Newsletter

CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2025-2026 WINTER SEASON

All membership meetings except for the December and March meetings will be held on Thursdays at the Old Forge Fire Hall.  Night begins at 5:30pm with a complimentary dinner buffet and the meeting starting at 6:30pm. 

January 22nd, 2026: -Membership meeting at the Old Forge Fire House. Complimentary dinner at 5:30pm; meeting at 6:30pm.

February 19th, 2026: Membership Meeting and election of officers at the Old Forge Fire Hall. Complimentary dinner at 5:30pm; meeting at 6:30pm.

April  2026 SLEDNY Forum: Our club sends representative delegates to this conference to attend seminars and interact with the over 230 clubs across the state.  Any Inlet Barnstormer member in good standing can attend the forum. The club will cover all expenses, except for alcohol. Members are required to take 2 educational courses and remain on Sunday until NYSSA voting is completed. If you are interested, please contact Gina at 845-249-0018 or see her at the membership meeting.

 SLEDNY Forum – Snowmobile Celebration! | New York State Snowmobile Association (nysnowmobiler.com)

Informal group rides will be held this upcoming season on Wednesdays, starting from the parking lot in front of North Street Powersports. Rides will be held if weather/trail conditions permit. The plan is to do loop rides this year (i.e. take one set of trails out/have lunch/return via a different set of trails). Time frame every Wednesday is to leave the parking lot by 9am. Rides will start after New Years Day.

There is the possibility of informal weekend rides if Dave Whitbeck is contacted. Anyone wishing to do a Saturday/Sunday ride should contact him directly at (dpwhitb@earthlink.net) or (732) 864-6480. Weekend group rides will NOT be a regular occurrence. It gets very busy in Old Forge on weekends, so the plan would be to get out of town for the rides.

The Inlet Barnstormers Club Overnight Ride will take place from Tuesday February 24^th, 2026 – Thursday February 26^th, 2026, from Old Forge New York to Tailwater Lodge in Altmar New York. Currently the club has a block of 25 rooms being held for Club Members to reserve. You MUST BE a club member to participate in this event, no exceptions permitted. The rate is $149.00 per night for standard accommodation. Individuals signing up to go on this ride will need to click on the following link & follow the instruction: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/syralup-inl224-a001fdf4-eb15-4045-aced-911a1b66a47/.  If you need to call & make a reservation, call Tailwater Lodge (315) 298-3434 and use code INL224.
The Lodge offers a full-service spa, indoor pool, outdoor hot tub, game room, fitness center, professional bocce courts, disc golf and fire pits. Guest room amenities include high-speed wireless internet, cable TV, refrigerators, and coffee makers. 

• Reservations will be made individually by the cut-off date, Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
• Cancellation of a reservation must be made 48 hours in advance; otherwise, the reservation

will be charged one night room and tax.  We will have a total go/no go decision made by the full week prior based on weather/trail conditions. 

• Guest room billing arrangements: Individuals are responsible for their own rooms.
• Tailwater Lodge is not responsible for individuals who think they have reservations, but do

not have a valid confirmation number from the hotel. Individuals who make reservations
outside the block or through third-party agents and e-commerce sites are subject to the
terms of that booking and may not change reservations directly with the hotel. 

• Hotel policy dictates that no outside food or beverage is allowed to be brought into the Tailwater Lodge.

 The plan is to depart from the parking lot in front of North Street Powersports at 9:00am on the 24^th of February.
The plan is to take one route over & come back on a separate route. Currently there is no plan to have luggage transportation available to move suitcases to/from Old Forge – Tailwater Lodge. You must be prepared to pack it on your sled(s). If someone signs up to go but plans on just driving to/from Old Forge-Tailwater, we can revisit this luggage situation at that time.
If you are interested in going on this ride, please email your name/all names of members in your party, phone number, hotel confirmation number to Dave Whitbeck at dpwhitb@earthlink.net (732) 864-6480.
Depending on the number of riders that sign up, Dave will break us down into two groups, as it is easier to mange 10-12 sleds at one time than a mass of 20+sleds/riders. They will be titled: “The bat out of hell group” and “The scenic rider group”. When you email Dave, please let Dave know which group you prefer to be in.
 Dave Whitbeck
dpwhitb@earthlink.net

INCENTIVES FOR CLUB VOLUNTEERS

Any member in good standing will be eligible for a club reward of a complimentary membership after volunteering for at least 10 hours from March 1 to February 28 of any year. Those members volunteering at least 20 hours will receive a complimentary membership and a complimentary dinner at the end of season dinner meeting in March. Those members with 40 or more hours will receive a complimentary membership, complimentary dinner at the end of season dinner, and a gift certificate for a local restaurant. The committee chairpersons will report these hours to the Club Membership Administrator no later than March 1^st. 

