Snowmobiling
Photography: Patrick Cone
Snowmobiling is a favorite winter activity for Utah families, who eagerly load up their machines every weekend and head for the snow-covered hills. It’s an American tradition that’s grown steadily to span three generations since intrepid pioneers in the upper Mid-West first cobbled together primitive snow machines over 60 years ago. Today’s sophisticated, high-performance snowmobiles are a far cry from those early models.
The International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association claims the industry is an important part of the “economic engine” in rural America, annually generating over $27 billion in the United States. “Snowmobiling is a great family lifestyle activity, allowing parents, children and grandchildren to recreate together and enjoy all the magic nature has to offer,” says Association Spokesman Ed Kim.
Ken Rossum, executive director of the Utah Snowmobile Association, agrees. “It’s a very family-oriented sport here in Utah,” he says. “I’ve been snowmobiling for 40 years, and it’s a great way to have a lot of fun together as a family. Our kids are all grown, and now their kids are coming out 
with us. We snowmobile all day, cook hot dogs on the trail, and the grandkids fall asleep on the way home. When we get together, those snowmobile trips are what our family talks about.”
Rossum’s association members number about 1,000, and anyone can join. The organization publishes “Utah Snow Scoop,” a newsletter filled with stories about snowmobiling and a calendar of events.
For vacationing skiers and others looking to mix up their Park City winter experience, Red Pine Adventures offers the only guided snowmobile tour still available within five miles of downtown Park City. Longtime landowner Roger Osguthorpe is proud of his top-end touring experience. “We offer a two-hour tour on private land in Red Pine and White Pine canyons that includes pickup and return, a guide, a brand new machine, all the clothing and gear required and lunch,” he says. Tour size is limited to 10 machines and the two-hour sojourn includes stops at scenic overlooks that offer fantastic views of the Park City area. “The cost was $145 last season,” says Osguthorpe, “but we may have to increase it slightly this season due to fuel costs.”
Summit Meadows Adventures, a tour operator in Deer Valley, offers guided snowmobile tours at the historic Garff Ranch in nearby Browns Canyon. Several other companies within an hour’s drive from Park City offer rentals and guided tours in the Midway, Weber Canyon, Daniel’s Summit and 
Strawberry Valley areas. Rental and tour prices range from about $75 for a half-day, self-guided tour to $200 for an all-day guided tour, which includes equipment and lunch.
There’s plenty of public land, mostly national forest ground, within 40 miles of the Park City area ideally suited for snowmobiling. Riders, who often call themselves “sledders,” can choose from a seemingly endless variety of routes and terrain on thousands of acres in Wasatch and Summit counties, including the ever-popular Uinta Mountains, accessed along Highway 150 (the Mirror Lake Highway) east of Kamas.
“We have over 275 miles of snowmobile routes on Forest Service land in the Mirror Lake, Mill Hollow, Strawberry Valley and Wolf Creek areas,” says Josh Jurgensen, the natural resource specialist for the Wasatch-Cache-Uinta National Forest. Jorgensen, based in the Kamas Ranger District office, manages the forest’s winter recreation program.
While many commercial ride companies offer tours in these areas, most sledders are “weekend warriors” who roam the ridges and valleys to their hearts’ content all winter long. Most popular is the over 100-mile groomed trail accessed from the Mirror Lake Highway. From the trailhead, near the Soapstone turnoff, the route crests at Bald Mountain Pass (almost 11,000 feet) and descends toward Evanston, Wyoming, into the Bear River drainage.
“We’re definitely getting a significant increase in use,” Jurgensen observes. “The Mirror Lake Highway is one of the most beautiful snowmobile routes in the state and probably the most well-groomed.” State workers with the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) groom the route 
about five times a week.
Although the DNR focuses on grooming the highway, there are also miles and miles of ungroomed, marked trails throughout the Forest. The well- traveled Soapstone Trail takes sledders over a pass to Highway 35 and the Wolf Creek area.
Lest you think snowmobilers have taken over, The Mirror Lake area also attracts thousands of snowshoers and cross-country skiers, who enjoy the quieter sports on trails dedicated exclusively to them. The scenic Beaver Creek, Shingle Creek, Pine Valley and Yellow Pine trails combined extend for over 25 miles through undisturbed winter wonderlands.
Jurgensen notes that snowmobilers and skate-skiers, who share the groomed Mirror Lake Highway trail, seem to get along fine. “Depending on snow conditions this season, we’re hoping to develop a skate-ski track in the Pine Valley area, which should provide some separation for skiers seeking solitude.”
No matter how you groom it, snowmobilers, (as well as cross-country skiers and snowshoers) can slide over hundreds of miles of trails within a few snowball throws of Park City.
Frequent Park City Magazine contributor Steve Phillips is a Park City-based writer and actor.
For General Information Wasatch-Cache-Uinta National Forest
Kamas Ranger District Office, 435.783.4338 jjurgensen@fs.fed.us
Utah Snowmobile Association
Ken Rossum, Executive Director 801.572.4455 snowut.com OR their newsletter, utahsnowscoop.com
For a complete list of area snowmobile operations, please see our Things To Do listings in this issue of Park City Magazine or view our Web site at parkcitymagazine.com.
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