WILLOW CREEK — The Willow Creek Snowmobile Club has taken delivery of a new trail groomer, the first major equipment upgrade in more than a decade, promising riders the best-maintained snowmobile trails the town has offered in years.
The $85,000 machine — a 2012 Camoplast BR-180 — was purchased with a combination of club fundraising, a $35,000 grant from the Maine Snowmobile Association and a $15,000 contribution from the town’s recreation budget. It replaces a 1998 model that club president Dale Fournier said spent more time in Randy Boucher’s repair bay than on the trails.
“The old groomer had 8,000 hours on it and a transmission held together with sheer optimism,” Fournier said. “We’d run it for three hours and then Randy would spend four hours welding it back together. This one should actually let us cover the full network.”
The club maintains approximately 60 miles of trails connecting Willow Creek to the Interconnected Trail System (ITS), the statewide snowmobile network that draws thousands of riders to Aroostook County each winter. The routes pass through Farr Family Farm’s woodlot, O’Flaherty’s sugarbush, and along the Mattawamkeag River corridor.
Henry Farr, who allows the trail to cross his property, said the upgrade could bring more riders to town.
“I don’t love the noise, but I love the business they bring,” Farr said. “Last winter a group of riders from Quebec stopped by the farm and bought $80 worth of cheese. That’s $80 I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
First Selectman Arthur Pendelton said the grooming investment signals that the town is serious about winter tourism.
“November through March used to be a dead season,” Pendelton said. “We’re trying to change that.”