January 8, 2021 – West Bend, WI – There has been some confusion this winter at Sandy Knoll County Park on Wallace Lake Road in West Bend as fans of the dog park are mixing with snowmobile enthusiasts on the same turf.
“I’m curious who is the Professor Wizard that thought it was a great idea to run the Snowmobile Trail through both of the Dog Parks at Sandy Knoll,” wrote Matthew McDonald who lives near the dog park.
Pat Groth heads up the West Bend Kettle Trail Blazers snowmobile club. He explained the gentlemen’s agreement the club had with Eric Hyde from the Washington County Parks Department.
“The fella who used to take care of Sandy Knoll Park with Washington County (Eric Hyde) made arrangements with the Snowmobile Association and the club that when the dog park went in, he was going to leave us a space around the outside of the park so we could still have access. But he did not lay the fence out far enough away from the trees so our access was limited. He came up with an alternative plan to put gates in, thinking that by the time the snowmobiles come the snow will be so high nobody will want to walk their dog in the deep snow anyway.
“But Hyde left the job and nobody on Washington County’s side knew about his verbal agreement with us as far as opening and closing the park so Jaimie Ludovic (Washington County Central Services Director) was a little blindsided but they have been more than helpful working to get the gates in there.”
So far, the snowmobile trails in Washington County have only been open two days this season. “We operate overall as a county trail system,” said Groth. “If one trail closes because it gets beat down then all the trails close.”
Ludovic said the county always intended for the snowmobile trail to be rerouted and not through the Sandy Paws Dog Park. “At present the dog park is open and the snowmobile trails are closed so the gates on the trail are locked and the dog park is open,” she said.
Club members and the county are meeting Friday morning to see if the snowmobile trail can be routed around the dog park. “This work should have been done prior to snowfall,” she said. “My immediate priority is to make sure we are safe; both dogs and park patrons are not in conflict with the snowmobilers,” she said.
“Washington County has been very helpful and we’re working together to try and make this right,” said Groth. “Our groomer thinks he can reroute the trail around the fence that way the dog park can stay open and we can still have our trail.”
Last year there were less than 20 days the snowmobile trails were open in Washington County. Click HERE for current trail report in Washington County.
