Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By Tom Stankard
With winter in full-swing, snowmobilers and skiers came to Gogebic and Iron counties this past weekend to partake in winter activities.
Throughout the weekend, the sounds of snowmobiles could be heard near the trails and in downtown areas.
Lance Roffers, of Green Bay, Wis., visited Iron County for the first time. Roffers said he had fun in Hurley and liked snowmobiling along the snow-covered trails. Roffers said the trails were in good condition for the most part. During his visit, Roffers said he also went skiing at the local ski resorts.
According to the Hurley Chamber of Commerce, all the trails were open for snowmobilers to ride on. The local area features 200 miles of trails and are ready for snowmobilers to ride on.
On Sunday, Gary Traczyk, of Hurley, went riding along Trail 17 near Silver Street in downtown Hurley. Traczyk said he saw more snowmobilers on the trails than normal this weekend and that the trails were well-groomed.
Local businesses benefited from visiting snowmobilers and skiers. Up and down Silver Street, snowmobilers parked their sleds and had a night on the town Friday and Saturday before returning home on Sunday.
Motels and inns had more guests. At the Days Inn in Hurley, the inn was 90 percent full on Friday and completely booked on Saturday night.
Over in Ironwood, the AmericaInn on Cloverland Drive has been booked for the past few weekends. Down the street, Classic Motor Inn co-owner Annette Burchell said the inn has been busy as well these past few weekends with winter in full-swing.