RHINELANDER / SUGAR CAMP - If ice fishing is your thing, you've got some time before you need to put your auger away. But if you're an avid snowmobiler, you may be in for a rough ride.

Not long ago, the snowmobile trails looked like this. And now, they look like this...patches of standing water and mud...and don't forget the sun that's making it all possible.

Three Lakes Trails Officer Jeff Smith groomed the trails one week ago for the last time. "It's a short season as it is, it starts around Christmas time and this year it ended a little early. It'd be nice to go a couple more weeks into March."

But that isn't going to happen with Oneida County's trails closing Wednesday at noon. Eric Rady with the Oneida County Forestry Department says the rainy forecast isn't helping. "What's going to happen is that rain is really going to dwindle down the trail system as far as taking care of all the snow."

And it's not safe to travel the trails or groom them in this condition...not to mention it ruins the land. "The clubs have a lot of land use agreements with all the land owners and we definitely don't want to degrade the land owners, their land, their property."

But it's not just about the land...the other impact is financial. Smith says he sees a difference with downtown businesses. "When snowmobiles are there, there's activity, there's cars on the main street, parked and shopping and motels and restaurants are full and it isn't that way today."

In spite of Smith's dismay, it's hard to argue with Mother Nature. "As Luke says on the news, we should be around 31 degrees, not this 40 and 50 degree stuff, so yeah, it's a disappointment to see it go."

A disappointment saying it's time to bring out the summer toys.

Rady says overall it was a great season and all the clubs agree it's time to shut them down.

He also says the trails were open for about 80 days this year, a number that's close to the length of an average season.