SNOWMOBILING’S BIGGEST PARTY IS BACK September 9 & 10, 2023; North Branch, Minnesota

from MWR Aug/Sept 2023

by Midwest Sports Publishing Network

VOLCON TEASES PRODUCTION STAG SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH PROTOTYPE DEMO EVENT

very year, snowmobile fans from across North America turn their attention to one of biggest gatherings of sledheads, off-roaders, swappers, racers, and vendors in a field on the outskirts of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Known by most as simply Hay Days, this two-day gathering has become synonymous with the start of the snowmobile season and is a bucket list event for virtually anyone remotely associated with the sport.

For the staff at Midwest Rider, Hay Days has been a part of our fall ritual for more than 30-years. We’ve seen it grow from a grassroots snowmobile club event to the big business it has become today. From attracting a few hundred hard core sledders to tens of thousands of powersports enthusiasts. After all these years, it’s safe to say we’ve walked every inch of the sprawling venue including every swap row, visited every vendor, and tipped a few cold ones at every watering hole onsite. With that kind of insight, these are our favorite Hay Days attractions.

40-ACRE SWAP

There’s little question the swap at Hay Days has changed over the years. Initially the addition of the swap added another snowmobile centric event to the one-time grass drag only gathering. In fact, the swap can be credited in transforming Hay Days from a race to an event and was a primary reason for its rapid growth during the late 80s and early 90s. Today, the swap has become a blend of parts and party. While you likely won’t find the same kind of pure sled gear that once made the Hay Days swap a must attend for purists, it remains the highlight of the event for many. Here’s where the “real” sledders can be found. Tipping cold ones, playing yard games, and of course, bench racing. There’s still plenty of powersports goodies for sale, and if you’re diligent and walk the back rows, you can still find some sweet sledding deals.

Manufacturer Row

It goes without saying that visiting the rows upon rows of vendors is a great place to start your Hay Days visit. If you want to learn about new gear, accessories, sleds, and more, the vendor area is where it happens. But if you want to take in other aspects of the event, the one area you can’t miss is manufacturer row, where you’ll find the corporate displays from Arctic Cat, Polaris, SkiDoo, and Yamaha. While we are hearing rumblings that the traditional “four-corner” location of the OEMs has been moved this year, no matter where they end up it’s worth a stop to see new sleds, big name athletes, and maybe catch a glimpse of something unexpected.

Grass Drags

Over the years, Hay Days has added a multitude of “other” activities including side-by-side racing, freestyle shows, and mud bog racing. But despite those “added” attractions, our money as of late has been the grass drags. While the number of racers pales in comparison to the glory years of the late 1990s, the competition and speeds that these new mod drag racers are attaining are nothing short of mind numbing. While we find there’s a little too much downtime between runs, grab a few cold ones and take in some of the action, especially the Outlaw stuff where the Hay Days champ from last year laid down a world record run of 3.297ET at 163.80MPH.

Live Music And Beer

There’s plenty of places to soak down a cold one at Hay Days but our favorite is near the food vendors on the western edge of the vendor area. Here you’ll find a well-stocked beer garden and later in the day live music as well. The large oak trees also provide plenty of shade on a hot day. If live music isn’t your jam, the other go-to beer garden sits adjacent to the freestyle area on the east side. Here, if you time it right, you can enjoy a cold one while watching a freestyle exhibition.