Too cold, no one is riding. Currently 30 below. Groomer did not even go out last night. Interstate is currently closed again east of Rapid City. Everyone is getting ready for Christmas. Want more excuses?
2022-2023 Black Hills Conditions
- Thread starter sdsnocop
- Start date
Fair enough.. better riding ahead next week when it will be 60 degrees warmer than current conditions.
Sorry, I did not mean to be a smart ass. Talked with Julie at Trailshead. No one riding today. It never got warmer than -23 today. I just read the interstate is closed from Rapid City to Albert Lee. My wife and I were planning on driving to Sioux Falls tomorrow for Christmas plans but it looks like the interstate may be closed for much of tomorrow. I expect with our snow conditions and mild temps predicted for after Christmas there will be a lot of snowmobile traffic. Hopefully everyone rides safe. South Dakota has already had 2 snowmobile fatalities his year, one that went through the ice and one that was struck by an automobile.
I am an hour south of Sioux Falls and its bad.. feel sorry for xmas travelers.
J
Hopefully this is a good start for the Hills with alot more snow to come!! They need a good year its been awhile!
I guess this is why I cannot drive to Sioux Falls and snowmobilers cannot drive to the Hills to ride.
Awesome pic!
A
My 17 year old son and I are looking forward to four days of riding this weekend, I’ll be sure to share what we find for conditions. We had plans of leaving Brandon early Thursday, but we decided to head out this afternoon to avoid the snow/rain predicted for east river Thursday.
I have a feeling it’s going to be busy all weekend. Say hi if you seek us, green and black Summit XP, Black Backcountry, or gold/red/black Summit.
Ride safe everyone.
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I have a feeling it’s going to be busy all weekend. Say hi if you seek us, green and black Summit XP, Black Backcountry, or gold/red/black Summit.
Ride safe everyone.
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U
I'll be up riding this weekend. We've got zero snow here in Custer. I think staying in the northern half of the trail system is the best bet which is usually the case. I'm on an all black Summit.
Trails are taking a beating with all the traffic. They never seem to get the chance to set up properly. Sledders are finding snow but they are also finding stumps. I hear replacement A-arms are becoming hard to come by. Snow has a little crust on the top due to last weeks warm weather. We are still in much better shape going into the new year than we have been for the past 2 seasons. The better snow is still North / Northwest of Trailshead.
A
Yes, the trails have been rode hard, but groomed very well each night. We rode early Friday from Spearfish Canyon to Rec Springs for breakfast and had fresh groomed the entire way, THANK YOU!
We found the best snow between 1 & 3. There are still a lot of areas untouched. We zig zagged all morning and found the conditions perfect to show my son how to climb, avoid stumps, cross downed trees without tearing a lug, and getting himself unstuck.
We rode 1 south to 12 then 11 around to Beaver Creek Campground and Malo yesterday late afternoon and found the snow to be okay. Trails were still very good down there. Todd from Trailshead said South or east of that gets bad.
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We found the best snow between 1 & 3. There are still a lot of areas untouched. We zig zagged all morning and found the conditions perfect to show my son how to climb, avoid stumps, cross downed trees without tearing a lug, and getting himself unstuck.
We rode 1 south to 12 then 11 around to Beaver Creek Campground and Malo yesterday late afternoon and found the snow to be okay. Trails were still very good down there. Todd from Trailshead said South or east of that gets bad.
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A
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A
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A
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S
Thank-you for your report. We were hoping the trails were not destroyed. How is trail 7 into Deadwood?
A
We didn’t make it east of Rec Springs. I hear 5 and 7 were beat up pretty good by Friday and Saturday from all of the rentals.
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A
14” and still coming down in Brandon. I wish I wouldn’t have left my sleds out in the Black Hills.
Any reports for the northern hills yet?
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Any reports for the northern hills yet?
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Have not rode snowmobile on 7 into Deadwood but I did drive along trail 7 out of Deadwood today. The trail looked good with plenty of snow cover. The worst trail I seen all week was trail 7 from Dumont to Mystic Hills. It had the usual blown off portions around Custer Peak and had several thin areas. The best trails I seen were trails 1 and 3 up by Big Hill. Today I rode 5 into Rec Springs and it was in good shape. Trailshead area received around 3 inches Sunday night. Spearfish Canyon only received 1 inch. 3-4 inches new snow towards Rec Springs.
Was out there and rode Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Rode primarily in the trees. Between 4 & 1 was pretty good. Between 1 & 3 was better once we got north of 3A. By far the best was west of 3. Still stumps to be found but we were looking hard, Monday we rode only until 2 and we put on 40 miles with only 3 on trails. Interestingly enough I asked at Trailshead about a road that was on my forest service map and was told it was closed and would find a gate because it leads into private property, never found the gate…I guess I found the owners honey hole! It was some of the best snow I have ever ridden out there in 25+ years. And no, I didn’t ride on posted ground or in an area labeled as restricted. On another note, gas is $5.95 and a cheeseburger and fries is about $15 if you include a fountain pop. We are going to start packing in food like in the mountains.
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