Snowmobile trails across North America are filled with incredible scenery, great places to stop and take in a variety of local cultures and friendly, new faces all along the way. As far as we’re concerned it’s the best way to escape the ordinary, everyday routine and explore new adventures throughout winter.
If you’re like us, you’ll love these four tips that can make our time on the trails even better every season.
Join a Snowmobile Club
The only thing better than the ride is the people you spend it with. While this season hasn’t been the easiest for us to gather together, joining a snowmobile club local to area(s) you frequently ride has some great benefits.
First, there’s camaraderie of working and riding together. If you’re new to the sport of snowmobiling, you’re sure to make lifelong friends with others who share the same passion for the ride as you. From monthly meeting, club trips up north, trail workdays, fundraisers, summer outings and more, there’s no shortage of fun and friendship when you join your local club.
Stay the Course
The variety of terrain across the North American snowmobile trail system is awe-inspiring. It traverses a combination of public and private lands. Any of it can be taken away at any moment, and some of it unfortunately is every season for a variety of reasons.
What is not publicized nearly enough is the positive impact we can have when the entire snowmobile community makes a conscious effort to stay on the marked trails and follow the rules of the trail. By amplifying the efforts we make to encourage others to ride within the marked trails, we show the greater community we’re a valued partner in preserving our trail system. And a well-run, well-respected trail system can be an economic driver of local winter economies.
Simply put: Stay on the trail and enjoy the ride.
Take a Friend Snowmobiling
The more the merrier! As a snowmobiler, you’re part of a select group who gets to experience winter in a way few others do. Show them what they’re missing and you’re sure to gain riding partners for years to come. Think back to your first ride and you’ll quickly remember – it doesn’t take more than a quick saunter down a few miles of freshly groomed trail before you’re hooked! So, go ahead, make someone’s day!
Buy a Trail Pass
This may seem like an obvious one, but let’s take a quick look at the benefits of buying a snowmobile trail pass:
1. You get to ride the trails.
2. You get to ride better trails. The purchase of a trail pass provides funds that play a significant role in trail grooming and maintenance. Clearing trees after a storm or cleaning up after a natural disaster, building and maintaining bridges, creating and maintaining trailside parking, shelters, etc. It’s all part of the big picture.
3. You’re helping preserve the sport. Part of the funds generated by the sale of trail permits goes to organizations protecting our interests in enjoying winter via sled at our state, provincial and national governments. Registration numbers give us a voice in the political community.
No matter where you live or where you ride, there’s opportunity for you to participate in snowmobiling beyond the ride. Take it from us, you’ll be glad you did. We’ll see you on the trail.
