Although winter officially doesn’t begin until Dec. 21, local snowmobile trails will open Dec. 1 if there is sufficient snow cover, and Scott County Sno-Trails is busy making preparations.

In spite of several years of below-average snowfall, club members are optimistic that the coming winter will provide plenty of cold temperatures and many inches of the white stuff.

According to club community liaison Tom “Digger” Anderson, snowmobilers by nature are an optimistic bunch.

“Last year was overall a disappointing one, but come fall everyone is optimistic that the coming snow season will be a good one,” said Anderson. "Our members are busy preparing our local trails in order to make sure they are ready to go when the snow arrives. We maintain 256 miles of trails, part of nearly 18,000 miles of local trails throughout Minnesota. When you add in the 2,000 plus miles of state-owned and maintained trails, you have one of the finest interconnected snowmobile trail systems in the country."

New this year is a corridor trail system that will allow snowmobilers to travel throughout the state without having to rely on local trail maps every time they leave one trail system and enter another. This will allow those who want to spend several days traveling the state by snowmobile to do so safely.

According to Anderson, local clubs located in Prior Lake, Savage, and Shakopee are always on the lookout for new members, and welcome anyone new to the area or new to snowmobiling to join.

"We work hard but we play hard too," said Anderson. "Anyone wanting more information about our club should give me a call at 763-370-9796. We all offer a 24-hour trail conditions hotline at 952-440-1003.”