Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By IAN MINIELLY
What is a sledhead?
A visitor to the Upper Peninsula is likely to ask that when seeing a bumper or window sticker proudly proclaiming, “Sledhead.”
According to Montana State University, people become “sledheads” to view the scenery, be with friends, get away from life, hang with their family, and to commune with nature.
Ninety-five percent of snowmobilers consider it a family activity, as the majority of snowmobile owners are married and have children.
This weekend’s snow, combined with the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, is bringing an influx of riders to the area. They are spreading more than joy, increasing the economic activity and employment on the Gogebic Range.
According to the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, the average snowmobiler rides 1,210 miles a year in North America, spending about $4,000 on snowmobile-related recreation.
A total of 53 percent of riders load their sleds on trailers to get to the trails and 47 percent of snowmobilers have a primary residence or vacation home where they keep and ride their snowmobiles.
Worldwide, there are more than 3,000 snowmobile clubs involved in trail grooming, charity and different family-related activities. All told, snowmobilers raise more than $3 million for charity.
The Gogebic-Iron Counties area has multiple clubs for snowmobilers to get involved with.
Wisconsin leads the country in miles dedicated to snowmobiling at 25,000. Minnesota is second with 21,000 miles. Michigan is in the middle of the pack countrywide with only 6,500 miles of trail.
In 2016 alone, 126,972 snowmobiles were sold worldwide. More than 56,000 of those were in the United States and over 44,000 were in Canada. This means snowmobilers in North America are responsible for 79 percent of the new snowmobiles purchased and used, providing a bounty in revenue for the manufacturers, businesses and government tax agencies responsible for licensing them.
In total, snowmobiling is responsible for $26 billion annually in economic activity in the United States.
More than 1.2 million Americans have registered snowmobiles. Michigan has more than 200,000, Minnesota over 213,000 and Wisconsin over 202,000. These three states have the largest number of registered snowmobiles and it is not even close, with New York in fourth place, with 91,000.
