By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The Otter Trail Riders Snowmobile Club is hosting their annual members and landowners picnic on Thursday, Aug. 10 at the VFW Club in New York Mills. Members, landowners and those who’d like to join the club are invited to attend. Social hour starts at 5 p.m. prior to the meal.

The Snowmobile Club started in 1992 and current treasurer Kevin Dreyer joined soon after.

“Must be 30 years,” he said of his time in the club. “I did not get in on the very start, but I believe they were working on trails a year before they started in ’92.”

“We have about one hundred members,” he continued. “That includes family membership, some are singles, some are family. The actual number of people would actually be higher if you counted each kid, wife, and husband.”

Dreyer said that the club’s 150 plus mile trail goes from the Wadena County line near Bluffton towards Deer Creek, before it turns west and meets up with Henning, south of Ottertail. It then proceeds almost all the way to Vergas before turning north and ending at the Becker County line near Wolf Lake.

The membership fees go toward club activities such as grooming and maintaining the many miles of trail during the year as well as putting on the landowners picnic as a thank you to the many landowners who allow the club to utilize their property for the trail.

“Our club has about 200 individual landowners,” said Dreyer. “For new members or existing members, a membership is $35 at the picnic. They save $5 and get a free meal.”

The snowmobile club also hosts monthly meetings between October through March on the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the VFW Clubhouse. Their purpose is the maintenance of the trails, snowmobile safety certification, and to provide a place for snowmobile enthusiasts to join in the camaraderie that comes with sledding down trails and across the snowy Minnesota landscape.

Individuals can learn more by chatting with a club officer at the picnic or at one of their monthly meetings. Those who want to be a new member are encouraged to attend.

“We encourage new members to come that night too,” said Dreyer.