Discover Your Next Winter Adventure with Snow NW
Explore more than 10,800 miles of groomed trails in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.
Washington Hometown has just released Snow NW with all groomed snowmobile trails in Washington, Oregon, and western/panhandle Idaho as well as all Nordic trail systems and selected marked snowshoe routes in Washington. Snow NW is available as a free app for Apple and Android that allows users to download regions for offline navigation and is also available as a web map you can access through your browser or embed on your site. Explore new places to ride, get all of the information you need, and use your phone GPS to plot your location on the maps. Find the maps and apps here.
Here is some information to help you better understand all of the great places to Snowmobile in this region.
Some of the trail systems are quite low, with trails starting under 500 feet, while the highest trails, in south west Idaho, top out above 8,000 feet.
Most of the snowmobile trails are on National Forest Land, with trails in this region crossing 21 separate national forests. Trails also cross one national park (Crater Lakes), a national monument, 6 state forests, 9 designated wildlife/habitat areas, 5 state parks, 3 non-profit or city-owned recreation lands, Bureau of Land Management land, and other state lands.
Trails and trail access are spread across the region, with some trails close to major urban areas, while others are more distant (and less crowded).
Five things to know about Snowmobiling in the Northwest:
Grooming program management: The grooming programs are overseen by the state park organizations of the three states, but the actual authority for the grooming programs is handled differently in each state. The Washington State Department of Parks and Recreation directly contracts and oversees the grooming programs. In Oregon, grooming is handled by 27 individual Snowmobile Grooming clubs. In Idaho, each individual county manages its own grooming program, although funds are provided from snowmobile registration fees.
Registration: All three states require snowmobiles to be registered. Washington accepts Oregon registration, but snowmobiles registered in Idaho must also have a Washington State registration sticker. Oregon accepts out of state snowmobile registration, so sleds registered in Washington and Idaho do not need a separate Oregon sticker. Idaho does not accept out-of-state registration, so any snowmobile used in Idaho must be registered in the state. Idaho offers a non-registered snowmobile certificate for sleds registered in other states that costs $32.50, the same as the cost for Idaho residents to register their sleds.
Tracked ATVs: In Oregon, tracked ATVs are technically allowed on snowmobile trails but only if they are no more than 50”, a requirement that is difficult if not impossible to meet when adding tracks to an ATV. Clubs in several areas have indicated that tracked ATV use is common and widely accepted in their counties, even though the tracked ATVs are wider than 50”, but this technically legal. In Idaho the rules are set county-by-county with some counties allowing them on the groomed trails while others restrict their use. Washington State passed a law in 2021 making it possible for recreation managers to permit tracked ATVs that weigh less than 2,000 on their trails but not requiring that they do so. Colville National Forest has said that they will not be allowing tracked ATVs on their trails at this time. Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest and WA State Parks have affirmed that they are allowing tracked ATVs that meet the state requirements; rangers from Umatilla National Forest and Idaho Panhandle National forest indicated that tracked ATVs are allowed in those forests. WDFW, WDNR, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and Gifford Pinchot National Forest all participated in the discussion regarding tracked ATVs and have not objected to their use on those lands.
Non-motorized use: In Washington, non-motorized uses including Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, and even dog sledding are allowed on groomed snowmobile trails, however some forests restrict the use of fat tire snow bikes (as they are wheeled). Oregon has no rules restricting non-motorized use of snowmobile trails. In Idaho, rules for who can use the snowmobile trails are set county-by-county; some counties allow non-motorized users on the snowmobile trails, while others restrict them to tracked vehicles or to steered/motorized vehicles (in some cases even including wheeled vehicles).
Avalanche forecasts: It is extremely important to check the avalanche forecast before heading out. The region is covered by six separate avalanche centers, each with more than one forecast zone. Click on any recreation point in Snow NW to get a link to the nearest avalanche forecast for that location. If you are going to be going out regularly, you may want to take an avalanche preparedness course. Each of the centers offers training to help better prepare people to stay safe in the back country.
Washington: The Northwest Avalanche Center, Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, and Wallowa Avalanche Center.
Oregon: The Northwest Avalanche Center, Central Oregon Avalanche Center, and Wallowa Avalanche Center.
Idaho: Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center, Sawtooh Avalanch Center, and Payette Avalanche Center.