Snowmobile festival in Gaylord called off due to mild winter weather

GAYLORD — The mild winter weather the area has been experiencing has forced the cancellation of a popular snowmobile event.

The Gaylord Area Convention & Tourism Bureau has called off the Michigan Snowmobile Festival scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 2-3 in Gaylord. This two-day event has been hosted by the tourism bureau since 2015.

Although there is still snow in the Gaylord area, snowmobile trails are currently in poor condition due to last week’s unseasonably warm temperatures, according to the bureau. While many other winter activities are still taking place, this week’s forecast does not call for snowfall that would be enough to improve snowmobile trail conditions.

“This event brings snowmobilers primarily from lower Michigan, Ohio and Indiana together to experience all that Northern Michigan trails have to offer,” said Christy Walcott, director of marketing and communications for the bureau, in a statement. “The current condition of our trails doesn’t reflect what Gaylord usually offers to snowmobilers. We’re optimistic that winter isn’t over yet and people will still be able to get some time on our trails soon.”

The tourism bureau would like to acknowledge the following sponsors for their support of the event: Sled Shed, Extreme Power Sports, Sledhouse Snowmobile Rentals, John Taylor Painting, Dunegrass Co. and Great Lakes Exotics.

Last year's festival went off as scheduled and drew a record attendance of over 250 participants, according to Walcott.

— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Snowmobile festival in Gaylord called off due to mild winter weather