SIREN—The accolades are piling up like snow at the end of the driveway.

From all across Burnett County, residents and merchants alike can't say enough about all the snow which has fallen so far this season.

"It's been wonderful," "We've had to order more trail passes," "It's a positive thing," "Business has been tremendous," "It certainly has been helpful," "It's been really good," are comments echoing across the county.

While the winter of 2008-09 hasn't been a record year for snowfall by any means, all the white stuff the county has received has been a blessing.

"It has been so dead in November and December the last couple of years, it's a relief to have snow," Greg Main, owner of 4 Star Sports in Webb Lake said.

"About one-third of the economy in the county is related to tourism, so any snow is helpful," UW-Extension Community Development agent Mike Kornmann said.

"We are close to the Twin Cities so that makes us an affordable destination," he added.

Kornmann also keeps an eye on the visitor's center and the county's website.

"The website hits we've had have been the highest we've had in quite a few years," he admitted. "There have been 10,000 hits on the snow trails in December alone."

The timing of the snow has been good for business, almost critical.

"If it doesn't snow between Christmas and New Year's, we never make up that loss," Main said. "It doesn't matter how much it snows after that time, we never make it up."

But this year it did snow between the two holidays and folks are ecstatic.

"Business has been tremendous," Main declared.

He said most of the business his store is seeing is in the repair, rental and parts departments.

"When it comes to buying new, people are pretty tight with their money," he added of moving new merchandise.

As far as rentals, Main said he sees days which are booked solid and others which aren't.

"People are renting both touring sleds and single-seaters," he said.

Restaurant and tavern owners, who are lucky enough to be adjacent to one of the many Burnett County trails, say the snow has a huge impact on business.

"This is the first time in seven years we've had some decent winter business — it's been wonderful," Dave Madsen declared. Madsen is the owner of the Cabaret in Webb Lake.

"This will do nothing but boost it," the 10th Hole's Chuck Anderson related. "Not only are the locals out and about, but the out-of-towners and cabin people are coming too."

Both Anderson and Madsen credit the local snowmobile clubs for doing a fantastic job of getting the trails groomed and keeping them groomed.

"The trails are in better shape than they have been in years," Sue Smedegard agreed. Smedegard is with the Cozy Corner Snowmobile Club north of Danbury.

She said it is so much easier to keep the trails in good shape when there is plenty of snow to work with.

"The number of riders we have on our trails is huge," she stated. "When I leave my house, it sounds like bees in summer — there are so many snowmobiles out there."

While the club doesn't have counters set up to tally the number of riders, Smedegard can tell how much use their trails get by how much wear and tear they see.

"We have two groomers and they are both out five days a week," she said. "We have 60 miles of trails in Douglas County and 20 miles in Burnett County."

For cross country skiers, the snow is a boon as well.

"Our trails are packed and tracked — all 14 miles," reports Jim Contone. Cotone is part of the Cumberland area ski trails association, the group responsible for maintaining the Timberland Hills ski area on Co. Rd. H in southeast Burnett County.

"The skiing has been great!" he said enthusiastically.

Even gas stations are seeing a difference.

"We are seeing more snowmobiles at the pumps than we have in the last couple years and we aren't even on a trail," one Grantsburg BP clerk said. "We've sold more than 50 trail passes so far."

The Webster Holiday had to order more trail passes because they've sold so many.

"Trail use is way up," Log Cabin store owner Greg Wade said. "Man, I've seen the groomer at least twice a day."

"We've had so many years without decent snow, it's really nice to see," he continued.

He said the snow doesn't just help one or two businesses, it benefits the whole economy.

With all the plusses the abundant snow has brought to the area, Anderson may have hit the nail on the head.

"It just makes everybody's spirits better," he observed.