‘It’s the people’ Hitting the trails with the South Dakota Snowmobile Association
MIKE BROWNLLEE
Rapid City Journal
I hit the throttle, watching the number on the speedometer tick up. The air is crisp and cold.
Ahead of me our leader zipped along, checking behind him when possible to make sure the group was still together. It’s my first time on a snowmobile, though old hat for many on the annual Governor’s Ride hosted by the South Dakota Snowmobile Association.
Old hat, sure, but no less fun.
“Love it. Love it out here,” said Mike Boock, who’s lived most of his life in Rapid City after being born in East River. “I’ve been riding, probably 20-something years.”
The association boasts about 700 members, scattered across the state, who make up a variety of local clubs, according to President Kelly Weaver. The organization works to promote and protect snowmobiling in the state.
Among its events is the Governor’s Ride, a Black Hills tradition for 45 years, though Gov. Larry Rhoden was otherwise occupied with his inauguration for during 2025 event. Snowmobiling was high on my action item list upon taking this job, so I asked if I could tag along — and I can’t say enough about how nice everyone was. The biggest takeaway from the day was the camaraderie. The kindness. The people I rode with were gregarious, smiles permanently frozen on their faces. I suppose I can’t be surprised they’re a jovial group — snowmobiling is a blast.
I thank them for welcoming me so thoroughly, even putting me in the VIP riding group. A VIP I am not, but it was fun to get out on the trails, take in the beauty of the Black Hills and talk to people like Boock, Weaver and others about the pastime.
Weaver, who lives in Aberdeen, grew up riding, coming out west with her dad in the 1970s “before there was ever a trail system.” After she got married, her husband had a snowmobile and, “I rode behind him. And I said, ‘If we’re going to keep doing this, I want to slide on my own.”
“And we’ve had sleds ever since,” she said, noting they joined their local snowmobile club. They’re 39-year members.
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The ride on Feb. 8 set off from the Hardy Guard Station near Lead, a Black Hills National Forest outpost built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It serves as home base for state conservation employees as well, who maintain the vast snowmobile trails in the hills.
Under a clear blue sky, wind mostly created by snowmobiles and temperatures that might’ve touched 20, this year’s Governor’s Ride route took us from the station and to the west, where we crossed into Wyoming en route to the Cement Ridge Fire Lookout station near Beulah.
If you live around here or come for a visit, I don’t have to tell you how breathtaking the landscape is. But I’ll tell you anyway. Atop the ridge, views of the hills and beyond stretched for miles. Greens, blues, whites and browns. The reason adjectives like “majesty” and “splendor” were created. Beautiful.
A few on the ride reveled in the fun fact that, on clear days like this, you can see South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota and Montana.
Then it was back on the sled.
In all, there are 350 miles of snowmobile-only trails in the Black Hills, offering a behind-the-scenes look at forest land. “You get to see areas you would never see otherwise,” Weaver said. Along the trails sit a number of stop off points, woodburning stoves lit to provide riders warmth. They provide a chance to stretch and chat.
“It’s beautiful out here,” said Christine Jourdain, the executive director of the National Snowmobile Association who made the trip from Brighton, Michigan to take the ride. She echoed the sentiments in her remarks that opened the day at Hardy Camp ahead of the ride.
“I get the opportunity to snowmobile across the country. The Black Hills have the best forest. It’s the most unique, it’s the most beautiful. It really is. You guys have an awesome trail system, so thanks for letting us use the lands,” she said, joining the litany of “thanks” doled out to federal and state conservation officers. “We appreciate that.”
On another stop, I chatted briefly with Rep. Erik Muckey and his wife Sadie. The freshman South Dakota Legislature member said he’s learned a lot so far in Pierre. We discussed property taxes, of course — a number of bills on the topic were still in play heading into the final week of the session, though only one survived. Muckey and fellow Democrat Sen. Jamie Smith, along with Republican Rep. Greg Jamison, all made the trip out from Sioux Falls.
Muckey said he and Sadie caught the snowmobile bug a few years back.
Along with educating snowmobilers about the etiquette of riding, the importance of respecting landowners that provide access (and those that don’t), working with legislators and other elected officials is part of the association’s purview.
“We all are in this together, and we also invite the many snowmobilers across our state that are not members of our state association to join, because when we talk to legislative bodies, when we go to Washington D.C., the membership numbers count. Voices count,” said Weaver, who’s the regional director for the Small Business Development Center that serves northeast South Dakota by day, helping area residents get businesses off the ground. “You may not ride in South Dakota, you may ride out in the mountains, but it’s because of the work of state associations like SDSA that keep these areas available for riding.”
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What do people enjoy about riding? It’s a simple question to answer. It’s fun to go fast. To feel the wind in your face. But there’s more.
“Like a lot of things in life that you love, it’s the people you do it with, family and friends,” Weaver said. “Some of our best friends are snowmobile club members.”
Earlier in the day, at the start of the ride, I found myself second in line on the trail, just behind association member Kim Raap of Sioux Falls, who led our group. Traversing the trails, I felt like I was getting the hang of it. We stopped to help a rider, not with our group, out of the ditch. “Participatory journalism” I quipped when someone was surprised I assisted. Safety precautions are taken seriously and stressed, but a bit of unforeseen ice on the trail, a missed turn, a hanging branch can all lead to a tumble.
We carried on, spending hours on the trails, taking in the granite cliffs and rows of aspen trees, the ponderosa pine and spruce. That majesty and splendor I mentioned.
“I absolutely love riding the trails up here. It’s just a beautiful place. And the trails are some of the best in the nation,” said Boock, who was out for the Governor’s Ride a little earlier than his doctor would’ve liked after neck surgery in November — but he couldn’t resist. “Take advantage of it when you can.”
I’m glad I did.
Mike Brownlee is the executive director of the Rapid City Journal. Reach him at mbrownlee@rapidcityjournal.com and go to rapidcityjournal.com for more.
Mike Brownlee
Executive Editor
Rapid City Journal
