Courtesy of Skip Schulz The Motorcycle Hillclimb that takes place the third Saturday in July has helped to bring races and fans to South Range for decades.

Have you ever noticed how some of the communities you have driven to welcome visitors with what that community is proud of? You’ll see signs welcoming them to historic landmarks and to events.

The community leaders not only have this on their welcome signs for visitors to see, but as a way of showing pride in what that community has to offer. Look at the sign for Houghton and the birthplace of professional hockey, in Ontonagon they invite visitors to its Labor Day celebration. Someone took the initiative to let visitors and their citizens know that Houghton and Ontonagon are proud to have something or some event of which they are proud.

The Keweenaw is considered one of the Top 3 Snowmobile destinations in the North America. South Range has one of the biggest hills for snowmobile, snow bike and motorcycles to climb. Lake Linden has one of the biggest snowmobile watercross races in the nation. Due to the hard work of the volunteers of the Keweenaw ATV Club, this area has one of the best off road vehicle trail systems in the entire Midwest.

While many wonder if the communities and counties may not think motorsports play a huge part in the Copper Country’s tourism economy, all one needs to do is look back at what the lack of snow did to our area last year. Not just in the loss of snowmobile trail riders, but the loss in winter snowmobile events.

Think about a conservative estimate of 25,000 snowmobilers for the winter. Each spending just $300 for a weekend. That’s $7.5 million dollars. And that’s for snowmobilers alone, now add in what ORV riders and events bring into the Copper Country.

Look at what Eagle River, Wisconsin, promotes on their signs…Snowmobile Capital. Not just for those riding the trails of Northern Wisconsin, but for the World Championship Derby. They combine trail riding with an event.

Last weekend’s Daily Mining Gazette had a front page story with the headline, ‘On the road to improvement.’ South Range is receiving $116,000 for street improvements. Will the Adams Township Council work on getting any money and/or help from Houghton County in laying down some gravel to the entrance of Whealkate Bluff? Re-read that last line. Not state blacktop, but gravel.

South Range has put its community on the map many years ago when the South Range Business Association started and ran the motorcycle hillclimb. After years of nothing happening at one of the best hills in the entire Midwest, the snowmobiles, snow bikes and motorcycles brought Whealkate Bluff back to life.

The Ojibwa Casino was the first to develop a pond for snowmobile watercross. After years of not having watercross in the area, Marietta’s Auto Service, Lake Linden and area fire departments brought snowmobile watercross back and made it even bigger.

It was Great Lakes Minerals, Gary Moyle, along with the Mattfolk family that did and continues to do the best they can to plow and grade the road into the three hillclimbs at Whealkate Bluff. Now with the $116,000 grant from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the 1,000 racers, fans and officials will see if any of this money will be invested into the access to Whealkate Bluff.

After all, what is the name of the road that South Range Village Council is looking at fixing?

Whealkate Drive.

As far as adding to the South Range ‘Welcome’ sign to include, ‘the home of the best hillclimbs,’ the odds of the Detroit Tigers winning the World Series, is a much better bet.

Our area has so much to offer when it comes to ORV and snowmobile trail riding, and we have communities in our area that truly do have events of which its visitors and citizens are proud. So Let’s Ride and hope some elected officials take the first step in showing their pride.