From left: Waldoboro Sno-Crawlers President David Neubig, Vice President Carl Gushee, member Morganne Price, and member Ben Scott stand outside their clubhouse on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 22. Club members said they volunteer to maintain Waldoboros snowmobile trails because they love to get outside and want to help others do so too. (Molly Rains photo)
Though a stretch of mild winters has made snowmobiling more of an occasional hobby in recent years, a spate of snowstorms this winter has created ideal conditions local snowmobile clubs are eager to take advantage of.
A shared commitment to preserving public trails, said David Neubig, president of the Waldoboro Sno-Crawlers, has motivated his team to keep chugging away at maintenance despite variable conditions. Now, the club is enjoying the fruits of their labor – and, as ever, keeping up their effort to keep local trails in pristine condition.
“We’re active every year, regardless,” said Neubig.
The group maintains about 40 miles of trails throughout Waldoboro. It’s a task that takes almost weekly commitment. On the morning of Saturday, Feb. 22, Neubig and other club members assembled in Waldoboro, as they do nearly every weekend, to prepare for a day of trail work.
With two new snow groomers – large metal comb-like trailers that flatten the snowpack into an ideal surface for snowmobiling – and club sleds ready to go, the Sno-Crawlers gathered chain saws and other tools. The group grooms trails, trims rogue branches, and fells small trees that pop up on their paths, with the goal of preserving safe trail access for all, said club member Ben Scott.
When the snow is right – as it has been this year far more than in recent winters – the trails host droves of snowmobilers. Waldoboro’s trail network connects with trail systems maintained by neighboring town clubs, like the Jefferson SnoPackers and Friendship Stormy Riders. This collaboration allows recreators to travel far and wide on their snowmobiles, Scott said.
“That’s local clubs working together,” said Neubig.
The Sno-Crawlers know that many people beside snowmobilers enjoy their trails. That the network is multi-use is a vital feature, said Scott.
Cross-country skiers, fat-tire bikers, and snowshoers also frequent the trail network, said Morganne Price, Medomak River watershed manager at Midcoast Conservancy and a member of the Waldoboro Sno-Crawlers.
“They’re multi-use trails. Everyone benefits from them,” Price said.
Some of the club’s trails run through land owned by the trust, said Price, who said the resulting partnership between the Sno-Crawlers and Midcoast Conservancy had proven beneficial to all.
“They help with keeping public access trails, and we have public access lands. It’s a good pairing,” she said. “They’re very good stewards of the land, they’re really environmentally friendly here.”
Other portions of the Waldoboro trail network run across private land. Some landowners have written trail access into their property deeds; on others, the Sno-Crawlers depend on strong relationships with landowners.
The Sno-Crawlers refer to themselves as volunteers. They are reimbursed by the state for about $6,300 in maintenance costs every year, Scott said, and Waldoboro voters typically appropriate some funding to the club — in the order of about $600 – at annual town meeting. In actuality, however, the amount of maintenance often tallies up to more than $13,000, and team members use all their own equipment, said Neubig.
As of Feb. 22, the club had already logged more than 700 hours of trail work during the 2024-2025 winter. A group averaging about six members is typical for weekend trail work days, Scott said. He estimated there were just under 20 active members of the Sno-Crawlers at present.
This is less than the club, founded in the late 1960s, has had in recent years, said Neubig, who joined in 1999.
Neubig recalled events a decade ago that brought out 150 snowmobilers or more. As a yearslong stretch of mild winters has worn on, he said, participation has diminished while the work involved in maintaining trails has not.
“A lot of people appreciate us, but a lot of people also take us for granted,” he said.
The Sno-Crawlers who remain said they are motivated by their belief in the importance of outdoor recreation and accessible trails.
“I like to get outside. That’s one thing we think, as time goes on, we’re not seeing as many kids getting out. We get joy seeing kids getting outside,” Scott said.
This year, the Sno-Crawlers were also rewarded by prime conditions that allowed them to enjoy the trails they have devoted so many hours to maintaining.
For more information about the Waldoboro Sno-Crawlers, including how to get involved with trail maintenance efforts, find the group on Facebook.
