Baker River Valley Snowmobile Club
Located in a wonderfully rural area of New Hampshire yet an easy drive from the greater Boston Metropolitan Area, the Baker River Valley Snowmobile Club is a shining star in many ways.
The 42-year-old club expertly maintains 100 miles of trails in its area, but that’s just the start of its long list of efforts to tend to the needs of snowmobile riders. It maintains parking lots for trucks and trailers, and its clubhouse provides great trailside meals for riders.
Beyond that, the club hosts or participates in events year-round to engage its members and also stays super-involved in its local communities.
Learn more by seeing the answers to our questions that were provided by club secretary Franci Frame. To have your club considered for exposure, click here.
What’s the best in-season club event or activity that makes membership fun?
“It’s tough to choose just one. Our Poker Run is super fun! It keeps growing as we host first-timers as well as repeat participants that attend every year. We sell [poker] hands through our website ahead of the date and each first hand includes a full lunch with specials at the clubhouse. Our Ladies Ride is also a big hit. We hold a beginners clinic before the ride for ladies getting introduced to the sport. The ladies group takes a ride around our trail system and then heads back to the clubhouse for raffles, games, photo ops and prizes. The best part is watching the guys run the kitchen as they serve the ladies lunch.”
What is your club’s best off-season event or activity?
“Again, it’s tough to pick one, between our Landowners and Volunteers Appreciation BBQ, decorating a float for the Warren Old Home Days parade, etc. But I guess it would be the NH Grass Drags and Watercross event in Fremont, New Hampshire, in October because of the many facets of the event. Our club provides many volunteer hours (which translates into dollars to our club) for this event, taking tickets, working the gates, working our club booth and parking and traffic assistance. We’re told that the use of a smoked turkey leg helps pass time as you direct traffic. The event is fun and exciting, watching all the different shows and races, or finding a missing part for your sled at the swap meet. Also, since it’s a multi-day event, we get together with members of other clubs after hours around the campfire.”
What’s your club’s best means for finding new members in recent years?
“Finding new members comes through several avenues. They include our website, sled registration, word of mouth about our good works for our community, the excellent conditions created by our trail masters and the great trail-assessable eats at our clubhouse kitchen. We also have a booth presence at several events.”
How do you make new members or prospective new members feel welcomed in your club?
“Our club is short on one thing, and that’s drama. Our board members and volunteers are an easy-going bunch. We all have our day jobs and limitations on when and how each of us can contribute. We encourage new members to volunteer for tasks that they enjoy and that work for their lives. We all work to pick up the ball if someone drops it, because life happens. We also make sure to offer a meal with any trail workdays.”
Aside from safety training, what else does your club do to get youth involved?
“We do events with the Boy Scouts, offer local high school scholarships and hold an annual Kiddos Kruise. Our club is always looking for more ways to engage our younger riders, which is why all our events are family friendly.”
One thing our club does for the good of the sport and communitiy is…
“Our club’s cornerstone is our involvement in our local community, which shines a positive light on snowmobiling as a whole. We engage with our landowners on a regular basis to ensure that we provide them with the experience that they expected. We hold many fundraisers targeted toward community improvements, including local fire and rescue equipment, local foodbanks, safety and CPR education, senior centers and a hosted annual community Thanksgiving dinner.”
Overall, the thing that makes our club great is…
“Hands down, our board members and volunteers make having this ‘second job’ a blast! We truly love this coordinated dance of doing all we can to deliver the best trails and clubhouse experience anywhere. The compliments, laughter and the stories our riders share with us over a cheeseburger or chili make it all worthwhile.”
