Elk Lake Easy Riders Snowmobile Club

04/11/2026

Found some snow in the yard at the trail shed while cleaning up this afternoon. Who wants to ride??? 🤣🤣🤣

04/11/2026

Credit to Northwoods Snowmobiling LLC for this one.

Even now that the trails are closed we've got snowmobiling on the brain!

04/01/2026

The 2025-2026 Minnesota snowmobile season ended this morning at midnight and what a season it has been.

As the president of the club, I wanted to thank all of our members for stepping in where they can to help make this happen. From signing, to clearing brush, to helping with the pork chop trailer and fundraising, to serving lunch for the MN GREAT Show attendees, for helping work on the equipment, the list goes on. And most of all for the good times had with all!

On behalf of the club, I want to thank the Sherburne County Snowmobile Trail Association and our other sister clubs in the trail association. We cannot thank Sherburne County enough for their support as well as the various townships and private landowners that our trails run through and the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office and MN DNR Enforcement for their assistance with Youth Training and enforcement education on the trails.

Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association is fighting for our sport at the capital during this legislative session.

Snowmobiling doesn't happen without our volunteers and the relationships with landowners, equipment vendors, club members and government agencies.

Even though the season is over, we will be out updating signing, trimming trails and getting ready for next year.

Come join us tonight for our monthly meeting at the Trail Shed at 7PM. The trail shed is located on the north side of County Road 4 just east of Orrock. We would love to meet and you can see what this is all about!

-Chris

03/27/2026

Update:

SF 1245 was laid over in committee today. It is now dead. Before the hearing I spoke with the ATV lobbyists who told me how the various Facebook posts and comments hurt their cause. They agreed that they would have asked for our help if needed but as I mentioned in an earlier post, we all knew the bill was dead on arrival. In testimony, ATV Mn president Ron Potter emphatically disavowed the untrue, hateful and racist posts and communications (The committee chairman is Hmong). All testimony from both sides was respectful and well done.
Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 25, 2026, at 1:13 PM, douglas franzen

03/26/2026

FROM MNUSA PRESIDENT Fellow snowmobilers and ATV/UTV users,

MnUSA is monitoring this bill to the highest level and working to stop this legislation. In no way are we saying that snowmobiles will not be affected, our Lobbyist has faced these bills in the past.

We know that a large percentage of snowmobilers are ATV/UTV riders also and we are not abandoning them. The best way to fight this bill is to text or email your legislator and tell them how you feel. MnUSA will continue monitoring and trying to keep everyone informed as this issue progresses.

I personally belong to both organizations and am very concerned with this bill on a personal level and will not take it lightly.

Mike Clevenger
MnUSA President

03/25/2026

There have been Facebook posts prompting many questions, some confusion, and concerns about MN Senate File 1245. We love questions from members and are grateful for member engagement. However, Senate File 1245 poses no threat to our trails. In fact, the bill has no impact on snowmobiling.

Christian and I have been following this bill since its introduction. We to were alarmed by its title. But remember that the title of a statute has no legal effect. Upon reading the bill, it became clear that the bill is not about snowmobile trails. Rather, the bill is about regulating ATVs.

I think much of the confusion is that the bill addresses “off-highway vehicles.” As a matter of law, a snowmobile is not an off-highway vehicle. We have a separate and distinct statute defining a snowmobile.

Again, none of the language of the bill relates to our trails.

Christian and I have met with the Chairman of the committee and the bill’s author, Senator McEwen (Duluth). Sen. McEwen agrees with our interpretation of her bill and will state for the record in committee that her bill does not impact our sport or our trails. She told us that she “loves her snowmobilers”.

We will continue to follow this bill and watch out for any amendments that impact our sport.

Finally, thank you. We are at our best when you get involved.

Doug and Christian Franzen
MnUSA lobbyists.

03/15/2026

Where was this snow a month ago?!?!

As much as our groomer operators love making trails, we're not going to be grooming after this snowfall. There are far too many swamps that have thawed and RoWs filled with water combined with the warm temps this week.

While you can go ride the ditches, please stay off of private property and remember that there is no base to cover up holes, culverts, rocks, stumps, etc.

We'll be out doing trail work coming up as it's an all year process to keep the trails in good shape, stop out if you can help or even just say hi!

02/09/2026

We can't share this enough! Nobody likes having an oncoming rider almost hit them.

Trespassing WILL get trails closed. We've seen it time and time again.

Snowmobile trail conditions vary widely across the state, but where there’s rideable snow you can bet riders are out and about.

We just ask they make safety their top priority. A few tips to keep in mind:

☑️ Stay on marked trails and only ride on private property if you have permission.

☑️ Ride at a speed that suits the conditions and your abilities, especially in areas with which you’re unfamiliar.

☑️ Ride on the right.

☑️ Don’t drink and ride.

☑️ The safest riders are those who’ve earned their snowmobile safety certification.

Have fun out there and stay safe!

mndnr.gov/snowmobiling/safety.html

02/08/2026

Tell me that's not satisfying to lay a nice smooth ribbon! You can see the snow process through the drag here.

02/08/2026

How were the trails today? We were out all week grooming and it was looking nice!

02/03/2026

You can get into Casey's in Zimmerman and ZBGs now.

Thank you to the local businesses for their support!

There are some ice spots on the trails but for the most part it sure is grooming out nicely!