Ample Opportunities
Many sledders from the Midwest are drawn to West Yellowstone because it offers hundreds of miles of groomed trails-something those riders are accustomed to-as well as plenty of off-trail riding. For those snowmobilers who live and ride in the West and really only use trails to get to the backcountry for off-trail riding, there are ample opportunities there too.
As previously mentioned, we've ridden West Yellowstone for much of our riding lives and we still manage to find pockets of sledding that we've somehow missed before. Just last winter we found an area just a few hundred yards off the groomed trail near the Two Top Trail that was untouched and a fun challenge. The same thing happened on a ride the year before, this time north of West Yellowstone off the Big Sky Trail.
We admit there are times when it looks and feels like every square inch of snow has been used up around West Yellowstone. There are likely three reasons for that. First, West Yellowstone is a snowmobiler-friendly town that welcomes snowmobilers with open arms. That tends to attract sledders who like to feel appreciated, or, at the very least, not scorned for wanting to ride a certain area. Second, and this might be considered part of the snowmobiler-friendly part, is that you can ride your snowmobile to the trails from your lodging and you can ride to the restaurant or the store or to get parts for your sled. Except for a couple of the major thoroughfares through town, you can snowmobile on the streets legally (snow permitting). That's a big advantage, especially for someone coming from out of town and renting a sled.
Third, you can usually find snow in and around West Yellowstone. Even if the snow is a bit skimpy down in town, you can typically find plenty to ride on in the surrounding mountains, where you can gain nearly 4,000 feet in elevation.