AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
It used to be hard to find a good snowmobile tour. No longer. Not only are the top tour operators reliable, they are responsive. That's because the top tour operators were snowmobilers first. They know what you want and what you expect.
For example, Elaine and Dick Squires organized tours for members of the Indiana State Snowmobile Association. Now they do it for everyone. So do Rog Matthews in Michigan and the Deckers in Wisconsin. They all have tour packages that include the famed "snow train" that runs from Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan to Hearst, Ontario, and western tours to Yellowstone. You can get exotic trips if you want to break away to Alaska, Iceland or Finland.
In addition to these tour operators who literally arrange everything for you from soup to nuts and bolts, there are on-site tour operators in places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming, West Yellowstone, Montana, and Revelstoke, British Columbia.
Midwestern tour operators supply a variety of family tour options that range from using your own snowmobile on a guided tour of the Wisconsin northwoods to using a tour-supplied sled in Finland or out west.
Decker's Sno-Venture Tours is a world-oriented tour outfit that pampers its customers on special VIP tours. There will be two new destination vacations for 1989 - Alaska's famed Iditarod Trail and the mountains of Utah. There are nine total destination locations to choose from this season.
As with the other tour operators, Decker's offer "snow train" tours. There are two tours to Hearst, Ontario aboard the Algoma snow train.
While exotic trips are popular with Decker's customers, so are the local Lake Country regional tours that include a VIP tour of Wisconsin's Lake Superior shoreline. Their VIP tours guarantee "...the treatment is deluxe plus, with free cocktail parties and a relaxed itinerary."
Another Lake Country tour is the Keweenaw Peninsula tour in Michigan. There will be three such tours this winter, including a scheduled VIP tour centered in picturesque Copper Harbor.
Western tours are popular. Decker's has an early December tour scheduled for West Yellowstone, and again in February. A trip to the Jackson Hole area is scheduled to coincide with the World Championship Hill Climb. A week later, the Decker's will take a group to Utah for the final stateside tour. From there it's on to Iceland or Finland, depending on the vacation you choose.
International Snowmobile Tours is operated by the Squires, who have been arranging snowmobile vacations since 1980. They have added Alaska to their list of new getaway spots in 1989.
Another new tour should be an absolute delight for any dedicated snowmobilers! The Squires have arranged a tour across northern Minnesota, taking in the manufacturing facilities of both Arctic Cat and Polaris. There will be lots to see and do, plus you'll get a firsthand look at how Polaris and Cat sleds are made.
The Squiers originated the "Snow Train" adventure to Canada. This year there will be three packages - one each in January, February and March.
Scenic specialty tours include the Soo Tour along lower Ontario and the Superior Tour across Michigan's Upper Peninsula from Paradise to Copper Harbor and back. There is even a special weekender tour at Houghton Lake, Michigan, this season.
Through many years of experience, the Squiers know that providing the best motels available, top quality meals, and the finest scenic riding is what the snowmobile vacationer wants.
Sno-World Tours' Rog Matthews announces an expanded tour scheduled for the coming season. Matthews includes a "snow train" tour to northern Ontario, too. He has also added extra tours to the Jackson Hole area, more specifically Togwotee Mountain Lodge.
"We're now offering five day Togwotee tours. Many people found it difficult to get away for eight days so the five day tour will be popular. And the price is less," adds Matthews.
Matthews also offers a February Quebec Snow Cruise which covers 600 miles in five days. More than 50 people enjoyed last season's Snow Cruise.
Sno-World Tours starts its schedule with a five day Togwotee tour January 15, 1989 and ends in Togwotee with a late season five day tour in April.
Dave Helgeson of Togwotee also offers stand alone tours for the adventurous snowmobiler who would just as soon fly in to Jackson and enjoy a combination of guided and unguided riding in the Tetons. Dave has 40 Arctic Cat rental sleds available this season.
Dave's Togwotee Tours takes snowmobilers into West Yellowstone on special guided trips. If you have a group that would like a unique tour, call Dave who will be only too happy to arrange a special getaway for you.
Togwotee Mountain Lodge has been enlarged for the 1989 season to include brand new bedroom suites on the building's third floor. Trails around Togwotee are groomed with the lodge's own Sno-Cat. These trails take you into vast wide open snowy play areas.
Says Dave, "We've installed a couple of loops including a groomed loop to the continental divide. We groomed the areas to make it easier for husbands to convince their wives to come along, too. The grooming makes the trips more comfortable."
There will be two trail cook-outs a week at Togwotee this season. The weekend cook-out will remain a chili and hot dog feed. The midweek cook-out will be a gourmet experience including red table cloths, wine and special menu. It was a big hit last year.
Over in West Yellowstone, the folks at Westgate Station are ready and able to make your visit to the sport's snowmobile capital a relaxed and unique experience. If you want to travel light, let Westgate Station supply you with all the gear. Or, bring your own and rent a sled and get back into places that you could only dream about.
For more information about prices, schedules and specific tours, call the advertisers listed in this issue. They'll be only too happy to help. Let'em know that TRACKS sent you!