Millville, Minnesota, is the home of the Spring Creek Motocross facility. A favorite with most of the riders, the Spring Creek track offers a little bit of everything. Its rolling elevation, great dirt, and challenging obstacles have everyone looking forward to the land of ten thousand lakes. 

The dirt at Spring Creek is some of the best of the year. The landscape features both clay and sand, with the upper sections consisting of the most the clay while the bottom of the course is the sandiest. Climbing some of the hills, the clay and sand meet, making for some interesting ledges and hip jumps to hop over. There is always an abundance of traction, and traction leads to happy riders.

This track, much like RedBud, has some signature obstacles. Most famous are the treacherous sand whoops on the far end of the track. Many other tracks have attempted to mimic Spring Creek’s whoops, but there’s nothing on the schedule even close. The height and depth of these whoops can vary, completely changing the approach, but that doesn’t change the difficulty level. I’ve seen them left untouched leading into the weekend, making for a hellacious row of riverbed grit. I’ve also seen them built tall and far apart, making a more rhythmic strategy that most find appealing. Most times, though, they are somewhere in the middle, as they will be maintained fairly well, and you can skip across…if you are brave enough. 

Watching practice is always interesting, as the elite-level riders push the primordial envelope with each and every qualifying lap. Ricky Carmichael was an absolute master of these, recording an eye-opening 45 mph run through the section sometime in the mid-2000s. Yes, one year they put a radar gun at the end of the section. That was cool…if you were actually going fast through there. 

The Holy Schmit jump, named after the late local hero, Donny Schmit, changes in size now and again, but is always just before the finish line along the big spectator hillside. Back in 2005, this jump was absolutely massive, but it’s been toned down in recent years. In its day, it was everything a 450 could muster to downside, so the change is probably a positive overall.

The big U-turn wall just prior to the Holy Schmit is another Spring Creek signature, and although it’s tough to make any passes there, it’s still a fun section. Coming down the hill after the U-turn is a test of both bike setting and courage, as the bumps steadily grow as the day continues. Late in the motos, watch for riders to force the issue here as a way to pass, beating their competitor to the turn at the bottom. 

The newest obstacle is Martin Mountain, named after the track’s owners, John Martin and family. His two sons, Jeremy and Alex, will be looking to do their namesake proud on Saturday. This massive hill climbs onto the backside of the property with jumps lining the way up, and drop offs leading everyone back into view. It’s a visually stunning section of racetrack that had everyone talking with its debut last season.