Being in central Wisconsin we deal with marginal to poor ice conditions at best. At our club meeting tonight we discussed marking a trail to a local business that is a supporter of the club. Looking for some help here on who assumes the liability of making sure the ice conditions are safe, is it the club or the business? This is a great business who has donated generously to our club, would like to help generate some business for them but need some info on how to go about it the right way. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Marking lake trails
- Thread starter dragon_07
- Start date
would a CAUTION ICE sign at both ends of trail entering lake place responsibility away from every one but the dumb ars who thought 2in was safe in mid December?
what do u mark your lakes with?
my fave is the ski slalom poles every 200yard or so makes for ez riding on a lake at night.
ez install with a 1 1/4 in bit and a cordless drill and they float so u can pick up in spring if u get a surprise early warm up
what do u mark your lakes with?
my fave is the ski slalom poles every 200yard or so makes for ez riding on a lake at night.
ez install with a 1 1/4 in bit and a cordless drill and they float so u can pick up in spring if u get a surprise early warm up
I think the CAUTION ICE sign makes a lot of sense. I sign a lake near Wisc Rapids. I use PVC painted orange with a blazer on it. I've thought about adding foam and sealing the ends so they float but never got around to it. At the end of the year I watch the weather and pull the markers accordingly.
You might want to check with your insurance agent about the liability part of it. It's always nice to have the lakes marked but it's not always necessary especially on a small lake.
You might want to check with your insurance agent about the liability part of it. It's always nice to have the lakes marked but it's not always necessary especially on a small lake.
I would recommend also checking on type of signage if you do it. I know years ago when we started signing across our lakes and rivers we were advised not to use orange blazers for reasoning of liability issues also. We were nailing white reflective pieces to sticks but now we've been using construction barrels.
I have seen a lot of clubs use 3/4 fire sprinkler PVC pipe (which comes orange and in 10' or 20' legnths) and they add a 2" strip of white reflective tape at the top. These are very visible day & night and PVC pipe is cheap but the tape can be expensive, but a roll will go a long way and I'm sure a shot of Insta foam would take care of any floating issues. They are easy store and usually break clean in the event of a collision.
I do like the caution ice sign idea. We were looking at the orange barrel route, but some creative ideas have been mentioned in this thread as well. So I see a variety of signs/markers used but who foots the bill for these supplies for you guys the club or the business? Not trying to ask a stupid question but the comment was made at our meeting that the business should pay for the supplies and be responsible for putting up the markers. I just find it hard to believe that this is the approach that is taken with all the businesses you can access in the north woods via the lakes. Thanks again for the help and info.
well in MN our trails are busted in to sections North west trails south west trails etc etc. the small clubs in those areas work for or with the say southwest trails.the club buys markers if southwest trails dose not already own them and the club bills southwest trails for markers and southwest trails adds it in to the money they get from the state more or less.
if the bar owner already gives u guys a bunch of money I would say hit up your local lumber store hardware store or dealers ask them for some pipe and a sticker or paper with there name and logo and stick it in a map box close to the section of trail they are sponsoring.
let them know u will be putting there logo on or around a intersection or map that gets stopped at regularly
if the bar owner already gives u guys a bunch of money I would say hit up your local lumber store hardware store or dealers ask them for some pipe and a sticker or paper with there name and logo and stick it in a map box close to the section of trail they are sponsoring.
let them know u will be putting there logo on or around a intersection or map that gets stopped at regularly
HardwaterHoosier
Member
Wouldn't the DNR have some say in it?
If the trail is not a WI state funded trail then the club would be responsible for supplying the markers. I don't think that a lake would become a funded trail because you need to get land owner agreements signed for the trail. I have also been told that the trails get marked on the lake by know one (neither the club or business) that way there is no liability issue