Hiawatha Highlands
New for 2022/2023, Hiawatha Highlands has hired a dedicated fat bike grooming team that will be grooming the Crystal Creek Fat Bike trail system. Grooming will take place each morning prior to 8:00 AM, and prior to the ski trails being groomed. This will allow for less disturbance to the ski trails and an improved grooming schedule. The Farmer Lake loop will be groomed by volunteers from the Sault Cycling Club. For real time grooming of the Crystal Creek trails system only, click here.
We utilize both a snow-dog and snowmachine (donated by the City of Sault Ste. Marie and the SSM Economic Development Corporation). These trails would not be possible without the permission from landowners (The Kinsmen Club of SSM & SSM Regional Conservation Authority) along with the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club who manage the Hiawatha Highlands property in the winter months.
Fat bike trail conditions will be posted regularly on our grooming report page and social media.
Where to Ride
December 13, 2022: Trails below marked closed do not yet have enough snow to groom. We will update them as we get more snow!
Crystal Creek: OPEN We have 9km of groomed singletrack trails available on the Crystal Creek trail system. The start of the singletrack trails can be accessed off the Hiawatha 2km ski loop and heading down the paved hill toward the pond. The trails run in the reverse condition of our summer trails in order to maintain the flow with skiers and to avoid potential collisions. Fat Biking trail markers are white with an orange border.
Farmer Bob’s 2.5 km Loop: OPEN This loop was added in 2022 and is rated as easy. It will offer skiing and fat biking to novice users. To access this trail, you can park in the right parking lot of the Pinder trail. Signage posted by Hiawatha Highlands should mark the trail. This area will not have our regular fat bike trail markers and is not single-track. It is a groomed ski trail shared by far bikes. All other areas of the Pinder trail system are closed to Fat Bikers in the winter.
Farmer Lake: OPEN Volunteers from the Sault Cycling Club will be dedicating their grooming efforts to the Farmer Lake trail this year. When riding, please use caution as it may be narrow and uneven in some areas. This is a multi-use trail and open to walkers as well. To access, head out towards Mabel Lake and you'll see a sign on your left approx. 1km down the trail leading you to Farmer Lake. This trail is approximately 6.5 to 7 km.
Mabel Lake: CLOSED Mabel Lake opens later in the year for fat biking. We'll let you know once it has been groomed. Keep in mind that this trail has traffic of snowshoers, walkers and skiers and dogs are allowed. Please yield appropriately to these other trail users.
Trail Pass Required
If you already have an annual Hiawatha ski pass it provides automatic access to the fat bike trail, however a bike-only pass may be purchased from Hiawatha Highlands. Prices and details can be found on their website: Passes - Hiawatha Highlands.
Thank You!
Thank you to the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club Executive & Hiawatha Highlands for partnering with us to make groomed fat bike trails happen. We’d also like to thank the Kinsmen Club of SSM and the SSM Region Conservation Authority for allowing the continued use of their property. Without them, we wouldn’t have access to build, maintain and ride these amazing trails!!! 