snowmobile trails in the region have a suitable blanket of snow thanks to early season snowstorms.

“They’re passable,” summarized Jug Hill Trail Riders President Tim Fournier about the Livermore Falls club’s trails. “We did groom 95 percent of them. We’re waiting for another large snowstorm.”

He said that the rain from the past weekend’s storm didn’t have too much of an effect.

The Jug Hill Riders have cleared the trails of downed trees and limbs from the ice storms.

“We’ve had five or six guys working on removing debris,” said Fournier.

Despite the weather issues, the trails are in much better shape than last year, he said.

In Jay, the Andy Valley Riders have been dealing with work that Central Maine Power is doing on its line from Jay to Canton. Trailmaster Barry Romano said last weekend that it would be open to snowmobiles in another one to two weeks.

He urged riders to use caution because of ice and water on parts of the trail in North Jay.

A groomer that the club recently purchased has been a big help in maintaining the trails, said Romano.

“That thing is awesome. It’s like a big ski slope groomer,” he said.

Mike Perry, President of the Livermore Trail Blazers, thanked the members of his club who had volunteered to help out. The club’s trails suffered lots of tree damage from the ice storm two weeks ago and club members had removed the blowdown.

“The boys have been working their tails off,” he said.

More snow is needed for better riding conditions.

“Until we get another four to eight inches, it’s not going to be that good,” said Perry. “It is much better than last year at this time, though.”

The local clubs always welcome new members, and need all of the assistance they can get with trail maintenance. Romano said that of the 35 members in the Andy Valley Riders, about five to seven members do most of the work on the 38 miles of trails, and most of them are in their 70’s.

“The problem with young kids is you just can’t get them interested in working,” he said. “You can get them to ride, but you can’t get them to work.”

The Jug Hill Riders also could use help maintaining their 33 miles of trail.

“We have a lot of registered snowmobiles in the tri-county area,” said Fournier. “Everyone enjoys them (the trails) but very few want to do the work to maintain them. I’d like to see more people join the clubs.

To join the Jug Hill Riders, contact Fournier at 897-4737 or by e-mail at fourniers@roadrunner.com. Fournier is President and Scott Morris is the Trailmaster. To join the Andy Valley Riders, contact Romano at 897-2067. For more information about joining the Livermore Trail Blazers, contact Perry at 897-6146.

A snowmobile is parked near the outlet of the snowmobile trail by the Otis Falls Mill. Despite the recent stretch of rain and warm weather, a copious amount of snow remains on local trails.