Hidden Bear Trail ATV Club Newsletter #1, 2015
Membership Meeting, & Club Ride: On Saturday June 20th we held our first membership meeting of 2015 at the Halfway Bar in Mountain. We had a total of 32 members in attendance, which 20 were new members and attended their first membership meeting. After the meeting the brave ones that were left put on their rain gear and started out to Crooked Lake for a nice ride and lunch. It rained all the way to Crooked Lake and we arrived around 1:00 pm for lunch. We had a total 0f 11 ATV’s and UTV’s with a total of 22 wet members when we arrived at Crooked Lake. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Pines Supper Club and enjoyed a nice dry trip back. We arrived back at the Halfway Bar around 3:30 pm with a total of 45 miles. We want to thank all of our new members that braved the weather and enjoyed the ride. Pictures of the meeting can be seen on our website at www.hiddenbeartrailatvclub.com
Membership: Our club now has a total of 152 paying members and in excess of 300 total members which include spouses & children. The Board of Directors want to thank you!!!
Trail Conditions: Our club is responsible for the 50 mile loop that comes off of the Nicolet State Trail (Railroad Grade) north of Mountain over to Highway T in Doty and then back to the Nicolet State Trail. The majority of these miles are gravel town roads that we do not have to maintain. The 10 miles of area thru the Forest Service along this route is what our club maintains. We are currently working at the trail at Highway 32 & Thelen Road with widening the trail for UTV use. We continue to work on areas that have washouts and try to maintain these areas as needed. The main trail (Nicolet State Trail/old railroad grade) is maintained by Dusty Trails ATV Club. They groom the trail from Mountain to Suring one week and the second week they groom from Mountain to North of Lakewood. The Red Arrow Snowmobile & ATV Club groom the Nicolet State Trail from Lakewood to the Forest County Line.
Lakewood: Our club purchased and installed 10 Dust Control Signs along the Nicolet State Trail in Lakewood. We have recieved some complaints from the business owners in Lakewood regarding the amount of dust that ATV’s/UTV’s make, the 10 signs read: DUST CONTROL ZONE, 10 MPH, $501.00 FINE. Please remember when you are going thru towns that you respect the posted speed limit signs. We also closed on a temporary basis the ATV/UTV Route on County F by the golf course that goes down to the Sandtrap Bar & Restaurant. The Sandtrap is closed and is for sale, once it opens again we will open the route over to the Sandtrap.
Forest Service Report: Our Club and 4 other ATV Clubs are working on connecting LangladeCounty & County County for ATV/UTV use at Langlade. There is a project to construct a new recreational bridge in Langlade and if that does not get the funding we may be able to use the existing highway bridge in Langlade to cross the Wolf River. Our club is working with the Forest Service to get an ATV trail/route from Fish Hatchery Road over to Traxel Point Road in the Boulder Lake Area. This project, the bridge project and the easement project along Highway 64 will allow atvs/utvs access from Oconto County to Langlade County. We will keep club members updated on this project as they happen.
ATV Certification Class: Anyone born after Jan 1, 1988 must have an ATV certification certificate to drive an ATV. Anyone 11 or older can apply to take the course. The Red Arrow Club along with our club is sponsoring an ATV Certification Class on Monday July 6th and 7th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Lakewood/Townsend Ambulance Building. The $10.00 fee is waived if your parents or grandparents are members of the Hidden Bear Trail ATV Club. You can register on line at the DNR website or Red Arrrow Snowmobile/ATV Club website. Just a few quick reminders of some of the safety regulations for ATV/UTV’s: Anyone under the age of 18 must have a DOT approved Helmet when driving or riding an ATV/UTV, you must be 16 years old to drive a UTV, all occupants in a UTV must have a seat and are required to wear a seat belt and anyone from age 12 to 16 can drive an ATV on a road route but they must be accompained by a guardian or an approved adult guardian. Copies of the ATV/UTV Rules can be viewed on the Wisconsin DNR website.
NE Wisconsin ATV Association (WATVA) Meeting: Our club is hosting the NE WATVA meeting on July 18th, 2015 at the Riverview Town Hall at 15408 Highway 32, Mountain WI 54149. The event starts at 9:00 am on Saturday July 18th with a ATV/UTV Ride, followed by lunch at approx. noon, & followed by the WATVA Meeting at approx 1:00 pm. For our members this will be a great opportunity to ask our state leaders of the WATVA questions on subjects that pertain to the sport of ATV’s/UTV’s. You can register online to attend this event or just show up for any part of the event. If possible if you are attending lunch we are asking our members to bring a dessert that day, our club will be sponsoring the rest of the lunch.
Large Fundraiser: Our large fundraiser will be on Saturday August 15th at Animal’s Bear Trail Inn, Hwy T & 64 in Doty starting at Noon with Meat Raffles, Gun Raffles, 50/50 raffles, food, drinks & fun. Our Large Cash Raffle will be drawn at approx. 6:00 pm. If you would like to purchase a large cash raffle ticket for $100.00 please contact Secretary Jim Wisneski at 715-276-6612 or via email. We have 25 total cash prizes with $4000.00 being first prize. You have a 1 in 7 chance to win cash!!!
Fundraiser Help: We have some members already signed up to help on August 15th but we still need a few meat raffle seller’s on both shifts. The shifts run from noon to 3:00 pm and from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. If you would like to sell meat raffle tickets call Jim at 715-276-6612 or email him at hiddenbeartrailatvclub@centurytel.net,
Lakewood Parade: Our club will be participating in the Lakewood Mardi Gras Parade on Sunday July 19th. Any members, relatives or friends are welcome to ride in the parade. Line-up time is at 11:00 am at the Lakewood Cemetary followed by the parade at noon. Our club will again sponsor beads to throw out at the parade. We also will invite members from the Red Arrow Club to join us that day.
Business Members: The following is a list of Business Members, please help support their Business: Lakewood Hardware, Timberline Restaruant, Lakewood Supervalu, Lakewood Powersports, Mulligans, Beach Club, Lakewood Shell, J&J Contracting, Animals Bear Trail Inn, Maple Heights Campground, Echo Vally Camground, Boulder Lake Campground, Tebo Lakewood Realty & Cellular, O’Neils Halfway Bar, 9 mile Resort, Firelite Bar & Grill, Waubee Lodge & Prospect Bar & Grill.
Next Membership Meeting: Our next membership meeting will be the day of our Fundraiser starting at 10:00 am on Saturday August 15th at Animals Bear Trail Inn.
Jim Wisneski
Secretary