With over 350 miles of groomed, “official” trails, the Black Hills are a dream for snowmobilers. And that’s not including the “unofficial” trails – uncounted miles of off-trail riding throughout the 1.2 million acres of Black Hills National Forest.

Until just a few days ago, I had never been snowmobiling recreationally. Most of my snowmobiling family and friends do it for work-related purposes, because they work in remote backcountry areas where snowmobiles are perfunctory for getting from one place to another. Fun, for sure, but not necessarily a hobby.

So I decided to rent and leave from Spearfish Canyon Lodge located on US-14 in the Northern Hills. Spearfish Canyon is a true beauty with impressive rock walls rising high above the valley floor. The Lodge is located on Trailhead #4 of the Black Hills trail system and offers lots of extra amenities for snowmobilers.

I couldn’t have chosen a better day to go. There were about 8 inches of fresh powder, the sky was bright blue and it was a balmy 23 degrees outside.

Sitting on the back of a double seat Arctic Cat with my guide, there was little for me to do but enjoy the scenery. When leaving from the Lodge, Trail #4 follows Little Spearfish Creek through a winding canyon. The canyon is smaller than Spearfish Canyon, but it is just as, if not more, impressive.

After cruising along the smooth groomed trails for a while we went off-trail into an open meadow full of fresh powder.  As we sped around the meadow through dips and coulees, sprays of powder billowed up and all around us. Snowmobiles have a lot of get up and go, and hitting all that fresh powder at high speeds was way more fun then I had expected it to be.

My snowmobiling adventure went by much too quickly. My afternoon consisted of a perfect blend of relaxed cruising and a fun time of hitting fresh powder. I saw some amazing country, but it was only a tiny slice of the many miles of trails for snowmobiles in the Black Hills. Next time I’ll have to check out a new trail and be in the driver’s seat!