West Yellowstone trail advice

[Pinchecharlie]

Hoping some of you veterans could recommend some trails . I'd like some begginer powder turns lol. I'll have my wife along and we are brand new so maybe out of the way of big boys and away from tourists lol. Were headed down tomorrow till monday. Be nice to find some open meadows to try out our skills lol. Thanks for advice!

 

[MTsled3]

Two top has lots of trail and lots of meadows right alongside the trail. You will need both Montana and Idaho stickers though (if you're renting you won't have to worry about stickers). You can also ride to Island park from there if you want to.

I've done Horse Butte before with some very young kids, with the new snow we've had the last few days that could be a good ride for beginners looking to try a few pow turns. There are some good open meadows along that trail too, just stay off the lake.

Pick up a trail map at a rental shop or dealer in town. There are usually good trail recommendations in there as well.

Anything that's easy to get to will probably be busy, but I've noticed a lot of tourists start late so the earlier you head out, the better. We usually leave around 8 and try to get back to the truck around 3 or 4, and it's not uncommon to run into people just heading up the trail as we're headed down.

 

[plumnuts]

trails? check what was last groomed... they usually have that info at every motel

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Thank you! Should have said -trails that lead to easier off trail riding lol! Trying to learn on our own and dont wanna big drama for my wife cause shes allready a bit pissed I wanna be burandt at age 53 with no experience lol. Headed out now see you down there!!

 

[christopher]

Thank you! Should have said -trails that lead to easier off trail riding lol! Trying to learn on our own and dont wanna big drama for my wife cause shes allready a bit pissed I wanna be burandt at age 53 with no experience lol. Headed out now see you down there!!

Seems like a worth goal to me!

 

[donbrown]

How was the trip?

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Yeah it was fun. We went up south plateau trail first day and did some side trails that where actually kinda hard but learned a lot. Second day went to the pass and went up two top trail and found the mother land lol! First try at deeper snow and hills and all those giant open spots to try and carve and do edge turns lol. Beautiful up there . Can imagine you big boys have a blast up high or at lion head area. Its a little intimidating for us right now but we all felt good for the effort. Thanks for asking!

 

[donbrown]

Thank you! Should have said -trails that lead to easier off trail riding lol! Trying to learn on our own and dont wanna big drama for my wife cause shes allready a bit pissed I wanna be burandt at age 53 with no experience lol. Headed out now see you down there!!

To be Burandt seems easy ... have Polaris give you a dozen or more sleds with full time technicians, have Trails west donate a few PincheCharlie extreme winter sled goose necks and then ride for 300 days a year for 6 to 8 hours a day ... after a few years you'll be up to speed IMHO

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Yeah I'm kinda off Burandt. Hes ok for a Colorado guy I guess. I am an all in kinda guy so now I wanna be this Caleb guy from seeley lake 406 represent!!! He does some really really really dangerous stuff all nilly willy like a walk in the park . More my style lol!!! I wonder if those guys still get scared or at least freaked out lol? I'm looking for sponsors if any one needs a poster boy (for how not to ride)lol. Lots of new snow around here could be a great weekend for you big boys!!

 

[flyinghigh]

I have been to west yellowstone to ATV, but never to sled. Still on my bucket list. Just want to ride those meadows of powder...that is all. If I do the 2 top trail is that pretty safe if I am alone or are there people around that might be willing to go with me? Do I need an avalanche beacon for two top?

Thanks in advance

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Yeah its a pretty big grommed trail. But it goes from town and its pretty far i think?. We drove up by the end of it by the pass to Idaho and it was only 7 miles or so till you got to all those meadows. I dunno if they are the only ones but they where expansive and the trail keeps going to summit. We went between junction 15-17 and its really pretty and a guy could just charge up his own tr as il too. Don't expect to be alone though! Plenty of riders there and it gets tracked up . But we didn't care and had fun on the tree line and on mellow hills. It would be heaven if you where the first to arrive after a big snow. Then it would be like the movies. Dunno if I'm right but some videos I think are from Idaho side. Easy peasy though!!!

 

[BirdmanID]

I have been to west yellowstone to ATV, but never to sled. Still on my bucket list. Just want to ride those meadows of powder...that is all. If I do the 2 top trail is that pretty safe if I am alone or are there people around that might be willing to go with me? Do I need an avalanche beacon for two top?

Thanks in advance

Only if you want your body to be found? Just a beacon is a few pieces short of proper avalanche preparation. Along with a class and tons of practice.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

I suppose I mis spoke . Yes avalanche gear is required for avalanche terain. That being said the trail isn't in avalanche terain technically and the meadow areas we went to was well under 20° . Of course accidents happen and we all encourage a full complement of avalanche gear and training in its use. From the meadows we visited there are several places near the summit and ridge line that would be very high risk so understanding avalanche terain and local conditions is a must. Luckily for me I couldn't get there if I wanted too! MT avalanche has daily forecasts from around the state.

 

[flyinghigh]

Well, I guess will have to take it off the bucket list. No one to go with around here. Thanks for the information.

 

[Blu Du]

no you dont need avalanche gear to ride the trails in west yellowstone. just show up there and ride, you can leave town in 4 different directions. i would venture to say there is atleast 500 miles of trails from west yellowstone to to south of island park and most are groomed nightly

 

[flyinghigh]

thanks blu du!

 

[Pinchecharlie]

After this year everyone should do a little learning though. Good book- staying alive in avalanche terrain. Good map app for aspect and slope geared toward skiers-fat maps. Honestly just knowing how steep is steep is big. I'm no expert and as a kid I skied sketchy stuff but the way the weather's changing you gotta know. Dudes are getting worked and worse even after digging pits and lots of training. We lost a snowmobiler this weekend who had made it to his sixties. You could read that book in a day or two and it would make you safer. This pictures from my buddy this last weekend in a spot that most wouldn't think twice about. No fun to die doing fun stuff!! That said west has a ton that has no worries and even more that you just need a little bit of smarts to say naw. Like I said its easy for me, I don't have the balls for those areas anyway lol!!! If you make it out look us up for some hospitality!!

 

[Fireside]

I've been to West Yellowstone many times. No avy gear needed for riding the trails. Get a map of the trails (available at all the sled shops and some hotels) and check the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce for grooming reports
https://destinationyellowstone.com/reports/#snowmobile
A few more things if you are going trail riding alone:
Check the weather, it can go from nice and sunny to snowstorm and it can be tough to cross Two Top, though there are ways to avoid going over Two Top if needed (again get a trail map).
Get back to town by dark.
Use Ibuprofen for the trail ride back to town, it gets rough.

 

[flyinghigh]

Sorry to hear about the guy who did not make it...did it happen where that pic was taken?

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Yeah I was sorry to hear it too. No they were up in the swans near Kalispell somewhere. Bad news is that conditions are pretty bad all over the state in steep terrain . Just a bad weather year for weak snow pack. Gotta be careful . That picture was from big sky area. Just gotta try and be safe . Gotta go ride every year and come home to the family!!