Club News

As the snowmobiling season draws to a close on April 15th, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the moments that made this winter special. One memory stands out vividly: a young friend’s first snowmobile weekend. What struck him most wasn’t the speed, the breathtaking views, or the thrill of exploring new trails. It was the strong sense of community. That observation says a lot about what makes snowmobiling in Vermont truly unique. For Vermont’s second biggest winter activity

Greetings Everyone: As we wrap up the snowmobiling season, we’re pleased to look back on one of the best winters we’ve had in years. Consistent snowfall and favorable conditions made for a tremendous season—and with it, some of the best riding our trail system has seen in a long time. This year also marked an important milestone for our club. Due to the incredible generosity of one of our members, we added a new “state of the art” groomer while retaining our existing groomer.

Our Glow-In event in February had a unique perspective. George Caratzas took some aerial drone footage of our event. Great views! Was a whole new experience for us getting pics from the sky at our event. Thanks, George! Great work!

A few weeks ago, fellow Croncher, Joe LaSala, found a rare treat on the trails. Moose sheds! How cool! And many congrats to Joe for winning 2nd place in the VAST photo contest! Keep 'em coming, Joe! Thank you for sharing!

Two more bridge sponsors are ready for next season! Thank you Jeff Donovan and Bryan Grandieri for sponsoring! And to Sign Pro for making the top notch signs! All of your support goes a long way in supporting our trails. Our bridge sponsorship program went amazingly well this year. All bridges are spoken for at the moment. Thanks to all who made it a success!

Great day! Our Bruce Ingerson Bridge Dedication event was held on Saturday, March 7th. The turnout was impressive and the care everyone took to make the event memorable was amazing. We met at bridge 12A on Trail 127A. John Murphy, our club president dedicated the bridge, then Tuula, Bruce's wife, said a few words about her life together with Bruce and her family. Michelle then wrapped it up and invited everyone to the Warming Hut for refreshments. The BBQ was delicious. Every

Friends, old and new alike, gathered at our new groomer barn and celebrated with a fantastic cookout, along with the Hideaway Association. Thanks to everyone who came out and had some fun with us! And to all the volunteers, landowners, and generous people who keep our club and sport alive. So many people and donations made the groomer barn possible and we are very lucky to have your support. Pics from Sue and Patty (Thanks, guys)!

All high school seniors from Ludlow, Mount Holly and Cavendish are welcome to apply to the $1500 scholarship from the Ludlow Side Hill Cronchers! Read on for details. Annual Scholarship Amount : $1500. 2026 Requirements: Applicants must be from Ludlow, Mt Holly, or Cavendish. Deadline for submittal : May 1, 2026. Application essay is to be submitted via your school’s scholarship application process or can be sent directly to the snowmobile club scholarship committee at ludlow

Kids and grown-ups alike had a great time building glowing snow creatures at our Glow-In from 4-6pm on 2/21! We crafted our masterpieces then put on the final touch of glow sticks and then waited until dark to watch them come to life. So fun! To top it off we had a great bonfire and s'mores and some hot cocoa. Good times! Thank you all who attended and helped out! Tremendous!

Great day with great people at the Safety Check Day and Valentine Ride-in co-hosted by the Ludlow Side Hill Cronchers and the Cavendish Snow Fleas on 2/21. Lots of food and comradery. Game wardens, Tim Carey and David Lockerby, did a fantastic job as Safety Inspections and provide lots of information on Safety. VAST Safety Officer, Stan Choiniere, also was on hand assisting the game wardens and also providing some great information. The Snow Fleas had tons of food for everyon

Bennett and Montana timed their hot cocoa stop at the Warming Hut perfectly as they got there at the same time as Bernie with the groomer. They got to get a feel of what it's like from behind the wheel. Great meeting you, Bennet and Montana. Maybe you'll want to be part of our groomer operator team in a few years :) Thanks, Richard, for passing along the pictures!

