Snowmobiling

The valley and mountains around Montrose offer hundreds of miles of excellent snowmobile trails. The accessibility of steep and deep routes within a one-hour drive of town, beautiful scenery, and the undiscovered nature of this snow machine scene combine to create the perfect conditions for sled heads. 

The snowmobiling season often starts as early as the first week of December in Montrose, and lasts through the first half of April - sometimes longer. But the most dependable conditions can be found right after Christmas, until just about the middle of March. There are some groomed trails in the area; however, the majority of the rides around Montrose are done off-trail among the area’s vast public lands. 
 

Black Mesa

Located about an hour's drive from Montrose, Black Mesa offers some of the most spectacular powder riding in the region. Sitting at an elevation of 10,500 feet, the Black Mesa offers groomed trails and thousands of acres of meadows, pine and spruce forests. The wide open parks serve as race tracks for speed demon snowmobilers, and adrenaline junkies love to climb to the top of Baldy Mountain.

It’s a 62-mile round trip ride from Black Mesa Lodge (970-596-0390/970-270-3511) to the summit of Baldy Mountain. The full-service lodge is open year round and offers an opportunity to stay and play on Black Mesa with rooms, meals and a bar all onsite. 
 

Grand Mesa

The Grand Mesa, one of the world’s largest flat-topped mountains, provides ideal snowmobiling terrain. Stretching an impressive 123 miles, Sunlight to Powderhorn Trail (“The SP” for short) is one of the longest snowmobile trails in the lower 48. Other Grand Mesa trails range from the calm Land’s End Loop to more experienced climbs. A few words of caution: Don’t skimp on supplies for a long ride like this one, and stay off of the blue paths marked for cross-country skiers only. 
 

Uncompahgre Plateau

The 1.5 million acre Uncompahgre Plateau is just a 30 minute drive from Montrose and is perfect for a day trip. Wide-open spaces characterize the Uncompahgre Plateau, which offers tons of great intermediate riding on groomed and un-groomed trails and climbs that are not too steep. 

Fortunately, most of the major snowmobile manufacturers are represented in Montrose – important for the rough-and-tumble sport of snowmobiling where machines often take a beating. 
 

Parts & Supplies
 

• Colorado Snowmobile Association Trail Maps
• National Forest Snowmobiling Trail Info