Snowmobiling in California is done in pockets of rugged backcountry terrain scattered all up and down the state. There are very few huge, extensive trail systems like you might find in Wyoming or Montana or Idaho.
These pockets are usually fairly well-defined, many of them by natural boundaries, such as ridgelines, mountains, highways, national parks and water; other pockets are defined by boundaries snowmobilers are not particularly fond of, like Wilderness areas.
Sonora Pass is one of those well-defined snowmobiling areas, hemmed in by Wilderness areas to the north and south, Highway 395 to the east and development and increasing population to the west.
Look at this riding area on a map of California and you'll quickly see that indeed, it is a pocket.
Sonora Pass may be a pocket but we prefer to think of it as a "pocket of paradise" when it comes to snowmobiling.
To some, that hemmed-in feeling is claustrophobic and discouraging. No doubt it's a challenge to know where you can and can't ride, but after spending a couple of days in the snow-draped Sierra Nevada Mountains here, we say the challenge is nothing sledders can't overcome and definitely worth the effort.