Maiden Voyage

What the Snowmobile Capital of Colorado Has to Offer

By Jackie Williams, 11-09-10

	Plows are rare in Grand Lake, which prides itself on snowmobile-friendliness. Photo by Flickr user Sroot2006.

So my husband and I recently bought a pair of snowmobiles and we’re praying for snow. After reading all the websites and looking up as much information about snowmobiling our minds could hold, we decided a great destination for one of our maiden voyages would be Grand Lake, Colorado.

Grand Lake beckons snowmobilers to ride over 300 miles of trails with its title of “Snowmobile Capital of Colorado.” Consistently rated in the Top 10 for snowmobile destinations in the U.S., this is where all of those pictures come from in snowmobiling magazines. The Gateway to the Western Rockies, in fact, is so snowmobile-friendly that you can access trails from many of the local hotels, some of which have onsite rentals.

I made a call to Tom Mason of the Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club of Grand County to pick his brain on what Grand Lake has to offer us. After talking with him, we’ve decided to take the “newbie” route, which takes about four hours riding the main loop around North Supply to Kawuneeche trails, ending up being about 30 miles from trail head to complete circle. Our other option is to head over to the Idleglen Parking Area, central on the trail system. We can ride directly there from Grand Lake, which is a big plus. Tom told me that just off the trail, it’s often that you’ll see moose, elk and other wildlife this time of year, as well as beautiful mountain vistas. You can come around the corner and see all the way down to Buena Park Ski Area.

So now, with our appetites whet for adventure, we’re just counting the days when we can start riding! I’ll let you know how it turns out!

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