FARGO — With dry winters in the region over the past two years, snowmobilers are eager to hit the trails. Officials, however, are urging patience.

The snowmobiling season in North Dakota and Minnesota officially opened Monday, Dec. 1, but many riders are still waiting.

"Yeah, there's not enough snow. There's some snow in the ditches, but you start crossing over where the approaches are at, there's not enough snow, you can see there's gravel and everything else showing through on that," said Brent Haugen of the Cass Rural Snowmobile Club.

All 2,800 miles of North Dakota's snowmobile trails are still closed. In Minnesota, snow depth is also insufficient for safe riding.

"So even though the season has officially started, there are many trails that might not be open yet. And so it's import

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