Snowmobile

Snowmobiling is about riding over snow on a motorized vehicle. It is a common way of getting around for locals in areas with snow cover in winter and few roads. Tours for tourists in such areas are also common. As a sport it is popular throughout the western United States of America as well as in Canada and Alaska and elsewhere where snowmobiles are common.

Understand

Snowmobile journey over a frozen lake in Finnish Lapland

The common ways to get to drive a snowmobile are to go on a tour or to hire snowmobiles and take your own trip. The latter option requires that you have sufficient skill in driving the vehicle in the terrain, and sufficient experience of the type of environment you are going to drive in, even when there are maintained routes. Tours often include appropriate clothing and anything else you might need – just make sure you can trust the operator to take their responsibility.

Destinations

Snowmobiling is available at many ski resorts and is a major way of getting around in some areas.

Canada

• The Gaspé Peninsula has nearly 3,000 km (1,900 mi) of snowmobile tracks and the network extends to the neighbouring areas.
• Manicouagan in Côte-Nord, Quebeq, can be explored by the snowmobile track network.

Nordic countries

In northern parts of the Nordic countries driving snowmobiles is a common way of getting around for locals and for tourist tours – and a tool for reindeer herding.

• Finland has an extensive snowmobile route network, covering the northern two thirds of the country, see Finnish Lapland#By snowmobile
• In Norway and Sweden there are often local restrictions on driving snowmobiles, but also dedicated routes at some of the more important destinations.

Itineraries

• The Iditarod Trail is a historic trail in Alaska, connecting Seward with Nome and the rest of the Seward Peninsula: 1,145 km (711 mi). There is a yearly dogsled race along the trail, but the rest of the winter, a sufficiently experienced party can drive the route by snowmobile.
• The Route Blanche (White Road) is a 525 km (326 mi) snowmobile trail in Côte-Nord, Quebec. It provides a land link between Kegaska and Vieux-Fort via a number of settlements. The route may vary from winter to winter, depending on conditions.

Respect

Don't scare wildlife.

Respect the land. Driving on private land and in nature reserves is usually forbidden, and driving may be restricted to marked routes. Sometimes you need to pay a fee for using those.

Stay safe

Your speed will probably be high enough that hitting a tree may be lethal. Falling off the vehicle or getting under it can also cause serious injuries. Keeping the vehicle upright in uneven terrain is not always easy. Hitting the edge of the track or getting off the track at speed can be dangerous.

Driving along waterways is common, but mind ice safety. You probably have no chance to check conditions ahead at all times, so follow marked routes and the advice of their maintainer.

Helmets are recommended and sometimes mandated by law. There may be speed limits.

Where there is snow, you probably have cold weather – and wind chill at 50 km/h (30 mph) effectively turns −15 °C (5 °F) into −30 °C (−22 °F). Many regions where snowmobiles are used are very sparsely inhabited, so you need to take care of such issues also. In case of a breakdown or accident, do you have means to call for help? If you need to stay at the site, do you have what you need for overnighting? What about bad weather, which can hinder both you and anybody trying to help you from getting around.