UPDATE: Kewaunee County snowmobile trails open, then close

KEWAUNEE – The Kewaunee County Promotion & Recreation Department opened all four of its snowmobile trails at 6 p.m. Jan. 16, but poor trail conditions and expected warm weather this weekend have caused the county to close them before this weekend. 

Trails in the Denmark area will close at noon Thursday, Jan. 18, and all trails across Kewaunee County will close at noon Friday, Jan. 19.

The nearly 205 miles of Kewaunee County trails had opened at 6 p.m. Tuesday following a decent amount of snowfall along the lakeshore that was able to be packed down for a base to ride on.

“We only have a base of 3 to 6 inches of snow on the trails and, looking at the forecast in the days ahead, we could end up closing by the weekend, which is why we will keep snowmobilers updated on our 24-Hour Kewaunee County Promotion & Recreation Hotline at 920-388-7199,” said Dave Myers, Kewaunee County Promotion & Recreation Director, in a press release earlier this week.

The Promotion & Recreation Department also reminded riders that anytime the trails are open, they need to watch out for rough patches and ice peeking through the packed snow, as well as thin ice on waterways and swamps, open water and slush. It’s also important for snowmobilers to stay on marked trails for their safety and as a courtesy to others.

To use public trails, snowmobilers are required to buy an annual Wisconsin snowmobile Trail Pass through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Passes are $10 for Wisconsin residents who are members of a snowmobile club that is affiliated with the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs, $30 for Wisconsin residents not affiliated with AWSC and $50 for out-of-state residents.

For information on the AWSC discounts, go to www.awsc.org/Trail-Pass-Registration.aspx. For information on DNR regulations, visit dnr.wi.gov/permits/snowtrailpass.htm.

For more on the county trails, go to www.keweauneeco.org.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: UPDATE: Kewaunee County snowmobile trails open, then close