Tips For The Trails

Snowmobiling can be an expensive sport, and in some cases renting may be the best way to get into the sport. There are pros and cons to renting and owning, and we'll go over both to help you decide!   Trip Planning   Planning a trip is more difficult when you are at the mercy of a rental sled. Many places are booked in advance, killing last-minute trips or chasing a storm. When you own your snowmobile, you are on your schedule. Every winter is different, and specific locations can be blessed with more snow than others. Snowmobile rentals are...

When you pick out a snowmobile, buying one specific to how you will ride it is crucial. There are four main types of snowmobiles, Trail, Crossover, Mountain, and Utility. Each has unique characteristics suited for the particular type of ridding. For example, a trail snowmobile will have a 42" front end making it very stable in corners. A mountain front end can get as skinny as 34", making it a handful on the trail but easy to tip over and turn in deep snow. You must decide what kind of ridding type and terrain you want to do before you...

If you want to maximize the enjoyment of snowmobiling, you need a sled that fits your preferences. In addition to engine size, the track length is a massive factor in how your snowmobile handles certain conditions. Over the years, as snowmobile design has improved, track options have gotten longer. Short TracksCommon short track lengths are 120,121,128, and 129. The smaller footprint of these tracks makes it much easier to turn and the skis planted. With tight steering, these sleds handle twisty trails with minimal effort. While 129” is the most common track length for the trail, some suspension setups like...

Off-trail riding continues to become more popular, and for a good reason, it is fun as hell! Where the problem comes in is ridding off-trail on someone else’s property. Clubs have an incredibly tough time with this as homeowners pull trails every year, creating lots of extra work with reroutes and, in some cases cutting off whole trail systems. There has been an effort to bring awareness to the problem, but the problem persists. The take the pledge in challenge done by the OEMs is a good start, but they need to go much further in helping educate riders where...

 Half the fun of snowmobiling is chasing the snow. If you rely on weather.com or accuweather.com, we have some much more reliable tools to help you spot incoming snow potential, how much fell and where you need to head for the best snow conditions.  Best Snow Resource For Midwest We have been a long-time supporter of John Dee and the weather information he brings you. All of his forecasts are free and well-detailed. He has a graphic that breaks down the next 4 days and long-range with potential future storms. If you want details, his forecast text highlights what is going on with...