Hay Days 2021 Recap

Whoa! Can you believe Hay Days is already behind us?!?! What an event—actually, it’s more than an event, it’s an experience.  And I’d argue it’s even more than what the Hay Days slogan suggests. It’s even more than the “Official Start of Winter’; attending Hay Days and seeing everything it has to offer should be thought of as a rite of passage for all powersports enthusiasts!

I have been attending this event for twenty years now. And as my kids approach the age when I first attended Hay Days, it’s hard not to get nostalgic about the event. I first attended the event as a teenager, roaming blindly through the aisles looking for anything I could afford that could make my 1999 XCF 440 faster (or at least look faster!). Flashing forward to recent years my family of four typically camps at one of the nearby campgrounds, or we’ll bring the camper into the swap meet if we have sleds and parts we need to sell. And while vendors, racers, and technology come and go year after year, one thing that has remained constant is the energy for and passion around the sport of snowmobiling.

Each year the event continues to grow, and seeing everything at Hay Days has become a bigger challenge. I learned in my teenager years that walking the whole event is both a challenge and an achievement, much like the “Iron Butt Award” for motorcycle riders (where a rider must cover 1,000 miles in 24 hours or less). Although I didn’t accomplish my goal of seeing it all in just one day this year, as I write this, I am still feeling the miles I put on walking the endless aisles of pure powersport awesomeness. If you have a strategy to see the whole event in one day, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

If you’ve never been to Hay Days in North Branch, MN, one of the first things you’ll notice is that it isn’t a one-dimensional venue. In fact, if it were a rock concert, you’d have the pleasure of seeing four headliner bands—the racing, the exhibitions, the swap meet, and of course the vendor’s area.

I typically begin my weekend by starting in the vendor’s area at what is called the ‘four corners’ of the event. This is the focal point where the ‘Big 4’ manufacturers: Arctic Cat, Polaris, Ski-Doo, and Yamaha, show off their newest technology as well as their latest model lineups. For 2022, all four manufacturers were touting big product news which made this area very interesting, but also very busy. Getting there early and beating the crowds gives you more opportunity to talk with the factory representatives about their latest and greatest product releases. And while my family typically hits the vendor’s area early, it wasn’t our primary focus. This year, we were laser focused on the swap meet.

We are a young family with two kids (and one dad) racing Snocross. And the fact that both kids are constantly outgrowing gear, means our appetite for new safety gear is fierce! Good deals are always ready to be had at Hay Days in the vendor spaces, but if enough miles are walked, phenomenal deals can be found in the swap meet. Over the past two Hay Days events, we’ve been able to outfit both kids head-to-toe, purchased countless piles of spare sled parts, and this year we even managed to pick up some sled dollies for the kids’ race sleds. Side note – the kids learned a valuable pro-tip about swapping: Never buy heavy things right away in the swap – you’ll have to carry these around the rest of the day! (Check out the photo below.)

Another huge milestone that occurs every year at Hay Days are schedule releases for most main-stream snowmobile events. This year the ISOC released their race schedule for both the National and the Regional racing series, which are linked here. After a season that had to be so carefully orchestrated around COVID restrictions, it’s refreshing to see a full schedule released at top-notch venues. Our family plans to race the Regional Circuit in its entirety, and will also make an appearance or two on the National Circuit, so tune into the DK BLOG to meet our family and follow along as we progress through the race season!

With the “official start of winter” now squarely in the rear-view mirror and nothing but excitement on the calendar for this riding season, it’s obvious that the energy level is high across the entire snowmobile industry.

If Hay Days fueled YOUR passion for the sport, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below. How long have you been attending? What do you love about the event?