Our Beginning

Our group began grooming, using a Snowdog, lent for use by the Forest Service, in 2017. The main focus in the 2017/18 winter was in the Higgins Gulch area. We further expanded our capabilities in 2018 with 2 Yamaha Phazer snowmobiles, also lent for use by the Forest Service. In 2018 we were able to groom the amazing area around Iron Creek and Red Lake.

A sincere thank you to Jesse Hansen, Spearfish local and grooming pioneer, who helped build the trail system you know today.
He dedicated years of effort and thousands of dollars to groom the Big Hill area. GAS is acutely aware that without Jesse, fatbiking would not be a “thing” in the Northern Black Hills. He has set a very high bar for quality of trail, and we are eager to meet it. We all owe him a great deal of gratitude.

The Black Hills National Forest Service has been a monumental help to GAS. They generously donated two snow machines, which we use to knock down deep snow before packing it down with the Snowdog. Without their machines, we'd barely be able to groom even 10 miles of trail. A special shout out to Paul Bosworth and Bonnie Jones! Thank you for your tireless involvement and dedication to our forest.



When we formed our group, we asked ourselves, “What do we need to be able to groom?” The simple answer? GAS!

Grooming Alliance of Spearfish is a nonprofit organization (501c3 status pending) that is dedicated to grooming singletrack in the national forest surrounding the Spearfish area.

We are not directly affiliated with Black Hills Trails, the Nordic Ski Club, or any bike shop.

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