Iowa Winter Fun at its Finest!

BY: RACHEL WUMKES

Snowmobile enthusiasts from across the region are gearing up for the Midwest Sled Fest on Saturday, February 5th out on the ice in front of State Park.  The event, which was formerly known as the Jack Races, is put on by the North Iowa Snow Seekers as the Hancock County Snowmobile Association.

And it is a full day of winter fun in Clear Lake!

Check-in and registration begin at 7am.  While pre-registration is recommended, you are also able to get signed up that day.

Then, it’s off to the races.

Literally.

The Radar Runs, which are one pass to see how fast you can go, are held simultaneously with the Lemans, which is head-to-head racing toward the middle of the lake.  With 25 different classes based on age group and sled year, there is something for everyone to enjoy.  Then at noon (give or take a bit of time, depending on how the day is going) they will have Kitty Kat and Youth 120 Races for the younger generation.

These little guys are a hoot to watch and take the competition seriously.

As of today, the weather looks to be mild (for Iowa winter) with temps hovering around the 30-degree mark.  If you are a snowmobile enthusiast, or just want to give it a shot this year, they are looking for more racers to get registered, so GET SIGNED UP!

While online registration (which saves you $20) at https://www.midwestsledfest.com/registration is preferred, there is a Friday  registration event the night before the race at Rumorz Bar & Grill on February 4th (which still saves you $10!).  Even if you register online, you can still stop by Rumorz to socialize and have some eats and drinks.

With the decreased amount of snow these past few years, the Midwest Sled Fest has run into declining registration numbers.  Race co-chair, Rusty Peters, remembers a time when rides came from far and wide. “Back in the day, riders from all over would just hop on their trail sleds and ride up for the day.  They didn’t really have a plan, just wanted a fun day out on the sled, so they’d ride up and register, or some would just watch.”

With less snow, those rides just don’t happen as easily, and sleds have to come up on a trailer instead.

In fact, it was only a few years ago when we had gotten ample amounts of snow at this time of year and about 200 riders came out – some from as far as 100 miles away – to spend the day watching the races.  Their snowmobiles were parked around the track as they took in the action of the races!

And speaking of spectators – if you are free on Saturday, you MUST stop out to State Beach and check out this event.  I mean, this is winter in Iowa at its finest, people!

They do plow most of the parking area at State Beach, or you can drive right on down to the lake and park out on the ice.  There will be food vendors on site, as well as a barrage of older sleds for you to stroll through and check out between cheering on races.

To learn more about the event, be sure to follow Midwest Sled Fest on Facebook  or check out their website https://www.midwestsledfest.com/.

Below is a full schedule of events to help plan your day.  We’ll see you there!