Rec Springs to Trailshead

[SDPowderRider]

Having ridden out of Trailshead for years and years, I know the back country fire trails and meadows south, north and west of Trailshead well. My family recently purchased a cabin in the Deer Mtn. area. In the past I have only ridden to Rec Springs via groomed trail. Anyone have any advice/tips on getting from Rec Springs to Trailshead area via off the groomed trail?

 

[skibumsd]

if the snow is deep the power lines have lots of areas off them to play in.

 

[niles]

So about this cabin? Do you rent it to fellow snowesters for a bargain price?:face-icon-small-win

 

[Firetrail]

Rec Springs

Was in the Hills last weekend. Talked to some people who have some good information about things out there and I would be suprised if Rec Springs was even open this winter. The people who were in there for the last couple years are out. The place looks deserted and no snow has been cleaned out of there since the snowfall earlier this fall. The whole place looks to be in disrepair. Talked to someone who had recently been in the lodge area and they said it looks like a bomb went off in there. Evidently there was broken pipe above the bar and the place was flooded. Ceilings collapsed and water damage. All of the rentals are up in the trees and frozen in blocks of ice and frozen snow. This is what was going on just 2 weeks before the season is to open and the place looks like a ghost town.

 

[wag13]

I've experienced a few ways with the "good ol' boys" Everything usually just comes from memory passed down by the old guys haha. You could also follow the fire trails that are on the trail map. However idk if they even have that many off to the east, or how blocked up they will be.

 

[FarmerBuck]

Rec Springs

A riding buddy talked to people there couple weeks ago made reservations for first week in jan said they would be open original owners have it back he said

look forward to snow cops post keeping us up to date on riding conditions thanks duane

 

[moonshiner]

As FarmerBuck said, looks like they are planning to open up.

Posted on another site:

"As the original owner of Recreational Springs I want to set the record straight. We will be open for the winter. We have already started receiving new sleds. We did have a pipe to burst but we will be up and running when the trails open. Looking forward to a good season."

 

[JW]

So original as in the folks from Sioux Falls?

 

[odiermk]

Rec. Springs New Owners

Actually all, one of my buddies just bought the place and is there now working his tail off to get the place ready for the season and yes he is getting new sleds. They are great people and hope everyone stops in to say hi

 

[bkpa]

Good! I hope it works out well for them.

Back to the OP: Any ideas on routes?

 

[Firetrail]

Rec Springs

Here is what I believe to be accurate (pretty much). The guy is from the Minneapolis area. 30ish. He is out there and working to get the place open this weekend. He has a couple kids and a wife and he plans to move his family here, make the Hills his home, and "work" the place year round. He is getting all those piece of trash sleds "that the previous proprietor called rentals" out of the trees. He says he will sell the ones that have titles and part out the rest. He is supposedly getting 15 new Arctic Cat trail sleds to rent this year and will not be messing with the junkers. He says he wants a family oriented place and wants to build a reputation around that. Person I know who talked with the guy for a while says he sounded serious about developing a new and positive reputation there and wants to meet as many people as he can. I do hope that he actually bought the place. The local owner or previous owner has made some money from "contract for deed" sales of the place that did not work out. Not his fault but Rec Springs does not have a good track record of having "owners" make it there. The last guys were there a couple years. I wish him the best and think he is going in there with a positive attitude anyway.

 

[sdsnocop]

My partner stopped at Rec springs yesterday and got the same impression as Firetrail. He did talk about using some of the old rentals only temporary at a discounted rate until he gets the new sleds in. He is very much aware of its prior reputation and is eager to turn that reputation around. As far as the original question of routes out of the Rec Springs area there are few off trail options. The only one I am aware of is to drop off the West side of the old small powerline crossing trail 5 between Rec Springs and Hanna Rd, follow it to the bottom of the draw, follow the draw left out to Hanna Rd. take a right when you come to Hanna Rd. you will follow a old railroad bed until you get to the junction of Hanna and Long Draw Rd. (FS209) follow 209 South to the big powerline or the trail. This route only works if they are not plowing Long Draw.

 

[Marlette]

Recreational Springs

I apologize for taking this off its original subject again but I just wanted to comment about the "New Recreational Springs". As of 5 days ago I am the new owner of "The New Recreational Springs". I cannot stress NEW enough. My wife (Stephanie) and I (Brett) are very excited to get back to the hills. We formed our love for the hills 10 years ago when we attended SDSM&T. We have two young boys Roland (2.5yr) and Theodore (14months), I'm sure you will see them running around terrorizing the place.
As for the condition of the place, two weeks ago unfortunately we did have a pipe burst in the ceiling above the bar. We have been working very hard to fix this mess. We have the ceiling repaired fresh paint throughout and are only waiting on the new carpet to be installed on Monday Dec. 16th. All the motel rooms and cabins have been gone through with a fine tooth comb. It is to late in the season to do any major remodeling but what I can assure you is the rooms will be clean and have all new bedding.
We are going to have the restaurant open and ready to go for this season.
Now the fun stuff, the sleds, we will be renting Arctic Cat F570's. We were trying to get a fleet of 15 put together but unfortunately we lost the deal on two of them so we will have 13. We do also have the old fleet that was buried in about 5 feet of snow. We have been working on digging them out and getting them running. I do not want to rent these but do to the circumstances I might have to use them as a last resort. If I do use them I will be letting the person know exactly what they are getting and they will be getting them at a much reduced rate.
Another piece to the snowmobiles is I have hired a certified Arctic Cat Mechanic. He is a younger guy but is very knowledgeable.
The mechanic and my family will be living on site so please stop in and say hi. I am very excited an hopeful for a good snow season. Again sorry for going off subject but I just wanted everyone to hear it from the horses mouth. Also thank you to any of you who have already posted and please spread the word about the NEW rec springs.

