X Games medalists come to Backcountry Village for freestyle snowmobile present

ADAMS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLUC) – Snowmobilers who competed on the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, final weekend got here to Houghton County Saturday, Jan. 31 for a freestyle snowmobile present.

Brett Turcotte, Willie Elam, and Kyle Saxton took half within the first-ever Winter Kickoff within the Keweenaw at Backcountry Village.

“I always see the stuff on social media about the U.P. and, like, getting massive dumps of snow. Yeah, just honored to be able to be out here now and experience it for myself. I mean, it’s an insane culture and everybody here is hyped,” stated Turcotte, who won a gold medal in snowmobile freestyle final weekend.

The Winter Kickoff within the Keweenaw was a form of grand opening for the 300-acre, year-round powersports resort.

“It’s going to include cabins, (an) RV park, terrain park, kids riding area and, eventually, 21 residential homes,” stated Backcountry Village CEO Marc Franchi.

The Backcountry Village staff constructed the car parking zone, the place the snowmobile occasion came about, for everybody to make use of.

“This is a free day-use parking area that we want the public to come and use so they can come and explore this area, the village of South Range, and the areas around it,” stated Franchi.

The U.P. has many nice trails. But the individuals who trip round South Range say their trails are among the finest.

“The U.P. is the best riding in America right now,” stated Dayton Moyle, a watercrosss racer for Moyle Racing. “All these guys are coming from Wyoming, Montana, British Columbia, and all they’re talking about is how good the snow and the trails are here. We’re just trying to promote this sport, man. The U.P. snowmobiling community is super tight and, you know, it’s definitely growing, and we just want to keep promoting the sport.”

Safe to say, at this time was a memorable day.

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