Hiking at MECCA

Hiking MECCA Trails in the spring and early summer is a great destination to enjoy woodland flowers blooming such as marsh marigolds, American violets, yellow trout lily, bloodroot and a favorite, the trillium. The Little Turtle Flowage, on the west end of the trail system, provides an impressive viewscape of a 640-acre marsh. This habitat is home to trumpeter swans, bald eagles, osprey and sandhill cranes. If you are hiking in the early evening don’t be surprised to see a migrating woodcock launching into the air in front of you, displaying an erratic flight and ending with a steep dive back to the ground!

As a reminder, sections of the Moose and Homestead trails have wetlands which cannot be crossed. There are two boardwalks, one on Moose and the other on Homestead Trail which facilitate access to the west portion of the trail system.

Be tick smart while on the trail – prevent tick bites by wearing protective clothing and repellent and check for ticks during and after your hike.

Tuesday Trail Report

Grooming activity has been suspended for the season. The freeze-thaw cycle results in icy, fast, and dangerous conditions when overnight temps drop. Surface conditions soften as the temps go up, but icy spots remain in shaded areas. Trails have snow cover in the woods and bare spots in open areas.

Thursday Trail Report

The grooming team was out this morning to reset all tracks and comb the skate lanes on the entire trail system. There are a few icy and thin spots; otherwise, conditions are good to very good.

Wednesday Trail Report

MECCA received 5-6” of new snow in the past 24 hours. The grooming team packed the trails this evening and will go out in the morning to set tracks and comb the skate lane. Some icy and thin spots exist in the open areas that were windblown.

Wednesday Trail Report

A major winter storm is in progress in Mercer. Grooming teams are planning to pack trails tonight and groom tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates!

Weekend Trail Report

Mercer got 3-5” of snow in the past 24 hours. The grooming team was out this morning resetting tracks, which are mostly deep and firm. Skate lane was combed, surface is a mix of soft and firm. Conditions are mostly very good. Freeze-Thaw cycle started with warmer weather earlier this week, so the base has several thin and icy spots.

Wednesday Trail Report

The Mercer area has been experiencing above freezing conditions over the last few days. Grooming has been halted but will resume Thursday into Friday when temperatures start to moderate below freezing; some light snow is predicted before the weekend. Overall, the trail’s base has been holding; however, conditions are currently icy.

Saturday Trail Report

The grooming team combed the skate lane this evening. Tracks are deep & firm with a few wind blown spots. Excellent conditions… watch the temps & daily grooming reports as the freeze/thaw are forecasted.

Friday Trail Update

Mercer received an unexpected 2” of moisture starved snow on Thursday. Very pleasant skiing throughout, enjoying the nice glide. Groomers will be out this morning, Friday, re-setting track and combing the skate lanes. Tonight and Saturday evenings, skate lanes will be renovated and combed.

Good luck to the Birkie skiers!