Snowmobile clubs remind riders local trails still closed

Snowmobile trails in Oneida and Vilas counties aren’t open yet. 

According to Minocqua Forest Riders Snowmobile Club president Jerry Wakefield, on average, trails aren’t opened up until after the first of the new year. He said that was shown in a study done “a couple years ago.”

Wakefield said he’s hoping there’s a significant amount of snow soon so the trails can open, but until then, he cautioned other snowmobilers to obey the rules.

When trails do open, riders can expect them to be available for roughly eight to 10 weeks, he said.

One reason riders shouldn’t disobey the rules and ride the trails before they open up, is because it’s trespassing, he noted.

“So there’s all the consequences that come with that,” he said. “ … It’s very unsafe (also). We don’t open up the trails because there’s not enough snow to support the riding of the vehicles. The lakes have not been marked. We don’t know if any of the lakes are unsafe.”

 Riders who go against the rules put the trail system in jeopardy and it could result in ruining it for everyone else by losing landowners’, who grant trail easements, trust, Wakefield explained.

“That’s my biggest fear is that the people who go out are going to really make these landowners angry, and at some point in time, it could affect us and affect the amount of trails that we have,” he said. 

Roger Klein, St. Germain Bo-Boen Snowmobile Club president, said there needs to be about 6 to 8 inches of “medium moisture snow.”

He said volunteers are still working on maintaining the trails, however, there’s not enough snow to groom them yet.

“We have 42 private landowners in our trail system,” he said. “So, for us, we don’t want to open the trails before there’s enough snow to protect their property. Because if we damage that, we could lose the trail.”

For additional resources for snowmobilers who may not be part of a club, or those who are just starting to snowmobile, Klein suggested the Bo-Boen Snowmobile Club’s Facebook page which he said provides regular updates on its trail system. The club’s webpage is another resource, as well as the state Department of Tourism’s website for all trails around the state, Klein said.

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].