The Mille Lacs Drift Skippers, based in Isle, Minnesota, was an early adopter as a joint snowmobile-ATV club, joining forces in the late 1980s.“ A big part of the mission of the club is supporting the local tourist economy,” said Steve Dubbs, ATV trail coordinator for the club.“ I think a bunch of Drift Skippers members wanted to get into ATVing to diversify the tourism offerings. And we had people who liked to ride.”

The club maintains 104 miles of snowmobile trails and 60 miles of ATV routes. Some of them overlap, but not all. Dubbs says the Red Top trail loop, either in the winter or summer, is a highlight in their network.

Last November, the club got the go-ahead and $ 600,000 to start a major upgrade of its area trails. While the project is in conjunction with local agencies, the idea formed within the clubhouse walls.

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What are the best in-season club activities that make membership fun?

We are a year-round organization and enjoy both ATV and snowmobile events. We offer youth snowmobile and ATV training classes; host a vintage show and ride; and sponsor special events.

Before each of our monthly meetings, we hold a social supper. Someone brings a meal, or we get one catered. We break bread together and have some fun before the meeting starts. There are

Mille Lacs Drift Skippers Snowmobile and ATV Club

Isle, Minnesota Established: 1970 Total members: 55 families Miles of trails maintained: 104 Contact: Email driftskippersvolunteer @ gmail. com; call( 763) 772-6458; go to- https:// www. millelacsdriftskippers. org /; or find the Drift Skippers on Facebook. com usually between 45 and 60 people there.

This is the 15th year for our annual vintage snowmobile show and ride, which takes place in February. Between 200 and 250 sleds come to it. The ride takes us to the Red Top Loop, where we host a trailside weenie roast.

We’ ve held an event for International Snowmobile Day in the past, where we did a pork chop feed outside of the clubhouse, which is on the trail. We don’ t have a plan to do that this year, but we’ ll probably host some more weenie roasts on the trail for people who ride by. That’ s kind of fun.

Describe a favorite off-season event or activity.

There is no off-season. One thing we’ re really excited about is that we got the Soo Line Trail designated as a regional trail this year. This allows us to apply for a state-funded Minnesota Legacy grant for the trails. We have a master plan that involves resurfacing the Soo Line Trail, creating three new trailheads, and rehabilitating some of the bridges. It’ s a big project that will take a number of years, and when it’ s complete it will be a $ 13 million project. It was the brainchild of club members to go after this designation so we could upgrade the trail system. We’ re working in conjunction with Mille Lacs County and are designated through Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails. It’ s a really big deal.

How do you find new members?

The trails are the draw. If people enjoy the trails, they figure out who is doing the work. People want to get involved with a good organization where things are happening. Also by word-of-mouth and at events. People will stop in to say hello, get to know a club member, and then ask about joining.

How do you make newcomers feel welcomed in your club?

We try to get people involved in an ac- tivity, find out where they’ d like to participate and give them a job to do.

One interesting thing that our club does for the good of the sport is...

Support community events. We have a pretty good reputation. We make a lot of donations to youth activities, youth sports, the Scouts, band trips, the police and fire departments and more. We start every meeting with requests for donations, and we may have up to 10 groups looking for donations. In a small town, it makes a really big difference. We give away almost $ 100,000. A lot of our funds come from pull tabs, and there’ s a requirement to give a certain percentage of the proceeds to the community.

Overall, the thing that makes our club great is …

Our passion for the sport. I mean really passionate. The passion spreads down to the culture of having immaculately groomed trails. We groom at night so the trails set up nice and firm. It’ s not unusual for the groomers, when they’ re done, to go ride what they just groomed to self-critique or learn. One of our groomers puts on 12,000 miles of snowmobiling a year. To be out all night grooming and then ride what you just groomed— it’ s the best way to learn what works and what doesn’ t.

There are many great reasons to join a club. For a list of clubs go to snowgoer. com.

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