Kelly Snowshoes Snowmobile Club

TRAIL UPDATE 1/21/2023

Caleb Loveless was out grooming last night and took some beautiful photographs of the Kelly Snowshoes trails.   This picture of the drag making the corner and the "nice" trail pictures below are all from between Martin Road and the T intersection at Timber Ridge (Int #404). There are several wet areas between Timber Ridge and Weston Ave and some of the wet areas can be seen in the pictures below too.  If you are asking, why isn't Zone 3 fully open, the pictures of the open water show you the answer so "think cold!"

Dennis Kleman, President of Kelly Snowshoes, commented on 1/20 that our trails cross the Little Eau Claire creek three times and it's deep enough that the entire drag was covered when they crossed on 1/19.

Check out the Marathon County Website so you know what is open/closed, then get out and ride!  Let's think cold weather and snow so we can get the rest of the trails open and keep them open through the end of March!

Please be sure to visit the great establishments along our trail system:  Family Tradition Bar, Kluck's Bar, Trailside Bar and Grill, Dale's Weston Lanes, Arrow Bar, and Kelly Sports Bar as well as the Shell Gas Station, The Store and Kwik Trip!

1/9/2023:

Words that should never be uttered together are “ice” and “storm” but, of course, Wisconsin got hit with an ice storm in December 2022 that caused a mess of down branches and trees on the snowmobile trails. On Dec 17, the South Loop from State Hwy 153 towards Bevent was groomed and the picture from the groomer, showing mostly hanging snowy/icy branches, is what the Kelly Snowshoes (KSS) trail system looked like after the ice storm. Dennis, KSS President, commented that he had seen this before but not on this kind of scale. Thankfully, KSS Landowner, Randy Kukuczka, introduced us to Harley Lang from Colby, WI who agreed to do some serious brush cutting with his excavator.  Dennis met him on December 19 at the Club Shed and he started going South of Hwy 153. Harley worked on the KSS trails until December 26 - see pictures/video below. Following this excavation work, many men and women have been on the trails clearing this brush.  Thank you to all! 

As you ride, please be aware there could still be debris on the trails as this was a huge clean-up effort that impacted a significant number of miles of our trail system.

In other news, Dennis contacted Nathan of Groomer Tracking Systems and Daniel Schmid, Marathon County Recreation Coordinator, about a trail name change. On Google Maps, it shows the Mountain Bay Trail ending at Mesker Street. On the GTS App, it shows the Mountain Bay trail going all the way to the Yellowbanks Disc Golf Course (Hwy X) so Nathan will be changing the name on the GTS app to Yellowbanks Trail from Mesker Street to the Disc Course. Please keep this in mind if/when the “Mountain Bay Trail only” opens.

Dennis took the Tucker out on January 7 for a couple hours to get a section of trail north of intersection 416 smoothed out (after our hard-working club members picked up brush). He broke through the Little Eau Claire creek with the groomer just west of Intersection 419 and there was lots of water – see pictures!

As of January 7, all Kelly Snowshoes trails have been double groomed except for a few specific locations.  From Intersection 406 west to Dallman Rd has yet to be groomed. We have not been in the swamp (Intersection 405-406) with our groomers yet because that area has yet to freeze, but some club members have packed it down with their snowmobiles. Within the next week, the club will scout out a trail that we used many years ago to see if we can get away from the major wet areas.  This will allow us to groom this area more safely.  One section of trail where the brush still needs to be removed is south of Hwy Q to the creek so once this area is cleaned up, it will be groomed.   

Logging operations will be starting up soon north of Hwy 153 (intersection 451) going for about 2 miles. There likely will be other areas where logging operations will take place too so keep an eye on Facebook for further updates.

Important Note: As of December 30, 2022, there will be no gas available at Eagle Lodge Mercantile in Bevent, WI. Unfortunately, the maps show this as a fueling location since we weren’t aware of the change until after the maps were printed.

On the Wizard of Oz, it was “Lions and Tigers and Bears…oh my!” On the Kelly Snowshoes trails, I guess it’s “Wolves, Coyotes, and Mountain Lions…oh my!” Yes, Mountain Lions too. When Harley Lang was brushing with his excavator from Litza Road south to Glatczak Road, he was followed by a wolf all the way to where he loaded onto his trailer. The wolf watched him from a short distance away. I guess this is something new to think about in our area as we are snowmobiling so always ride with someone else and let people know where you are riding.

Pray for cold and snow because it will take cold weather to get everything nicely frozen and another 4-6 inches of snow before the Kelly Snowshoes trails can open.

Thank you to Harley Lang for the December excavation work and for the photographs he shared!

Thank you to everyone that helped clear and cut brush these last few weeks!  And, as always, thank you to our club members that run the groomers!

Keep track of your location as you snowmobile by paying attention to these intersection signs at key intersections along the trail.  These are especially valuable if you are riding in an area where you are unfamiliar since they can be used in the event of a breakdown or an emergency.  When calling in an emergency, the 911 operator will ask you for the intersection number you recently passed to assist in getting help to your location as quickly as possible.  The signs display the name of the county you are in as well as the three-digit intersection number, which matches up to the intersection numbers on snowmobile trail maps.  This sign could save your life or the life of someone else, so pay attention!