Forum Discussion

dodge_guy's avatar
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Dec 24, 2017

Want to plan a winter snowmobile trip to the Black Hills

Hello everyone. Merry Christmas!!!

This is not really a camping related thread, more of a destination question. We have snowmobiles and usually do a trip to Northern WI and the U.P. Well I’ve been considering the idea of doing a new years trip one of these years to the Black Hills. We’ve been to the BH’s before and love it but I want to see it in winter. My question is will there be enough snow in the Hills the end of Dec/beginning of Jan. to sled on? I’ve been doing some research and haven’t really found much about snowfall amounts. I’m thinking in the HillCity, Keystone, Custer areas.

As far as hotels/Cabins I’m looking for something that is accessible to the trails, jump on the sled and go!

Thanks!
  • ACZL's avatar
    ACZL
    Explorer
    Dec 26, 2017
    Be sure to check out/join up at Snowgoer.com (sister publication to TL) Go onto their forums and ask there as well. I seem to recall they did a story on that area not too terribly long ago, or it's listed under their vacation/destination section in recent mag or 2.
  • JoeH's avatar
    JoeH
    Explorer III
    Dec 25, 2017
    Lynnmor wrote:
    I rode out of Spearfish Canyon Lodge. Link

    Nice place right on the trails. Usually there is snow in the hills when there may be little or nothing at lower elevations. You can ride all the trails in a couple of days. Beware of riding off trail, there is an abundance of tree stumps hiding just below the surface.


    We stopped there during the bike rally and asked about snowmobiling. Bottom line, they told us to call before coming as snowfall there can be unpredictable...just like everything else.
    I was looking at their trail map and it looked like there was a good number of areas to explore.
  • Busskipper's avatar
    Busskipper
    Explorer
    Dec 25, 2017
    Thom02099 wrote:
    dodge guy wrote:
    Hello everyone. Merry Christmas!!!

    This is not really a camping related thread, more of a destination question. We have snowmobiles and usually do a trip to Northern WI and the U.P. Well I’ve been considering the idea of doing a new years trip one of these years to the Black Hills. We’ve been to the BH’s before and love it but I want to see it in winter. My question is will there be enough snow in the Hills the end of Dec/beginning of Jan. to sled on? I’ve been doing some research and haven’t really found much about snowfall amounts. I’m thinking in the HillCity, Keystone, Custer areas.

    As far as hotels/Cabins I’m looking for something that is accessible to the trails, jump on the sled and go!

    Thanks!


    If you don't find what you're looking for in the Black Hills, you may want to consider the snowmobiling capital of Colorado...Grand Lake. There's packages you can get with motels/machine rentals, or if you have your own sleds, there's more than a few motels there for winter fun. And in Grand Lake, it is legal to ride your sled on the town streets. And you can go from your motel to the trails, which begin just outside of town. I've done it multiple times over the years, and it's such a wonderful experience.


    ^^^^^^ GREAT ADVICE ^^^^^^
  • dieseltruckdriv's avatar
    dieseltruckdriv
    Explorer II
    Dec 25, 2017
    Even in the northern Hills the snow is still unusually thin, the central and southern Hills will be worse.

    Note that the conditions can change in a day with the right weather.

    I saw a thing on Microsoft that said we were one of the top ten snowiest locations in the US. I don't know what they used to qualify that, but we do usually get nearly 200 inches a year.
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer
    Dec 25, 2017
    I rode out of Spearfish Canyon Lodge. Link

    Nice place right on the trails. Usually there is snow in the hills when there may be little or nothing at lower elevations. You can ride all the trails in a couple of days. Beware of riding off trail, there is an abundance of tree stumps hiding just below the surface.
  • SDcampowneroper's avatar
    SDcampowneroper
    Explorer
    Dec 25, 2017
    Thom,
    There are no trails, rarely enough snow in the southern Hills. You should look to the Lead/Deadwood areas or west along us 85, trailshead , recreational adventures, or at parks south of Deadwood on 385. Lotsof trail connections, rv sites in the parks open there.
  • dodge_guy's avatar
    dodge_guy
    Explorer II
    Dec 25, 2017
    Thanks for the option Thom. I had thought about that, but wasn’t sure. I’ll look into it. And yes we have 3 sleds.
  • Thom02099's avatar
    Thom02099
    Explorer II
    Dec 25, 2017
    dodge guy wrote:
    Hello everyone. Merry Christmas!!!

    This is not really a camping related thread, more of a destination question. We have snowmobiles and usually do a trip to Northern WI and the U.P. Well I’ve been considering the idea of doing a new years trip one of these years to the Black Hills. We’ve been to the BH’s before and love it but I want to see it in winter. My question is will there be enough snow in the Hills the end of Dec/beginning of Jan. to sled on? I’ve been doing some research and haven’t really found much about snowfall amounts. I’m thinking in the HillCity, Keystone, Custer areas.

    As far as hotels/Cabins I’m looking for something that is accessible to the trails, jump on the sled and go!

    Thanks!


    If you don't find what you're looking for in the Black Hills, you may want to consider the snowmobiling capital of Colorado...Grand Lake. There's packages you can get with motels/machine rentals, or if you have your own sleds, there's more than a few motels there for winter fun. And in Grand Lake, it is legal to ride your sled on the town streets. And you can go from your motel to the trails, which begin just outside of town. I've done it multiple times over the years, and it's such a wonderful experience.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Dec 25, 2017
    Yes you can sled if there is enough snow near your cabin In the new year and have a gud time Hill city has train museum too

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