Idaho Snowmobile Trails
Idaho Snowmobile Trails
The Best Idaho Snowmobiling Trails
Many in Idaho live for winter, when the state transforms into one of the best places to snowmobile anywhere in the United States. There are over 7,200 miles of Idaho snowmobiling trails, many of them located in the northern part of the state and many of them interconnected, allowing for virtually endless riding. That’s more snowmobile trails than in any other western state. There’s plenty of areas where you can find fresh powder while enjoying breathtaking mountain vistas with elevations ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 feet, resulting in considerable terrain variations to keep you excited and engaged. What areas provide the best snowmobiling in Idaho? Where can I find snowmobiling near me when I’m in Idaho? What are the best places to go snowmobiling in the state? Below is a list of just a few of the most popular Idaho snowmobile trails, compiled by the experts at Treadworld, with location information and websites where available. It’s always a good idea to check snowmobile trail conditions before you haul your sleds.
Bear Lake Valley
Location: Bear Lake County, in the southeastern most part of the state
Website: https://bearlake.org/cat/snowmobiling/
For some of the best snowmobiling in Idaho (and that’s saying something), check out Bear Lake Valley and it’s 350 miles of groomed trails offering breathtaking landscapes of snowy peaks and forested canyons along with big, wide-open spaces for you to rev your engine and power through. Known for week-long snowfalls, this area includes cascading waterfalls, nearly frozen streams and a switchback up to snowy peaks 9,000 ft above sea level to spectacular views of the turquoise Bear Lake nestled between the Tetons and the Uinta Mountains. A variety of terrains can challenge all snowmobiling skill levels, and you’ll find many interconnecting trails for longer rides.
Burgdorf Hot Springs
Location: 404 French Creek, McCall, ID, Idaho County, located in the upper middle of the state
Website: https://burgdorfhotsprings.com/
Part of the beauty of these snowmobile trails is that they’re only accessible by snowmobile. Another part of the beauty is, well, the beauty of this area. You’re surrounded by breathtaking views over a variety of terrains, from snow-filled meadows and valleys, to switchbacks down mountains, and through densely wooded areas. Located deep in the Payette National Forest, the area houses over 500 miles of groomed snowmobiling trails. Stay overnight if prefer rustic to mint-on-your-pillow accommodations, and there’s very little in life like the experiences you can have in the three historic log-sided hot springs pools.
Island Park
Location: Fremont County, the eastern-most county in the state
Website: https://sledheadzzz.com/snowmobile-island-park-idaho/
Here you’ll find over 950 miles of the best snowmobile trails Idaho has to offer, well-groomed and suitable for a wide variety of snowmobiling styles, including boondocking, hill banging, and steep and deep. Count on breathtaking scenery and panoramic vistas as you sled through deep snow meadows, past the snowcapped peaks of the Tetons, and through the heart of Targhee National Forest. And you may want to travel both the scenic byway past 10-story Upper Mesa Falls, where water spills over petrified lava into the Snake River below, and across the Island Park Caldera, formed 1.3 million years ago, that stretches 58 miles in one direction and 40 miles in the other, making it one of the world’s largest calderas. The area averages 229 inches of snowfall each year so you can expect plenty of fresh powder throughout the season.
Priest Lake and Sandpoint/Bonners Ferry
Location: Bonner County, second northernmost county in Idaho
Website: https://priestlake.org/activities/snowmobiling/
This 500-acre snowmobiling paradise on state and federal land features more than 400 miles of groomed trails that encircle the remote Priest and Upper Priest lakes, and lead high into the Selkirk Mountains for spectacular, breathtaking alpine viewing. Elevations range from 2,500 to 7,000 feet as the terrain traverses deep, heavy timber forests, vast snow-filled bowls, over wind-swept ridges above the tree line, through stands of ancient western red cedar trees. Snow depths can surpass 10 feet in higher elevations.
Also in Bonner County you’ll find the Sand Point and Bonners Ferry areas offering more than 100 miles of marked, groomed trails, with stunning mountain peaks, some wide open country, and small alpine lakes. Popular areas in the area include Trestle Creek with 50 miles of groomed trails, Roman Nose with 80 miles of snowmobile trails lying north of the 7,260-foot elevation Roman Nose Peak, leading to Harrison Lake, Jeru Creek and Snow Creek and Canuck Basin, and a 45-mile trail in the Purcell Mountains that takes you from a 2,000-foot elevation to the 6,256-foot-elevation Ruby Mountain.
Sawtooth Valley and Stanley Basin
Location: Custer County, located in the middle of the state
Website: https://stanleycc.org/blogs/articleid/482/stanleysnowmbiling
When it comes to snowmobiling adventures, you can’t do much better than Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley and Stanley Basin area with its 185 miles of groomed, marked trails against the backdrop of the spectacular Salmon River, White Clouds and Sawtooth Mountain ranges, with some elevations north of 10,000 feet. You can also expect alpine meadows, foothills and plenty of lodgepole pines, hushed glades above the tree line, and vast, snow-filled bowls. The town of Stanley, Idaho serves as a hub with trails fanning out in every direction, and many begin their winter adventure by heading out between the grocery store and the service station. There are plenty of trail options along the way, but you may want to be sure to see the scenic Little Redfish Lake, Smiley Creek and the frigid waters of the Salmon River and Elk Mountain overlook. If you’re a seasoned rider, you may want to consider experiencing the ungroomed snowmobiling opportunities around Pole Creek.
Silver Valley
Location: Shoshone County, on the eastern side of Idaho’s northern panhandle
Website: https://www.silvervalleychamber.com/winter-activities
Silver Valley provides some of the best snowmobile trails in the state with over 1,000 miles of groomed, marked, steep and deep and winding trails, including something for every skill level. Experience abundant wildlife among the incredible views of the Coeur d’Alene Mountains and over 40 frozen alpine lakes. When you ride snowmobile trails in this area, you may stop at snowmobile-friendly Wallace, Idaho known by locals in the winter as Snowmobile City, USA, which serves as a hub for over 250 miles of trails, and features an ‘open streets’ ordinance welcoming snowmobilers to access nearby trails from pretty much anywhere in town.
St. Marie’s
Location: Benewah County, in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Idaho
Website: https://visitnorthidaho.com/activity/snowmobile-st-maries/
You can always count on heavy winter snows perfect for snowmobiling here thanks to its location in the Wild Bitteroot Mountains. There are over 600 acres of land ideal for snowmobile adventures right outside of town, and the Xmas Hills Recreation area, around two miles away, offers 1,000 acres of privately owned land that’s leased to the St. Joe’s Cycle Club. In the surrounding Benewah and Shoshone counties, snowmobilers will find many miles of trails ideal for long snowmobiling treks.
That’s Only A Few…
Remember seeing movies…or maybe postcards…with the most spectacular winter wilderness scenery imaginable, and thinking that can’t be real? That’s what you’ll find when you’re snowmobiling in Idaho. The trails are impressive, and the scenery is unparalleled and awe-inspiring. We’ve only highlighted a few of the most memorable Idaho snowmobile trails here, but there are many others.
We’re Treadworld, Home of the Best Specialty Tires Anywhere
Whether you’re in Idaho or one of the other states that provide outstanding winter sports opportunities, when you do 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.
