Grand Marais community hit hard by lack of snow, winter sports tourists
GRAND MARAIS, Mich. (WJMN) — It has felt more like beach days than days for winter activities this week in Grand Marais. While temperatures were well above 50 degrees on Wednesday, members of the Grand Marais Sno-Trails Association held their regular meeting to discuss trail grooming and where to go from here given the snowmobile trails are now just dirt and mud.
Richard Williamson, a member the association and local business owner says that Grand Marais is almost completely reliant on tourism, and a huge part of that comes riding up on a snowmobile.
“You never expect to have a winter that mostly older timers here in town basically talked about hearing stories of back in the 1930s was the last time where we had a winter where you could drive your truck in the woods and not get buried,” said Williamson. “So it’s not something that really anybody around here is familiar with this shortage of snow.
The lack of snow doesn’t just effect those on snowmobiles, it effects the entire population. From bartenders, to restaurant workers, motel employees, and service industry workers., everyone feels the cold reality of a warm winter. Jeannie Kain, owner of Grand Marais Outfitters says she was forced to lay off all of her employees.
“It’s been rough,” said Kain. “It’s been very, very slow. Without the snow, there’s been the absence of snowmobilers and winter sports enthusiasts like snowshoers and cross country skiers. In addition to that, there’s been the lack of snowplow guys don’t have anything to plow, the bartenders, the wait staff, everything has been very slow. This February I was 30% of my sales from two years ago.
Williamson is also owner of The Breakwall restaurant and Grand Marais Powersports, a business that rents and sells snowmobiles. He says economically this winter was one of the worst he’s ever seen.
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“We don’t have any industry here,” said Williamson. “Our industry is tourism. That is it. It’s the investments that we all made expecting to have the snowmobilers here and they don’t have anything to ride and show up. All of the employees that work for us that expect their tips and having to cut them back multiple days because you just can’t have so many in here. So for us, the employee struggle has been the toughest.
Another business that relies on mother nature is lodging. Tom Cleary, owner of Voyager Motel has seen bookings way, way down.
“It’s been tough weather wise and people wise,” said Cleary. “Tough on the business itself. I guess if you like mildness and not a whole lot of snow, it’s been great. We survive on tourism in the winter and snowmobilers so it’s been tough.”
For tourist Aaron Ram, the lack of snow was no problem. They simply switched to 4-wheel side- by-sides, and had the trails to themselves.
“This year, it’s a huge difference,” said Ram. “Nobody out, there’s nobody out on the trails. We have seen two cars and they were close to the houses by Muskallonge Lake. Those are the only cars we’ve really seen. I haven’t seen anybody. It’s dead.
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