Those 28 separate and distinct riding areas are those with groomed trail systems totaling 7,200 miles. There are at least a dozen more without groomed trails that attract a fair share of snowmobilers.
The riding elevations range between 1,000-10,000 feet. The lower elevations are mostly in northern Idaho with the taller ranges farther south and along the Continental Divide that marks the boundary between Idaho and Montana. Those 1,000-5,000 foot elevations can be every bit as challenging as the areas which hit 8,000-9,000 feet and higher.
There are only a handful of western states where you can make the claim that snowmobiling is every bit as popular as alpine skiing. In some states, snowmobiling might even be more popular than downhill skiing.
We’re going to make that claim with Idaho. Sure, there’s Sun Valley, Brundage Mountain, Schweitzer and Silver Mountain ski resorts, but there are seven times more than that popular snowmobiling areas.
Yes, we admit we’re partial to snowmobiling, but we live in Idaho and have a pretty good pulse on winter sports in the state so we’re confident in our claim.
A good source of information on snowmobiling in the state is visitidaho.org/winter. |
