By John S., Keweenaw Snowmobile Club
The Keweenaw Snowmobile Club needs your help! Before we get into the specifics and the exciting new plans for the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club, I wanted to talk a bit more about the Keweenaw and the impact this area has had on me.
As a child I had a real affinity for the weather, especially winter. I especially enjoyed watching the weather channel for potential snow storms and to see how winter weather was impacting other areas of the country. One day, late in the 1996-97 winter season while watching the weather channel and peering outside into a relatively warm and snowless Northern Illinois backyard, they cut to a picture of a winter wonderland that still had massive amounts of snow in Marquette, MI. With winter seemingly done in my area, it seemed like a great time to try to convince my parents about a quick adventure where I could see all this snow and possibly do a bit of snowmobiling. With a bit of convincing, thanks mom, my dad and I headed out on our first trip to the Upper Peninsula.
The Upper Peninsula, and later the Keweenaw, quickly became our go-to destination for snowmobiling as we evolved with the sport. There was just something about the Keweenaw that resonated with me, with its elevation changes, scenic views, and ample amounts of glistening Lake Effect Snow; This was truly a unique place. The snowmobiling was always excellent, with many miles of well-maintained trails throughout the Keweenaw to explore and many miles beyond this that were all seamlessly connected. With each trip I learned more about the area, its rich history, and the wonderful people who help to make this such a great place. This truly became a special area to me, and it all started with my first snowmobile adventure.
Fast Forwarding to today. I now find myself as a resident of the area, along with my wonderful family, and I currently volunteer on the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club Board. The organization currently maintains and grooms over 200 miles of snowmobile trails in the Keweenaw Peninsula. It truly takes a team effort to make this operation successful, with our groomer operators providing pristine snowmobile trails throughout the season to help make great snowmobile memories for our many visitors.
As we look to the future, and the long-term viability of the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club, we need your help. We are in dire need of a new groomer barn to help store and maintain our fleet of 5 groomers. The current facility is in incredibly poor shape and doesn’t have adequate space to store the groomers; along with a lack of proper heating. The facility and its poor condition make groomer maintenance very challenging and contributes to an increased level of equipment breakdowns. In order to maintain excellent trails throughout the winter season a groomer barn would provide the needed facilities to keep the groomers on the trails making the trails great for everyone. So please make a difference by contributing today at www.gofundme.com/keweenaw-groomer-barn-fundraiser.