Kelly Snowshoes Snowmobile Club
Kelly Snowshoes News (updated 1/30/2026):
Marathon County Trails Are Open:
The Marathon County snowmobile trail systrem is fully open:
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Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all open!
Just a quick reminder that this is NOT the official trail status. For the official website, please click on this link for the Marathon County Trail Status.
As always, KEEP THINKING COLD AND SNOW so we can keep these trails open until the end of March! Maybe think "normal winter cold" so we can stay away from the rediculous cold we had in January!
February Club Meeting:
The next club meeting will be held on Tue, February 10 at Dale's Weston Lanes. The meeting will begin at 7:00 PM but club members are welcome to have a beverage on the club from 6:30-7:00 PM. Please join us for the meeting and to enjoy some camaraderie! WE ARE BACK TO THE NORMAL ROOM: We were in the Mountain Bay Hall Bar for a few meetings, but we are now back to the room just off of the Northwoods Bar and Grill again now!
Landowner Party - December 2025
The party honoring our landowners was held on December 12, 2025 at Dale's Weston Lanes. Thank you to our wonderful landowners for allowing us to cross their properies. Below you will find four pictures from the event. Top left: The landowners and club members enjoying a delicious meal. Top right: Melinda Thompson, Joan Kleman, and Dennis Kleman greeting our guests. Bottom Left: Dennis Kleman presenting Dale Elliot with a plaque showing the club's appreciation for all Dale's Weston Lanes and the Jason Elliot Memorial Foundation have done for us over the years. Bottom Right: A patriotic Kelly Snowshoes Snowmobile Club (SC) hat from years ago that one of the attendees was wearing. Should we order more?!
2025-2026 Trail Photographs
Following are some photographs from the Kelly Snowshoes trails for the current season. Let's hope we can keep this cold weather and snow going until 3/31/2026 so we can add lots of pics of open trails!!
The six photographs below are the before and after pics from 12/17/2025 showing the great work that Ryder Ress with Ress Outdoor Services LLC did on our South Loop trail in Marathon County Zone 3. We highly recommend him for trail work. This section was well overdue for widening and cleaning up the middle of the trail of the annoying little brush.
2024-2025 Trail Photographs
With the trails open now, following are some photographs from the Kelly Snowshoes trails.
October 2024 Trail Work: New Q Trail and Important 2024 Notices!
RINGLE SWAMP REROUTE:
During a club meeting last Spring, Jason and Brian Witzeling suggested a big trail project to reroute around the Ringle swamp. They followed through with the planning for this 3.5-4 miles of trail, which runs from Timer Ridge Road to Weston Ave/Hwy Q. Early October club members were able to complete the brushing planned for this new section of trail, which is now known as the “Q Trail”. Thank you to Jason and Brian as well as the other club members that assisted in making this happen. They hit the trail with chain saws, pole saws, ATVs, etc. to complete the brushing in the wooded sections and clear the edges of the main logging road. Signing for the Q Trail is about 1/3 done and will be finished after the upcoming excavation work is completed to clear portions of the trail, fill drainage areas (caused by the rain this year), as well as remove a large tree, 39 stumps, and several rocks.
I’m quite certain there isn’t a snowmobiler who has ridden our trail system that will miss riding that swamp, especially during those times where lack of cold weather wouldn’t allow our groomer to safely travel through that area. No grooming caused some seriously slow riding over those huge speed bumps! I will be a pleasure to ride our brand-new Q Trail so thank you to all for your hard work!
Please see the pics below from this new section of trail, including a map showing where the old trail was and where the new trail is now located. The Q Trail runs from Intersection 405, now at the end of Timber Ridge to Intersection 406, now at Weston Ave and Hwy Q.
Important notes regarding the Kelly Snowshoes Trail System:
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The Bevent Store is closed with no gas being offered so until it reopens (if ever), please plan your ride.
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Our section of trail from Intersection 419 to I-420 is temporarily closed.
Trail work January 20, 2024!
It's amazing what a week of subzero temperatures can do for the problem areas of our trails. Our Little Eau Claire River crossings by Bevent Drive and west of intersection 419 are both solid ice now so Dennis is glad he waited a week to groom them. He took the Sur-Trac out today, which he said still does a great job (especially after Marv & Dave did some work on the pan this fall) and it lays down beautiful ribbon. Please see the trail photographs below as proof of the newly frozen areas and the beautiful ribbon! Dennis remembers when Kelly Snowshoes bought the Sur-Trac new in 2001 and he commented that it's just a reliable old groomer.
Think cold and snow to see if we can change Mother Nature's mind about the upcoming warm weather because, per Dennis, "3-4 inches or more of snow would do wonders" for the Kelly Snowshoes trails!!
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Trail work January 13-14, 2024!
We finally received some snow so there was grooming taking place over the weekend!! Dennis Kleman took the Tucker and double groomed the South Loop on Sat, Jan 13 as well as from Intersection 416 to 450. On 1/14/2023 Dennis groomed the trail from the Club Shed at Intersection 451 to Intersection 419. On Saturday Matt Hable took the Sur-Trac north from the Club Shed to the Mountain Bay and to Yellow Banks Golf Disc Park then left the groomer with Caleb & Lindsey Loveless. On Sunday (1/14) Caleb groomed to the end of Misquote Road then back on the west loop to the Club Shed.
On Jan 12, Dennis asked Sid King of the Hatley Snowmobile Club to go through "Josh's Swamp" from Intersection 406 to Misquote Rd. After a board vote, they assisted us by packing down the trail. In return they will log those hours for doing our trail work. Thank you to the Hatley Snowmobile Club!
Included below are some pictures/video from this weekend.
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Videos from Trail work Jan 13-14, 2024!
Above are a couple videos from the weekend grooming with the Tucker. One shows how slow going the first time out with the groomers can be (less than 5 mph).
