Each of the western states has some sort of bragging rights when it comes to snowmobiling. Utah’s claim of the “Greatest Snow on Earth” is well-known, but another bragging right that we like to tout is that the state’s largest cities are just minutes from snowmobiling in some of the best terrain and deepest snow available in the West. The majority of Utah’s snowmobilers are just minutes from riding. Utah’s snowbelt stretches from the Utah/Idaho border in the north nearly all the way (within 40 miles) to the Arizona/Utah border in the south. Most mountain ranges run north and south through Utah and can be accessed by nearly 1,200 miles of state-groomed trails. Riding starts out at about 6,000 feet and tops out between 12,000-13,000 feet. Utah calls its riding areas complexes and there are nine separate systems to explore in the state, including (starting in the north): Hardware Ranch/Monte Cristo/Logan Canyon or Cache Valley; Mirror Lake/Currant Creek; Uinta Basin; Wasatch Mountain State Park; Strawberry; Skyline Drive; Ephraim/Manti/Joe’s Valley/Ferron; Fishlake; and Cedar Mountain/East Fork (also known as Duck Creek). The Utah Snowmobile Association has a lot of information on the state’s trail complexes on its website (www.snowut.com), along with grooming information that is updated regularly. In addition to those nine riding complexes, there are a handful of other riding areas that are a bit off the beaten path and offer excellent riding opportunities. One of those areas is the Stansbury Mountain Range, west of Salt Lake City, near the town of Tooele. There are about a half-dozen trails/roads to ride as well as some backcountry roads and areas that are open to sledding. These areas are near the Deseret Peak Wilderness so sledders need to be aware of the Wilderness boundaries and stay on the legal side. Then, in Davis County north of Salt Lake City, there are a couple of non-groomed trails sledders can use to access the backcountry and Wasatch mountains above Bountiful and Farmingon. The road above Farmington goes through Farmington Canyon while above Bountiful it’s Skyline Drive that sledders can follow. Head to southeastern Utah to the La Sal Mountains for another pocket of riding. The La Sals are on the Utah/Colorado border east of Moab with the main access to the mountains via the La Sal Mountain Loop Road. There are some areas closed to sledding in this area so check the Manti-La Sal National Forest website for up-to-date information on what is closed. For example, sledders are asked to not leave the road in Gold Basin. Farther south from the La Sals, east of Monticello are the Abajo Mountains. This isn’t a huge area but you can snowmobile in the Abajos.