Winter is upon us. Snow is piling up on the driveway. It’s cold. Great news!
Snowmobiling is a fantastic winter sport that can transform your attitude toward cold weather. It combines the joys of skiing with the ease of driving. It’s family-friendly and open to all skill levels. Unlike motorcycling and skiing, snowmobiling is very easy to learn, and with some guidance, proper preparation, good equipment and common sense, can be a safe activity from day one. You don’t have to go fast on a snowmobile – but as you build skill and confidence, you can experience the thrill of speed in a beautiful, natural setting.
Here are the five best places to ride a snowmobile in the United States.
Northern New Hampshire is an amazing place. Sharing a border with Vermont and Canada, it is a wooded paradise that has transformed from a logging community to a vacation spot over the past few decades, thanks in large part to a system of public snowmobiling trails that stretch across the state. The New Hampshire Snowmobile Association (NHSA) publishes free maps of the trails, available for download here. Beautiful lakes, forests and mountains, unexpectedly expansive views, abundant wildlife and well-marked trails make New Hampshire a great place to experience snowmobiling.
I could have chosen almost any town in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, but Vail is the most snowmobile-friendly location. Best known as a toney ski destination, Vail is a town of 5,500 that sits at 8,000 feet elevation at the foot of Vail Mountain. The USDA Forest Service maintains a web of public snowmobile trails in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area at White River National Forest. A free map is available for download here. Additionally, there are dozens of companies in Vail who offer guided and unguided snowmobile tours on both public and private lands in the area, catering to skill levels from beginner to advanced.
Yellowstone is one of the most popular National Park destinations for summer recreation. It is also a fantastic winter destination, especially for snowmobiling. It is one of the few places in the U.S. where you may encounter tree goblins – full-grown trees that are completely buried in snow. They get that much snow. Guided snowmobile tours are available to visit the famous geysers, like Old Faithful, which continue to erupt throughout the frozen winters. An incredible sight in the summer, Old Faithful is a work of art in the winter, as the geothermally heated water sends plumes of steam into the frigid air along with spouts of water, and beautiful ice crystals form all around. The USDA Forest Service maintains the trails in the park, and publishes free maps, available for download here.
Just 300 miles from New York City, Old Forge, New York is in the heart of the Adirondacks. The tiny village of 750 bills itself as “The Snowmobile Capital of the East,” and with good reason: it has a snowmobile trail system that connects with all of the major trail systems in central and upstate New York, making it a hub for a fantastic adventure. The Adirondack Mountains are a wonder of nature, and feature scenic trails and open powder riding. Free maps of New York State’s snowmobiling trails are available for download here from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Consider attending SnoFest on March 8 and 9. While most areas are preparing to put their snowmobiles away for the season, Old Forge holds a two-day festival to celebrate the premiere of next year’s models.
With an average snowfall as high as 200 inches, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a winter paradise. In case you’re not a local, the Upper Peninsula – or the U.P., as Michiganders call it – is that body of land that is connected to Wisconsin, and separated from lower Michigan by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It is about 320 miles long from east to west, and 125 miles north to south at its tallest, with a population just over 300,000. It is further north than Minneapolis, Green Bay and Toronto. We’re talking remote, cold, unspoiled nature. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources publishes a collection of free, up-to-date snowmobile trail maps every year, available for download here. There are 15 maps available, one for each county in the U.P. There are hundreds of miles of official trails. You can ride over hills, through woods, across frozen ponds and along the banks of the Great Lakes. You’ll see wildlife, picturesque villages, and acres and acres of open space. Good entry points to the U.P. are Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan at the east end of the Peninsula, and Green Bay, Wisconsin at the west.