SD law does not have a license exemption for the small cc sleds which means they are required to be licensed.
Black Hills Snow Conditions 1
- Thread starter sdsnocop
- Start date
SD law does not have a license exemption for the small cc sleds which means they are required to be licensed.
Thanks for the info , good to know , but now im confused why the other 2 guys that wrote me up told me there was not any trail permits in SD
SD does not require or offer a "trail permit" or non-resident permit to operate a snowmobile in this state. SD does require your snowmobile to be licensed. It does not matter if the snowmobile is licensed in SD or resident license of another state. Most states require a "trail permit or on-resident permit" to be purchased if you plan on riding in that state unless you are a resident of that state and your snowmobile is licensed in that state. Some states do require their residents to both purchase a "trail permit" and a license to operate their snowmobile. The SD 5 day permit is a temporary permit to operate a snowmobile in the state for those with an unlicensed snowmobile resident or non-resident. Remember non resident permits, "trail permits" from other states are not a snowmobile license or registration, it is a permit to only operate in that state.
Conditions
So how are the conditions down there after the weekend? We are coming on Friday. Wondering if it is still better down south off of 1 or if that has changed. Any areas to avoid due to thinning?
So how are the conditions down there after the weekend? We are coming on Friday. Wondering if it is still better down south off of 1 or if that has changed. Any areas to avoid due to thinning?
Trails I was on over the weekend were in very good condition. I only found a few thin spots around Deerfield on Saturday where the trail was exposed to the sunl. Mountain Meadow resort was the busiest I have ever seen it on Saturday. I was South all the wasy to the Custer County line and still found good snow. Was down near the far South junction of trails 1 and 2 and had good snow. Sunday we were North to Spearfish Canyon area, good trails and some good snow off trail. We were also South to the Beaver Creek area, still had great trails and good off trail snow. You still have to be careful of rocks and stumps but still better than 2 weeks ago. Some of our guys were East on trail 7 on Sunday and was told 7 was taking a hit due to the warm temps. The snow I encountered on Sunday was getting sticky on top but had not turned to mashed potatoes.
Temps Thursday day, Thursday night and Friday were tough on the snow conditions. Temps were above freezing Thursday morning straight through untill Friday night. Trails in close to Lead and Deadwood took a serious hit. The rest did survive the thermal slaughter. I was out riding on Friday with freinds. Still found some good snow depth but the snow got very heavy, sticky and wet. Was cooler today and trails were still good South except for some bare spots going into Mountain Meadow but still doable. The lake had a lot of water on top of the ice. Forecast does not look good for next week. Warm temps predicted through next Saturday with no chances for snow. At least the forcast calls for freezing temps at night.
I rode into Spearfish Canyon today and found trails survived the weekend. There were some strips of gravel the last 1/2 mile into the lodge which can be rode around at this time. Trail 1 from the Iron Creek area South still looked good. I did not make it all the way to Big Hill. Todays temps stayed in the low to mid 30's with no melting taking place. This week does not look too kind for the snow conditions but I expect there will be ridable snow but you may be limited to where can go. We will see what happens as the week progresses. The crazy cow that was attacking skiers in the Spearfish Canyon area was captured yesterday and on her way home to Custer. Our local weather forcaster is predicting warmer than normal temps for the end of February but cooler than normal temps for the month of March.
Rode outta Rec Springs Saturday/Sunday. Trails were super thin there, but improved dramatically the further away you got from Rec Springs. We rode mostly in the southern area, but also rode around near buckhorn. I'd say it is comparable to spring conditions. The trails melt off and are patchy, but surprisingly off trail is quite possible and there are some deeper spots. Despite super warm temps Sunday the snow didn't really seem to be melting and it wasn't sticky at all either which surprised me.
