Colorado Snowmobile Trails
Colorado Snowmobile Trails
Where to Find the Best Snowmobiling in Colorado
No surprise, Colorado is a winter lover’s paradise, and Colorado snowmobile trails provide some of the most exciting winter sports adventures in the nation. The exceptional mountain ranges, captivating alpine scenery, high altitudes and crisp mountain air all combine with significant snowfall every year throughout the state to make Colorado’s more than 3,000 miles of dedicated snowmobiling trails among the best snowmobile trails anywhere. Whether you’re snowmobiling in Vail, Colorado, staying in Meeker, or Grand Lake, or Breckenridge or pretty much anywhere in the state, you’ll find the snowmobiling excitement you want. What areas provides the best snowmobiling in Colorado? Where can I find snowmobiling near me when I’m in Colorado ? What are the best places to go snowmobiling in the state? Below is a list of just a few of the most popular Colorado snowmobile trails, compiled by the experts at Treadworld, with location information and websites where available.
Breckenridge
Location: Summit County, in the central northern part of CO
Breckenridge snowmobile trails are some of the most popular in Colorado, in no small part because of the beautiful views of the Continental Divide and the access to the White River National Forest. And, the exemplary average annual snowfall of over 300 inches doesn’t hurt either. Located in the snow-covered Rocky Mountains, the area offers a ton of backcountry snowmobiling adventures. You may want to make a point of riding the 4.5-mile Georgia Pass Road, rated as “more difficult”, which will take you past the town site of Parkville, the main mining town in Summit County during the gold rush that was founded around 1860. All that remains now of the once bustling town is the cemetery. At the pass’ 11,585-foot summit, you won’t want to miss, nor are you likely to forget, the spectacular views over Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain.
Grand Lake
Location: Grand County, in the middle northern part of CO
Website: https://www.colorado.com/cities-and-towns/grand-lake
The Capital of Snowmobiling in Colorado. With more than 300 miles of snowmobile trails, including 150 miles of groomed trails, this area offers some of the best snowmobiling in Colorado, and has in fact received well-deserved, national recognition for its outstanding snowmobiling from Snowest Magazine and America’s Best Online (to name just two.) Located on the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, Grand Lake is adjacent to the largest natural lake in the state, also called Grand Lake. The area is very snowmobile-friendly – snowmobiles can even get the right of way on the streets when it snows here. You may find it difficult to decide whether the views of the Continental Divide, the Arapaho National Forest, or the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park are most impressive. But regardless, you win!
Grand Mesa
Location: Grand Mesa Visitor Center: 20090 Baron Lake Drive, Cedaredge, CO
Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/gmug/recreation/wintersports/?recid=32366&actid=92
Not surprisingly, the largest mesa in the world, Grand Mesa, offers some of the best snowmobile trails in Colorado. That’s in part because the area is known for an abundant snowfall of about 35 feet (420 inches) per year. (Side note: in January of 2017, the area received 138 inches of snow. Snowmobiling was especially good that year!) With around 500 square miles, the area is a snowmobilers’ paradise. The main section of the trail is called the “SP,” which stands for Sunlight Mountain to Powderhorn, a well-groomed, 120-mile trail that offers endless snowmobile adventures. Additionally, there are also another 180 miles of adjacent, maintained trails alongside the main trail so you can go off on your own to explore the powdery meadows and hillsides as you wish. Other Grand Mesa snowmobiling trails include Bonham, Bull Creek, Cold Sore, and Vega, each of which offers something to appeal to snowmobile riders of all experience levels.
Kremmling
Location: Grand County ins northern-central CO
Website: https://www.coloradodirectory.com/maps/snowmobilekremmling.html
This area provides some of the best snowmobiling in the Denver, Colorado, area, located about two hours outside the city. The trails span the Routt and Arapaho National Forests, offering 300 miles of dedicated trails, half of them groomed, for some of the best snowmobiling in Colorado. The less frequented Spring Creek area is nearby, providing less crowded snowmobile trails from Kremmling heading to Silverthorne. Additionally, the legendary Rabbit Ears Pass is just 45-minute away (see below.)