OFF TRAIL RIDING- BAD FOR YOU- BAD FOR US. A fellow Croncher and landowner reported off trail riding on his property today on 127 on his field alongside the trail. His concern was there are lots of big rocks hidden under the snow in his field making it very dangerous for riders. Off trail riding not only puts us in jeopardy of trail closures, it also puts the rider at risk of injury for unseen hazards. We put in tons of hours working on the trails for you to get to ride and g

We are excited about two more bridge sponsors on the trail! Thank you, Diamond Realty, and the Manafort family, for sponsoring bridges 6 & 7 on Okemo trail 127! Your signs look great and your support of snowmobiling is outstanding. Really appreciate it! A big shoutout to our current sponsors: Bridge 1 - Blackstone Williams Bridge 2 - Crocker Boatyard Bridge 3 - Jack's Drive 55 Bridge 4 - Hingham Marina Bridge 5 - Pete's Painting Bridge 6 - Diamond Realty Bridge 7 - Jon Manafo

Sign Pro, Inc.  is a proud supporter of our club and has donated new signs for our Warming Hut. Thank you, Sign Pro! The signs were put up today and we think they look great! Everyone agree?

Sign Pro, Inc.  rocks the house yet again! Look how snazzy and sleek our groomer and drag look all dressed up with our logo and signage. Nice touch with 2 American Flags and lots of reflective tape to keep it visible in dark and snowy weather. THANK YOU, Pete and the gang at SIGN PRO!

Pete and his SignPro Team went above and beyond once again! They created the last 3 bridge sponsor signs for us and made some great signs for our Warming Hut. And if that wasn’t enough, they are about to do the lettering on our groomer, too! Amazing! Thank you, Pete and the SignPro Team!!!! They are huge supporters of snowmobiling in our area and we are very lucky to have them as part of us 👍👍👍

Breaking in the new big boy on North Hill today. Historic! Please send snow. We are ready! Bernie and Mike were on the new bridge, on the new trail, with the new groomer! Oh yeah! Thanks, guys! Unfortunately, trails are not officially open yet as there is still ice, thin cover, rocks and deep culverts Snow dances, please! ❄️🕺❄️

THEY did it! Cleared countless trees on North Hill and a widow maker mess on South Hill. Can’t thank the volunteers enough for all their hard work today. Great day! Think snow! ❄️❄️❄️

It's here! Happy New Year! Arrived last week. Think snow!

BIG THANKS to the 3 new bridge sponsors we added to our trail system this year! And to the 2 sponsors that renewed! That brings our bridge sponsorship to 5 bridges! Our 5 bridge sponsors are: Crocker Boatyard, New London, CT ***NEW!*** Pete's Painting, Ludlow, VT ***NEW!*** The Marina at Hingham Harbor, Hingham, MA ***NEW!*** Jack's Drive 55 ***RENEWED!*** Blackstone Williams, Boston, MA ***RENEWED!**** Keep an eye out for them on the trail when you cross

Congratulations to our 10 graduates from our Snowmobile Safety Course on 12/13! Thanks to all who attended, volunteered, and to the Ludlow Black River Valley Senior Center for hosting us!

It's snowing, and we had a feeling you were thinking about brapping! Too soon to predict if trails are opening 12/16 but at least you can see what changes are coming this season. Us Cronchers were working hard on four fantastic, major projects in addition to the usual debrushing, brush hogging, tree clearing, and signage. And, not as fun, but very important for you to know, is last minute, we had an unexpected reroute on South Hill which will be under "IMPORTANT INFO" below

A bunch of us Cronchers went to the Windsor County Christmas party last night. Great time! Lots of food and festivities. Our centerpiece was a replica of the Warming Hut. Of course our replica included the porta potty lol Thanks to all who made the party happen!

Another Croncher trail work day in the books! Seeded and hayed the new trail on 127A off of North Hill Pent Rd. Still have a few muddy spots to try and work out. Getting close! Will be a fun stretch of trail. Also got the Warming Hut cleaned up. Good day! Thank you volunteers for all of your help and for lending us the hay spreader! That thing is awesome!

The season is cruising in quickly! Us Cronchers are bringing a bunch of great trail improvements to you this season. Three majors projects being done in addition to the usual debrushing, brush hogging, tree clearing, and signage. Major projects are: Taking the "camel hump" out of the 127 trail in the Highland Views neighborhood off of Bixby Rd. If you remember, there was a steep "up and down" piece of the trail that was a little challenging for snowmobilers and the groomer to