Categories: Idaho News

New Swan Valley business offers snowmobile, gear and trailer rentals for outdoor joyrides

Chet Fleming in the foreground with his shop manager, Wyatt Prater. | Courtesy Chet Fleming

Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.

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SWAN VALLEY

New snowmobile rental business is 10-year dream for its owner

Chet Fleming, right, owns Joyride Rentals, a snowmobile, gear and trailer rental business at 23 Late September Lane in Swan Valley. He is pictured above with his wife, Abby, and their daughter, Ellie, on Elk Mountain. | Courtesy Chet Fleming

SWAN VALLEY – For Chet Fleming, riding snowmobiles isn’t just a business — it’s a lifestyle.

The 40-year-old Swan Valley man launched Joyride Rentals in December with his uncle, Shane Fleming. It’s an ATV rental business at 23 Late September Lane in Swan Valley.

The business offers Polaris, Ski-doo and FXR snow machines with helmets, coats, bibs and avalanche safety gear, as well as trailers and truck rentals. A variety of outdoor recreational vehicles, like side-by-sides, ATVs and camper trailers, will be available during the summer.

In a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com on Wednesday afternoon, Chet says he’s thrilled about the overnight snowstorm and hopes to see business pick up as a result.

In his third month of operation, Chet says he already has about 30 5-star reviews on Google, and he’s glad customers are enjoying the experience.

“The people that have come in have really enjoyed themselves. There’s a lot of people in the valley that are excited about it,” says Chet.

Eight generations of Chet’s family have ties to Swan Valley, and snowmobiling is a pastime he’s enjoyed since he was 2.

His grandparents, Trillis and Larry Fleming, grew up in the area, and Chet, who grew up in Utah, says he has fond memories of coming to visit. He recently moved back and he says there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

“We’re starting a family up here as well,” Chet says.

Chet used to work at Adventure Rentals, a similar business in Alta, Wyoming, where he got the idea for Joyride Rentals.

He says owning a snowmobile rental business has been a dream for the past 10 years, and he’s gratified to see it become a reality.

Joyride Rentals storefront in Swan Valley. | Courtesy Chet Fleming

The company recently acquired special-use permits to deliver snowmobiles to the heart of Caribou-Targhee National Forest. With hundreds of trails in the area, Chet says he’s applying for permits with the U.S. Forest Service so he can provide guided trail tours in the future.

Several apartments and hotel rooms sit above his shop, and he’s hoping to make them available for destination vacation packages at some point.

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Fall River Electric pays customers $1.5 million

ASHTON – Fall River Electric in Ashton will pay its customers $1.5 million in March.

The utility’s owner-members will receive an instant owner rebate, which is a payback of the company’s profits over the last year. The $1.5 million payment will be infused back into the local economies of eastern Idaho and southwestern Montana.

Fall River Electric made a similar $1.7 million payment to customers in December through its annual patronage capital program, for a total payment of $3.2 million in the last 90 days. The December payment was given to customers who bought power in 2007.

The patronage capital program is where extra revenues over the cost of operations is disbursed to the co-op’s owner-members on a 20-year cycle. Unlike investor-owned utilities that pay profits to stockholders, Fall River Electric’s patronage capital is a customer’s investment in the cooperative — one of the unique benefits of being a customer.

The amount of each rebate is based on how much each owner-member paid for electricity in 2025 and is being provided as a credit on their March statements.