AbsoluteSnowmobile snowmobile grooming guide tug hill and old forge new york

The photo above was taken at the Flat Rock Inn, including Barnes
Corners Snow-Pals, Timberview and Flat Rock's Club's Groomers

Old Forge & Tug Hill are two great but separate places to ride. One of the defining differences is the amount of trail maintenance/grooming.

Read below to learn more about how each area is groomed and maintained:

Old Forge:
The Town of Webb/Old Forge's trails are made up of approximately 70 miles of trails and require a permit. There are hundreds of miles in every direction that are accessible from this area. With approximately four groomers, Old Forge does a superior job maintaining their network of trails, grooming 7 days a week, day and night, weather permitting. Where often a snowmobile club will only make one pass in each direction, Old Forge grooms until the trail is in good shape, conditions permitting.

All the trails that meet up with Old Forge's are maintained by snowmobile clubs. Inlet Barn Stormers head South east, to Moose River Plains and Indian Lake. The Trackside Blazers groom to the South, toward White Lake, Forestport and Boonville. To the West, heading towards Tug Hill is Brantingham's Club.
Heading North, you'll find a series of lakes, which aren't groomed. The lakes are a great place to ride on the weekends (Conditions Permitting) when the trails get bumpy.

During the week, you'll find the best conditions around, with the most consistently, flattest trails in the area, weather permitting. Groomers run day and night. Although a permit is required, it's well worth it to know the trails are properly maintained.

On the weekends, I suggest you ride early in the morning (Pre Sunrise). This area can receive a large volume of snowmobiles on the weekends and with that much traffic, the trails are bound to get bumpy. Although Old Forge grooms during the day, the snow never gets a chance to firm up, so on heavy volume days, you'll see signs of trail wear by mid to late in the day. One thing you can count on is that by the time you wake up in the early morning, the trails have been put back together. Again, nfortunately the trails don't get a chance to set and hold up to the next day's volume of riders. It is the snow capital of the East after all. Anyway, if you're not a fan of early mornings, try riding the lakes (Always Check With Locals Before Riding Area Lakes. Riding on lakes is dangerous and requires extreme caution) 4th Lake, Big Moose Lake, Stillwater Reservoir, Racquet Lake and Long Lake tend to have lots of powder and are relatively flat. Each of the lakes have businesses that cater to snowmobilers. No permit is required to ride on the lakes.

Tug Hill:
The Majority of the Tug Hill Plateau is groomed and maintained by the Lewis County Snowmobile Association, which is made up of over 8 Snowmobile Clubs. Each club has a designated area to maintain, which they man on a volunteer basis. The trail system on the Hill is made up of hundreds of miles of trails, through some very rural and picturesque areas and no permit is required.

There are hundreds of miles of groomed trails in every direction that are accessible from this area. All the trails that meet up with Tug Hill's trails are maintained by Snowmobile Clubs, with the exception of the Old Forge area. There aren't many lakes, until you head North East towards Stillwater Reservoir or South West to Redfield Reservoir. Whetstone Reservoir is probably the largest body of water on the Hill. Riders are able to travel South of Stillwater to Big Moose and 4th Lake without requiring a permit, utilizing Big Moose Road.

During the week, you'll find the better riding conditions. Many of the area clubs have started to groom everyday, however there are still some clubs that don't. With the new snowmobile registration system in New York, it made the area clubs competitive for members and the grooming has been better funded, as well as gotten better and better each year. In defense of the clubs... For years/decades, the area clubs have been under funded by the state to groom and maintain the trails the the way they should be maintained. So as the state aid and funding has increased over the past few years, the grooming in the area has gotten substantially been better. During the 06-07 season the main corridor trails on Tug Hill were groomed daily. The area has come a long way and getting better each year. The New York State Snowmobile Association has been instrumental in improving the safety and funding of our sport.

On the weekends, I suggest you ride early in the morning (Pre Sunrise). This area can receive a large volume of snowmobiles on the weekends and with that much traffic, the trails are bound to get bumpy. It is the snow capital of the East after all. Anyway, if you're not a fan of early mornings, try riding the lakes (Always Check With Locals Before Riding Area Lakes. Riding on lakes is dangerous and requires extreme caution) Tug Hill Doesn't have many lakes, other then Whetstone Reservoir. Redfield and Stillwater reservoir are the closest to the Hill and tend to have lots of powder and are relatively flat. Big Moose Lake and 4th Lake are accessible from the hill as well. Each of the lakes have businesses that cater to snowmobilers. No permit is required to ride on the lakes. Or try heading out of the area towards Carthage, Camden or beyond.

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