Snowmobile experts share safety tips after deadly weekend on Minnesota trails
CIRCLE PINES, Minn. – Snowmobile clubs are urging riders to be safe after a deadly weekend across the state.
Three people died in separate crashes in St. Louis, Otter Tail and Wabasha counties.
Michelle Koch is president of the Rice Creek Trail Association.
"We've gotten a lot of local traffic. People who normally have to trailer elsewhere are getting to ride trails closer to home," Koch said.
As the club celebrates its 40th year, it's being rewarded with a snowy winter. But they're also aware of tragedy in other parts of the state.
"It's heartbreaking," Koch said. "A lot of things can happen. It can be an experience. It can be riding beyond your ability."
One of the fatalities over the weekend was a 12-year-old boy in Wabasha County. More snow means more riders, and many are inexperienced. With a season's worth of snow already, hazards aren't easy to see – which is why Koch is urging people to stay on the trails.
"You're far less likely to hit something if you're on a marked trail," she said.
Jim Smeby is with the Inver Grove Heights Snowmobile Club.
"There are like two or three guys who do the grooming and they'd like to have more people," Smeby said.
He says a lack of volunteers to help remove branches and clear trails is a concern.
"A lot of the younger generation want to ride. They don't want to help do those things," Smeby said.
And with more people picking up the sport during COVID, his club is facing another problem: trespassing. He said it puts both the rider and the property owner in a predicament.
"If you trespass you could be arrested. It's a federal offense versus a county," he said
Smeby says a lot of younger riders don't realize that there's a 50 mph speed limit in Minnesota. And if you were born after 1976, you are supposed to go through a safety training course which can be taken online.
For more training and information about hazards, riders are encouraged to contact their local snowmobile club.