Hey MN Mike

[alumacraft3]

I was looking at some past snowmobile pictures on this form and saw a picture you posted of sleds sitting in front of soda butte lodge. I've heard the riding out there is awesome and would love to go. My question is did you guys drive in through yellowstone or did you park outside of billings and sled into Cooke city?

[MN Mike]

For us, we drive to Billings, actually Laurel, turn off, head towards Red Lodge, turn off and head towards Cody, Wy.

About 12 - 15 miles before Cody, we take the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway all the way to the parking lot ( about 10 miles short of Cooke City, they stop plowing the road at that point ) There we trailer off and ride sleds that last 10 miles to Cooke. That's the only way I've ever done it. I believe it's another 2 - 3 hour drive if you drive thru the park, speed limit in the park is 45 mph or so.

Here's a map:

If you do it that way, you actually park in Wyoming and ride into Montana, so you should have trail permits for both states, you can buy your MT trail permit in Cooke for sure, most of the time you can buy Wy trail permits in Cooke, or you can order them online too.

If you do drive to the parking lot, you can ride to Top of the World too, that's WY, fun place to ride, especially if there's new snow.

What weekend are you thinking of? President's weekend is VERY busy, so just a heads up that if you are thinking of that weekend, make reservations early.

You'll have a blast!

Mike

[MN Mike]

OR, maybe your going sooner.......

GOT MY FIRST AVALANCHE / SNOW Report today...... AHHH Life is good!

SNOWPACK AND AVALANCHE:

Yesterday, we received our first ski observation from Cooke City. Aside from finding a grizzly bear in the trees, a group of skiers found a settled base of 16-18 inches near Daisy Pass with wind loaded areas holding snow two to three feet deep. Currently, the mountains around Cooke City have received the most snow; the remainder of our advisory area has about 4-6 inches on the ground.

Mike

[alumacraft3]

I'm not sure when I'm going. I'd love to go early like late November if there's enough now. I'm a rookie to mountain riding. I've never snowmobiled out west. when would you suggest to go for a new guy? I went to Cooke city in August when we were out at Yellowstone so I know where it is but thats about it.

[MN Mike]

I would say mid January to late March is a good window to deal with. Lots of obstacles out there in the early part of the season to do damage to your sled, they need a good 50" of snow just to start getting things covered up decently.

There are snow reporting sites you can monitor on the internet, google ' fisher creek snotel ' and if you want sign up for free avalanche reports at mtavalanche all of this can be helpful.

If you can wait, early / mid February is a safe bet but you can run into bitter cold weather...... sometimes. I myself prefer March and April, less people, great snow and moderating temps.

Some people will tell you Cooke is crazy and your NUTS for going, don't believe it, there is terrain for everyone out there, nothing says you have to go play on the big stuff, there's lots of meadows to ride and smaller hills and humps to play on. Top of the World ( Wyoming ) is fun too, Bob from Bearclaw Sales often talks to lots of people, he can tell you some recent reports from there, I recommend doing that one day if you trailer off at the parking lot.

Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Mike