January 13, 2021 – Washington Co., WI – Volunteers stepped up over the weekend to work with the West Bend Kettle Trail Blazers snowmobile club clearing a new path for the trail to go around, rather than through the dog park at Sandy Knoll.
Last week a story was posted at WashingtonCountyInsider.com about some confusion at Sandy Knoll County Park on Wallace Lake Road in West Bend as fans of the dog park were mixing with snowmobile enthusiasts on the same turf.
Some miscommunication was to blame, but rather than dwell on it the Kettle Trailblazers snowmobile club stepped up to make it right.
“We had 20 guys show up with less than 24 hours’ notice,” said Pat Groth of West Bend Kettle Trailblazers snowmobile club. “We worked hard to make the trail go where it needs to and that should help make dog owners happy and safe.”
Groth put out a call-to-action early Saturday morning and was more than pleased with the response.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our snowmobile club because I put out a mass text on Saturday morning at 8 a.m.  It read, ‘We’ve got a whole bunch of stuff to take care of at Sandy Knoll to make this problem go away for Washington County and we’re just helping out another landowner.'”
Groth said on Sunday morning a crew showed up with wheelbarrows and trucks and saws and within four hours they cleared a path outside of the dog park fence.
“The trail now goes to the west outside of the fence for the dog park. Problem solved,” said Groth.
The team of volunteers moved the path, cleared a large amount of brush to get the groomer through, and cleaned up.
The snowmobile season in Washington County runs about 20 days at most during the winter season. Click HERE for details on when the trails are open/closed.
On a history note: The snowmobile trail has been running through Sandy Knoll Park for 45 years and the trail itself has been in place even before Sandy Knoll became a park.
Click HERE for a history on the dog park, Sandy Paws.
