Blueberry Ridge opens for season

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MARQUETTE - Get those cross-country skis out of storage and hit the trails.

"It's really good skiing," said Sten Fjeldheim, cross-country ski coach at Northern Michigan University.

Fjeldheim has been skiing at Blueberry Ridge Pathway in Sands Township with his ski team for the past few days.

About a foot of snow covered the trails Thursday morning with more snow falling throughout the day.

Fjeldheim has been grooming the Wolverine trail near the lighted loop, but the other trails won't be groomed until the state grooming contract kicks in Dec. 1.

"The DNR (Michigan Department of Natural Resources) has awarded NTN (Noquemanon Trail Network) the grooming contract for Blueberry," NTN board member Cary Gottlieb said.

However, NTN cannot start grooming earlier than Dec. 1 due to liability issues.

"Blueberry is open to hunting," he said. "That's state land."

Fjeldheim has a volunteer permit from the DNR to groom trails with his snowmobile.

NTN has groomed Blueberry's trails in the past. The organization is also preparing its own trail system, which can be used with a season pass, Gottlieb said. For more information, go to www.noquetrails.org.

Skiers do not require a ski pass for Blueberry Ridge Pathway, but donations - which go to the DNR - can be made at the trail heads.

Fjeldheim said he has already seen a good number of skiers on the Blueberry Ridge trails, including people from downstate.

"This has been nice," he said, adding that he will continue grooming some of the trails until the NTN takes over.