Snowmobile Riders' Thoughts Are Turning To Montana's 4,000 Miles Of Groomed Snowmobile Trails

Bob Walker, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Snowmobile Program

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This time of year, about 100,000 Montanans and some 50,000 nonresidents snowmobile riders are preparing to hit Montana’s 8,000 miles of trails.

These are the folks that the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Snowmobile Program has in mind as we track snowmobile use, provide training and information on snowmobile safety, enforce laws on snowmobile registration and fees, and administer grants for trail grooming.

I’ve talked to people from many other states that say a week-long vacation snowmobile riding in Montana would be the vacation of a lifetime.

Montana riders, like Bob Bushnell of the Ponderosa Snow Warriors snowmobile club in Lincoln, understand that sentiment.

"We’re spoiled here in Lincoln.   We ride right from the house and don’t even load our sleds onto a trailer," he said. "People from out of state will often spend a whole week here. Our club house is open every weekend and they drop by to visit and sign in before they hit our groomed trails."

About 50 percent of Montana’s snowmobile trails are groomed, including those in the Lincoln area. The grooming is financed by snowmobile registration fees, a new $15 nonresident temporary use snowmobile permit for each snowmobile brought into the state, and a percentage of the Distributor’s Gasoline License Tax.

With the new nonresident temporary use permit, nonresident riders do their part in keeping Montana’s trails groomed. The state’s 27 organized snowmobile clubs do the rest of the work.          

"Our club spends almost 500 hours between January and March to keep 250 miles of trail groomed in the Lincoln area," Bushnell said. "The groomer does the heavy work, but the club does the maintenance. If it is out for three days, it takes a day or two of maintenance. Groomers are a high maintenance piece of equipment."

Annually, the Ponderosa Snow Warriors spend over 1,000 volunteer hours maintaining the trails by clearing deadfall, redecking bridges, spraying for noxious weeds and grooming after snow falls.

Groomed trails help attract nonresidents riders and Bushnell said that is good for his community and for his snowmobile club.

"We are one of the few things in town drawing people in from Washington, Idaho and Canada. That’s fun for us and important for our local businesses in Lincoln," he said.

Overall, according to FWP research, nonresident snowmobile riders spend well over $40 million in Montana, a sizable transfusion of new dollars into the state’s economy. Residents spend about $100 million a year on trips, gasoline, maintenance, and related equipment.

While groomed trails attract riders, they also, to become a designated trail, must go through a rigorous environmental review process to assess potential impacts on fish, wildlife and their habitats, including important wildlife winter ranges.

If you are among the 50,000 nonresidents planning to snowmobile in Montana this year, don’t forget to purchase the new $15 nonresident temporary permit. If you are a Montanan and ride with friends from out of state, please remind them of this new permit. It will help our local snowmobile clubs keep trails groomed, and that in turn will help local economies and the environment.

For more on snowmobile riding, go to the FWP website at www.fwp.state.mt.us under Parks and Recreation and then Recreation. A home study manual, Snowmobile Safety and You , is also available from FWP, as are video programs and brochures on safe snowmobile riding practices. For information call: 406-444-7317.