Meeker
Location: Rio Blanco County, in northeaster CO
Website: https://www.visitmeekercolorado.com/adventures/snowmobiling/
The town of Meeker, located along the famed White River, is in Rio Blanco County, which offers 178 miles of trails, making it one of the best places to snowmobile in CO. Less than half of those miles are groomed through rolling hills and open meadows, while the rest are left to provide a challenge for even the best riders. The winter scenery is nothing less than spectacular, and the views of the White River National Forest are unforgettable.
Steamboat Springs and Rabbit Ears Pass
Location: Routt County, northern eastern part of CO
Website: https://www.steamboatchamber.com/
Snowmobiling around Steamboat Springs is characterized by extensive, wide-ranging terrain that provides ideal conditions to ride snowmobile. Rabbit Ears Pass, boasting a summit of 9,246 ft. in the Rocky Mountains of northern CO, is just east of town and encompasses the Continental Divide, and just to the southwest, the Flattops Wilderness Area offers diverse and challenging terrain variety. All of these areas feature heavy average snowfall, so snowmobilers can open it up and get the kinks out. Rabbit Ears Pass, nicknamed by early trappers in the area because it reminded them of a rabbit lying in the grass, is different than many mountain passes because, Instead of climbing to a high point and quickly descending, it climbs to around 10,000 feet and stays there for several miles, providing one of the snowiest roads in the state for 250 miles of snowmobile trails. Many follow Rabbit Ears trail to nearby Buffalo Pass, nestled in the Park Range of the Rocky Mountains, with its 55-mile network of groomed snow trails on public land.
Vail Pass
Location: Eagle County, middle eastern CO. Interstate 70 west to the top of Vail Pass
Website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whiteriver/recarea/?recid=40891
Massively popular, snowmobiling Vail is also all about Colorado backcountry and expecting the unexpected. Offering breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains, Vail Pass is a 10,662-foot-high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, and the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area covers nearly 60,000 acres of remote paradise, with around 120 miles of trails, 80 miles of which are motorized, and 45 miles of which are groomed. Elk Mountain reaches an elevation of 12,693 feet and is the tallest mountain in the area, while the historic Camp Hale, a U.S. Army training facility constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division and named for General Irving Hale, marks the lowest elevation at 9,100 feet. The nearby Shrine Bowl’s open powder fields are among the best places to go snowmobiling in Colorado, and taking a snowmobile into the pine forests is a memorable way to experience the Rocky Mountains’ spectacular beauty, and pretty well sums up snowmobiling in Vail, Colorado.
That’s Only A Few…
Fortunately, we’re not here to tell you which is the absolute best place to snowmobile in Colorado. That would be quite a challenge, because there are so many outstanding places to ride your snowmobile. And the internet being what it is, no matter which are we picked, there would be a large number of Colorado winter enthusiasts who would think we were crazy. And the thing is, we would be right, and they would be right too. You really can’t make a bad selection here. We’ve only highlighted a few Colorado snowmobile trails, but there are many others.
We’re Treadworld, Home of the Best Specialty Tires Anywhere
Let’s face it. Even in Colorado, you probably don’t live within spitting distance of your preferred snowmobile area. So, when you decide to snowmobile outside your own backyard, one of the safest ways to transport your machines is with a snowmobile trailer. And you can count on us to provide you with the high performance tires for snowmobile trailer that will get you safely where you’re going. Even the best snowmobile trailer is worthless if it’s not equipped with dependable tires. Here at Treadworld, we have the right trailer tires for every occasion. You can count on Rubbermaster brand trailer tires to provide the best in top quality, long-lasting, never-let-you-down reliability, manufactured with strict tolerances from top rubber compounds, triple-tested for quality before being X-rayed to be sure they’re perfect, then covered by our Ultimate Advantage Lifetime Warranty. Don’t hesitate to contact our tire experts via live chat or email with any questions you may have.