Safety Course Registration

To find any safety course in New York State. You may scroll through the list of safety courses or use the lookup field at the top. Use the Inlet zip code (13360) to quickly move to the Inlet Barnstormers Snowmobile Club open courses:

Youth ages 14 through 17 years old may operate a snowmobile, on lands upon which snowmobiling is allowed, without adult or other supervision if they have completed a snowmobile safety training course recognized by the State of New York. If youth aged 14 through 17 years have not completed the training course, they may operate a snowmobile if accompanied by (within 500 feet of) a person who is at least 18 years of age. Youth ages 10 through 13 may operate a snowmobile, on lands upon which snowmobiling is allowed, if they have completed a snowmobile safety training course recognized by the State of New York and are accompanied by (within 500 feet of) a person who is at least 18 years of age.  The Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation will issue a snowmobile safety certificate to those who successfully complete this course.  Youths who do not hold this certificate are subject to the same restrictions as children under the age of 14 years. See the section on Rider Training for more information on the New York State Snowmobile Safety Education Program.  Children under 10 years old or less than age 14 without a safety certificate may operate a snowmobile only on lands owned or leased by their parent or guardian. A non-resident operator who is a resident of another state or country and is the holder of a valid snowmobile safety certificate issued by that state or country shall be considered the same as the holder of a New York State Safety Certificate. Additional information can be found at:http://nysparks.com/recreation/snowmobiles/education.aspx.

MEMBERSHIP EXPIRATION DATES

All Club memberships expire on August 31^st.  Club dues of $30, provide you a voucher to use at the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.  The voucher provides a discounted fee of $65 per snowmobile instead of $135.  The additional $20 DMV fee increase goes directly to the trail grooming fund not the DMV or state.  Join online to download and print your club voucher almost instantaneously, or print the membership renewal/application to mail (Inlet Barnstormers Inc. P.O. Box 144 Inlet, NY 13360) in your check or money order.  If you require a printed voucher, please request one by emailing inletbarnstormerssnowclub@gmail.com from our site’s Contact page.  Be sure to include your NYSSA ID number or zip code. DECALS MAY ALSO BE REQUESTED BY EMAIL.

GROOMER OPERATOR TRAINING MANDATORY

Groomer operator training and refresher information will again be required for any club member who is interested in volunteering. Care and use of upgraded equipment is in flux all the time, so even if you groomed last year, you will need to get the updated information. Please contact Dick Conversano, phone 516-641-7737 to arrange a training time.

CLUB SHIRTS AVAILABLE: As you may have noticed, we have a new club logo! We have partnered with an apparel company, and you can use this link to order apparel.

https://jemspe.com/ibsc/shop/home

GAS TAX REFUND PROGRAM

The club continues to need your help to make the gas tax refund a success.  All those gallons of gas that YOU use on the snowmobile trails include sales tax that the club can get refunded to buy equipment and for trail maintenance etc. You do have to buy the gas in New York State. Use the Gas Tax Refund form that you can download from the club’s website. You must attach the gas receipt for each purchase that you put on the form.  When you fill up a page you must sign it on the bottom which gives the Inlet Barnstormer permission to apply for the sales tax refund for the gas you purchased.  Please make a copy of the form before you start filling it out so that you always have a blank sheet to start again when you have filled up the first sheet (or download the form from our website).  Or, just drop your receipts in the boxes marked “Inlet Barnstormers” at all the local gas stations. THAT’S IT!  So, send the completed forms to Don Bartel, and if you need additional information, phone 315-369-2347.

WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK

Stay in touch online, with our website www.InletBarnstormersSnowmobileClub.com, and follow us on Facebook, Inlet Barnstormers Snowmobile Club. You can also join our club online by following the link on our website to www.nysnowmobiler.com. By joining via the New York State Snowmobile Association website with your credit card, your voucher will be available to you instantly by clicking on the link emailed to you.