Yellowstone National Park
The crown jewel when it comes to snowmobiling in our national parks and monuments is Yellowstone National Park. That's why the snowmobile industry has been fighting so hard to keep this park, along with Grand Teton National Park, open to snowmobiles. Last year was a disaster after a Washington, D.C. judge pulled an 11th hour ruling severely restricting snowmobile access to the park. More on that later.
Yellowstone is not only the first, and oldest, national park in America, but also in the world. Yellowstone has nearly 10,000 hot springs and geysers, the most famous being Old Faithful. Lakes, rivers, waterfalls and streams are plentiful in the park and a must-see is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Then there's the wildlife, which includes bison, elk and wolves.
There are two Wyoming entrances to Yellowstone National Park, one south of the park near Flagg Ranch and the other at Pahaska, west of Cody. The West Entrance is West Yellowstone, MT, and to the north is Gardiner, MT.
About 96 percent of the park lies in Wyoming, and riding there is one of snowmobiling's most unique experiences. There are far fewer people in the winter (about 65,000 snowmobiles a winter prior to last season, compared to more than 2 million vehicles in the summer) and that means you don't have to fight the crowds to see the park's many features. All snowmobile trails follow the park's roadways and aren't plowed in the winter but are groomed. Snowmobiles share the same trails as other recreationists on cross country skis, snowshoes and snowcoaches, so be careful. Most of the park's roadways are open to snowmobiling in the winter except the road between Canyon Village and Tower-Roosevelt, as well as the road from Mammoth Hot Springs to the Northeast Entrance, which is plowed during the winter to provide access to Cooke City, MT.