Right now the best conditions are within 15 miles of Trailshead in any direction. Trails are still holding the trail behind Trailshead is getting bare. Trail into Spearfish Canyon is good except for the last 1/2 mile. You can still dodge most of the gravel on that stretch. Trail 8 near Trail 1 is starting to show some gravel. Off trail snow is set up hard where it has been ridden and still a little soft with a crust on areas not ridden. Snow did not soften yesterday until around 1pm. Drove to Hardy Camp 95 miles, rode 90+ miles , drove home 95 miles, called back for stuck vehicle on trail at Spearfish Canyon, 95 miles. Had to give the girl a ride back to Spearfish since she had no way to pay the wrecker operator, then drove back home 100 miles. Long day. My 2017 patrol sled just turned over 3000 miles.
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03Firecatguy
Well-known member
Rumor says over a foot and a half or so for late next week. Anybody hear any truth to that? Heading that way with wife and few other couples next weekend, wasn't planning on bringing sleds but if you get that much we may as well.
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Firetrail
Well-known member
Snow
That appears to be just wishful thinking. Looks like the next 10 days is pretty much like the last 10. Little or no precip and temps in the 40s and 50s.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...nr&zmx=&zmy=&map_x=120&map_y=156#.WKc7Vn-eU2w
That appears to be just wishful thinking. Looks like the next 10 days is pretty much like the last 10. Little or no precip and temps in the 40s and 50s.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...nr&zmx=&zmy=&map_x=120&map_y=156#.WKc7Vn-eU2w
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wag13
Well-known member
Rode yesterday and it was decent considering how warm it has been here...Left trailshead and went south on 1 until we hit the trail 11&12 junction. Played around on fire trails down there most of the day. Snow is surprisingly good if you can find a meadow that hasn't been touched. Trails wise we had awesome trails once we were south of the 1&3 junction and was good until we got back within a few miles of trailshead. When we left in the morning the trails around that area were Snirty with snowmobile size bare spots about every quarter mile or so. Coming back for the day some of those same spots had expanded...Worst section of trail we ran into was the section of trail 3 between trail 11&1.
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wag13
Well-known member
Didn't know how else to do it so here's just a video with some pictures...Keep in mind these pics are of the best riding we found. Didn't take any of the crappy trails we found going back to trailshead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVAPgqbE1oA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVAPgqbE1oA
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03Firecatguy
Well-known member
So The Weather Channel claims for Lead......
Thursday 3-5"
Thursday night 3-5"
Friday 1"
Saturday 1"
As of yesterday it was for a total of 13-21" so it has gone down significantly and pushed it back 1 day as well. Figured if Lead would be getting that much, up top should be way better! Oh well.
Thursday 3-5"
Thursday night 3-5"
Friday 1"
Saturday 1"
As of yesterday it was for a total of 13-21" so it has gone down significantly and pushed it back 1 day as well. Figured if Lead would be getting that much, up top should be way better! Oh well.
Yeah unless things change quickly it will be gone soon. Hiked up Bear Butte today in shorts 
I have been watching the same thing, there is definitely a storm coming Thursday/Friday, but probably less than they originally said. Even 6" would help tremendously!
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d dunwoody
Member
Snow cond.
65 degrees in spearfish right now Sunday snow is going fast ! Temp Monday and Tuesday is around 66 degrees . Break out the golf clubs! Praying for a huge dumping of the white stuff. Spring riding can be awesome if you catch it right.
65 degrees in spearfish right now Sunday snow is going fast ! Temp Monday and Tuesday is around 66 degrees . Break out the golf clubs! Praying for a huge dumping of the white stuff. Spring riding can be awesome if you catch it right.
The past 2 weeks of warm weather has taken its toll on the trails. Numerous stretches of trail have been lost to the warm weather. Some sections are still holding especially to the South however if you rely mainly on trails to get around to your favorite riding area you will have difficulty. If you know the area well enough to know what route holds snow and how to bypass bad section of trails you will have snow to ride. Some decent snow can be found if you know where to look. Many sections of trail will need at least 18 inches of good snow to to get back to where we were 2 weeks ago. Snow is predicted for the end of the week. Our local forcasters are calling for cooler than normal temps and above normal precip for March.
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