Snowmobiling in the Central Cascades
Hitch up your sled and head up I-90 to discover the beauty of winter in the Cascades. The groomed snowmobile trails from Crystal Springs Sno-Park in Kittitas County to Pyramid Peak in the Greenwater area of Yakima County offers spectacular views of Lake Kachess, Mount Rainier, and the Cascade Mountains. This is the longest groomed trail system in Washington State, with over 370 miles of trails.
If you want to be part of a community of snowmobilers, consider joining a club. Clubs help share knowledge, with experienced riders helping newer ones; adventure, with club rides and events; and a spirit of community. In addition, clubs help advocate for maintaining and improving access and work on projects to improve the experience, such as the Greenwater Cabin that is maintained and stocked with wood by the Sno-Jammers Snowmobile Club. Two clubs in the Crystal Springs to Greenwater area that support Snow NW are the Sno-Jammers and the Cascade Drift Skippers in the Crystal Springs/Snoqualmie Pass area. Find more about supporting snowmobiling in Washington at the Washington State Snowmobile Association page.
You can explore this area on the groomed trails that go from Crystal Springs to Easton to the Taneum and Manastash Creek area and then across the LT Murray Wildlife Area through Barbar springs on FS Rds 1701 and 1720 to Yakima County, where they head up to Pyramid Peak. Another popular option is to ride off trail through the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest: you can explore the area around Lost Lake, or even cut across from Kittitas to Yakima.
If you want a bite to eat, fuel, supplies, or even a place to stay, check out Gold Creek Station on Highway 410 or the Hitching Post in Easton. The plow 1703 road starts right at Gold Creek Station, and, when there is enough snow, snowmobiles are allowed on the Easton Road to the hitching post.
Make sure to register your snowmobile and get a Sno-Park pass before heading out (you get one snow park pass with each registration). This is important not only because you get fined for parking in a Sno-Park without a permit or riding an unregistered sled, but also because the money from the passes and a share of the cost of registration supports the winter recreation program, including the cost to groom trails and maintain the sno-parks.
Maps
Bring a map when you hit the trails. Northwest Portal gives you four ways navigate. You can track your location on all of them, except the printed maps.
The Snow NW mobile app for Apple and Android allows you to download regions for offline navigation
A web map can be accessed through a browser
GeoPDFs that you can use with the Avenza app to plot your location. We offer two sizes: an 18”x24” map that can be downloaded from our site or purchased from Avenza for $2.99 that can also be printed out as a poster; and the 36”x36” map that was designed specifically for use on Avenza, with text sizes and line width designed to give you the details needed when you zoom in while covering larger areas.
Laminated print maps that can be purchased from Gold Creek Station or the Hitching Post, or you can download the maps and print them at home.