Editors Note: In each issue of Snow Goer magazine, we highlight a snowmobile club or association that is the backbone of our sport. This story is from our Febraury 2022 issue. Please make note of the link inside this story where you can share information about your own snowmobile club.
The situation faced by the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club is an excellent example of why you should consider joining a club where you ride, not just where you live.
Located in the ultimate snowmobiling hub in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the club’s trails are some of the most popular in all of North America thanks to the immense amount of snow the area gets plus the wonderful rural and rugged landscape.
However, a limited population in the immediate area (Keweenaw County has a population of just 2,046 people, and many of them go south in the winter) makes it extremely difficult to staff and finance a club that expertly grooms and maintains 238 miles of trails. That’s reflected in the club’s membership – upwards of 80 percent don’t live nearby. Yet those distant members’ support is vital to making the whole trail network and its maintenance possible.
Learn more from the answers provided by club president Ryan LaPorte. To have your club considered for exposure in the magazine, fill out our information form at https://tinyurl.com/GreatSnowClub.
What’s the best in-season club activity that makes membership fun?
“Our club ride through the Keweenaw Peninsula. It offers scenic views and overlooks of Lake Superior, Brockway Mountain Drive, Copper Harbor and downtown Calumet. It’s a way to explore the region’s deep mining and timber history.”
What’s your club’s best off-season event or activity?
“Our signing and brushing day. It’s a great way to explore our trials via side-by-sides and trucks and see the rock base that encompasses much of our trail system.”
What are your club’s best means for finding new members in recent years?
“Social media, summer events with the local visitor’s bureau and winter interactions with riders out on the trail and at local establishments. We also participate in the local Bridgefest event by bringing our groomer to Touch-A-Truck Day and display at the local watercross races every summer.”
How do you make new members or prospective new members feel welcomed in your club?
“By inviting them to help and letting them get their hands dirty while they join in the trials and tribulations of trail maintenance and grooming operations.”
Aside from safety training, what else does your club do to get youth involved?
“We really haven’t done much. It’s something being discussed, but our main target is the visitors to the area and educating them about riding safe in a new area.”
One interesting thing that our club does for the good of the sport and the community is…
“Maintain the most miles of trails in the state of Michigan, which brings people to the area. We are a tourism-based economy up here, and snowmobiling brings 30,000 to 40,000 visitors per year who spend $40 million a year, according to a study by the local convention and visitor’s bureau.”
Overall, the thing that makes our club great is…
“The members, board members and grooming team. Our groomer operators are a dedicated, hard-working team. A lot of the guys, when they started with us, had never been on a snowmobile – they were heavy equipment operators who came out and learned it and found a new passion. We’re a little atypical in that way. Then when we get them out on a sled, they are really hooked.”
Editor’s Note: Every Snow Goer issue includes in-depth sled reports and comparisons, aftermarket gear and accessories reviews, riding destination articles, do-it-yourself repair information, snowmobile technology and more. Subscribe to Snow Goer now to receive print and/or digital issues.