 

[Raff_9001M]

I apologize for taking this off its original subject again but I just wanted to comment about the "New Recreational Springs". As of 5 days ago I am the new owner of "The New Recreational Springs". I cannot stress NEW enough. My wife (Stephanie) and I (Brett) are very excited to get back to the hills. We formed our love for the hills 10 years ago when we attended SDSM&T. We have two young boys Roland (2.5yr) and Theodore (14months), I'm sure you will see them running around terrorizing the place.
As for the condition of the place, two weeks ago unfortunately we did have a pipe burst in the ceiling above the bar. We have been working very hard to fix this mess. We have the ceiling repaired fresh paint throughout and are only waiting on the new carpet to be installed on Monday Dec. 16th. All the motel rooms and cabins have been gone through with a fine tooth comb. It is to late in the season to do any major remodeling but what I can assure you is the rooms will be clean and have all new bedding.
We are going to have the restaurant open and ready to go for this season.
Now the fun stuff, the sleds, we will be renting Arctic Cat F570's. We were trying to get a fleet of 15 put together but unfortunately we lost the deal on two of them so we will have 13. We do also have the old fleet that was buried in about 5 feet of snow. We have been working on digging them out and getting them running. I do not want to rent these but do to the circumstances I might have to use them as a last resort. If I do use them I will be letting the person know exactly what they are getting and they will be getting them at a much reduced rate.
Another piece to the snowmobiles is I have hired a certified Arctic Cat Mechanic. He is a younger guy but is very knowledgeable.
The mechanic and my family will be living on site so please stop in and say hi. I am very excited an hopeful for a good snow season. Again sorry for going off subject but I just wanted everyone to hear it from the horses mouth. Also thank you to any of you who have already posted and please spread the word about the NEW rec springs.

Thanks for the honest update. Rec Springs is in a great location and I wish you folks the best. Definitely will be stopping there more often.

 

[cat22]

Great news on new ownership! I have a place on Deer Mtn and have parked my trailer and unloaded at your place. Is this still okay? I always buy my gas and frequent the bar. Congrats and look forward to meeting you, thanks!

 

[Vics Action Shots]

Thanks for the honest update. Rec Springs is in a great location and I wish you folks the best. Definitely will be stopping there more often.

Congratulation and best wishes on your new Adventure at Rec Springs!

 

[thinksnow]

I will be seeing you several times this year. Good luck.

 

[arcticmat]

I apologize for taking this off its original subject again but I just wanted to comment about the "New Recreational Springs". As of 5 days ago I am the new owner of "The New Recreational Springs". I cannot stress NEW enough. My wife (Stephanie) and I (Brett) are very excited to get back to the hills. We formed our love for the hills 10 years ago when we attended SDSM&T. We have two young boys Roland (2.5yr) and Theodore (14months), I'm sure you will see them running around terrorizing the place.
As for the condition of the place, two weeks ago unfortunately we did have a pipe burst in the ceiling above the bar. We have been working very hard to fix this mess. We have the ceiling repaired fresh paint throughout and are only waiting on the new carpet to be installed on Monday Dec. 16th. All the motel rooms and cabins have been gone through with a fine tooth comb. It is to late in the season to do any major remodeling but what I can assure you is the rooms will be clean and have all new bedding.
We are going to have the restaurant open and ready to go for this season.
Now the fun stuff, the sleds, we will be renting Arctic Cat F570's. We were trying to get a fleet of 15 put together but unfortunately we lost the deal on two of them so we will have 13. We do also have the old fleet that was buried in about 5 feet of snow. We have been working on digging them out and getting them running. I do not want to rent these but do to the circumstances I might have to use them as a last resort. If I do use them I will be letting the person know exactly what they are getting and they will be getting them at a much reduced rate.
Another piece to the snowmobiles is I have hired a certified Arctic Cat Mechanic. He is a younger guy but is very knowledgeable.
The mechanic and my family will be living on site so please stop in and say hi. I am very excited an hopeful for a good snow season. Again sorry for going off subject but I just wanted everyone to hear it from the horses mouth. Also thank you to any of you who have already posted and please spread the word about the NEW rec springs.

Wish you guys the best and we will make sure to stop in and have some lunch, get some gas and say hi.

 

[PROJack66]

Go Rec Springs

Our family and several of our local friends families own cabins / homes across the street. We will all be by in the next week to introduce ourselves and lend a bunch of support. We want someone to succeed and it's great to get a young and motivated family in the neighborhood. Best of luck and we will definitely be spreading the word of support. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year. Best news I've heard for this area in a long time.

 

[mrc]

My Family stayed at one of the cabins across the road from Rec Springs and ate at Rec Springs a couple of times. The new owners are great and they are serving tasty good quality food. A fairly basic menu, but what they do serve is good quality and well prepared.

Mike