Don't really want to be done riding for the year thinking possibly heading out to one of the above locations looking for some feedback, mainly ride trails but do like exploring off trail maybe to see some sort of view or rock formation or maybe a meadow to play in anything cool, I have been to bighorn and liked it trails were limited but enough for a couple of days never went south though stayed in northern area did a little backcountry riding enjoyed that would like to get a guide for a day wherever we end up, West yellowstone was in 04 so it's been awhile did the park and trails right around west yellowstone rode to two top and lions head I'm sure there is a ton to see there, never have been to togwotee have heard mixed reviews on trail riding there if there is enough trails for few days and few areas to explore with out having big mTN sleds our group mainly runs Polaris switchbacks, like the idea of the bighorn only bwing 13 hrs away compared to 17 any info on the areas would be great thanks
Togwotee, West yellowstone, big horns
- Thread starter snowchief
- Start date
We went to the snowies,togwotee and the big horns 1st week of feb. The snowies and togwotee had more base. The trails were very good at the snowies and big horns. Togwotee was very busy and the trails were wooped out by noon and some the worst i had ridden on in along time. We are going back to the big horns to pick up our trailer and ride a few days next week. They are supposed to get some fresh this week.
Grant Hoar
New member
Check conditions in Black Hills before driving right past them, looks like they are getting cooler and some snow coming several times. Found some beautiful trails there just two weeks ago, and good offtrail.
SLED_DOCTOR
Member
We rode trails in Island Park, ID and West Yellowstone last week. They had plenty of snow on the ground and did a fantastic job with grooming each night. They had not received any fresh while we were out there and it was very warm/rain when we left on Friday. I do think they received some fresh snow this week, however. Very nice trail system and it would not disappoint.
600_RMK_144
Active member
Can't speak to current conditions in IP, however when we were there in Jan, I was NOT impressed with the trail marking system. The trails themselves they do a wonderful job of grooming. The maps do not match what you find on the trail, they use numbers in some spots, trail names in others, they don't seem consistent at all and it was tuff to be certain you were riding the same trail you were looking at on the map. Lots of areas they use intersection numbers rather than trail numbers which did nothing but confuse us. Not down on the groomers or area, but I think they need to take a hard look at the trail marking system for the Island Park / West Yellowstone area IMO.
wrestleruiu
New member
Togowotee snow is awesome. Trails suck. Always excuses about groomers and workers. Bar tenders suck always on. Play **** music and will skip any music you play and then give you attitude about it.
Been to Tog a couple of times. Busy. Trails beat up. Go just south of there to Crooked Creek at Dubois. Great trails, Food/bar at the ranch, never have seen any traffic. Also trail to the Elk refuge where you can ride very close to the herds...impressive. Trails connect directly to Tog, if you want to ride there also.
x2 on Crooked Creek. I stayed there a few tears ago and had a great time and will be going back there next season. Great people, great rental sleds and a great rental program.
I've been to Tog 7 times with this past March being the last time I'll be spending my money there. Very rude workers at the rental shop (my first time renting there), they treat you like second-class citizens (I suppose because you're renting and you're not worthy). When you return to "the zoo" to fuel up at the end of the day they act like they're doing you a favor by putting fuel in your sled...and on your sled. I rented for 4 days and each time they filled my sled up they over-filled the tank and ran fuel all over and never said a word, then when I politely asked for a paper towel (which they didn't have available) I got attitude. I'm sorry but I don't like gas all over my gear. Mechanics were also rude and totally clueless when I asked to have the belt adjusted on my sled. The belt was sitting down 3/8" in the secondary and he looked at it and said, "We don't have problems with the Ski-Doo's." There was no spare belt and no tools in the sled to adjust the belt myself...which I ended up doing after convincing the mechanic that it needed adjustment...he had no idea how to even adjust the belt tension. The adjuster on the secondary required an allen wrench (which he couldn't) find so he brought a star wrench (which we made work). Then, one of the rental sleds in our group was only running on one cylinder when we got it so we had to return to the rental shop and get a different sled. By the time we got that ordeal over with, we lost 1/2 day of riding (which they charged us accordingly). We had to have the rental sleds (which were total JUNK) back by 4:00 and lost a lot of riding (didn't know this before we made reservations) as we went in March and it didn't get dark until 6:00...and they charge you $20 for every MINUTE you're late. At Crooked Creek there's no return time and the sleds were great as well as all of the workers there. Also, the trails at Tog are horrible if you plan on doing any trail riding.
If you're planning on renting or trail riding I'd recommend staying away from Togwotee. Just my $.02
I've been to Tog 7 times with this past March being the last time I'll be spending my money there. Very rude workers at the rental shop (my first time renting there), they treat you like second-class citizens (I suppose because you're renting and you're not worthy). When you return to "the zoo" to fuel up at the end of the day they act like they're doing you a favor by putting fuel in your sled...and on your sled. I rented for 4 days and each time they filled my sled up they over-filled the tank and ran fuel all over and never said a word, then when I politely asked for a paper towel (which they didn't have available) I got attitude. I'm sorry but I don't like gas all over my gear. Mechanics were also rude and totally clueless when I asked to have the belt adjusted on my sled. The belt was sitting down 3/8" in the secondary and he looked at it and said, "We don't have problems with the Ski-Doo's." There was no spare belt and no tools in the sled to adjust the belt myself...which I ended up doing after convincing the mechanic that it needed adjustment...he had no idea how to even adjust the belt tension. The adjuster on the secondary required an allen wrench (which he couldn't) find so he brought a star wrench (which we made work). Then, one of the rental sleds in our group was only running on one cylinder when we got it so we had to return to the rental shop and get a different sled. By the time we got that ordeal over with, we lost 1/2 day of riding (which they charged us accordingly). We had to have the rental sleds (which were total JUNK) back by 4:00 and lost a lot of riding (didn't know this before we made reservations) as we went in March and it didn't get dark until 6:00...and they charge you $20 for every MINUTE you're late. At Crooked Creek there's no return time and the sleds were great as well as all of the workers there. Also, the trails at Tog are horrible if you plan on doing any trail riding.
If you're planning on renting or trail riding I'd recommend staying away from Togwotee. Just my $.02
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Been out to Tog area a couple times and had a great time - rented once from there and rode with a guide. We had no issues with trail conditions when we weren't off trail. Guides were great. People at lodge and rental shop were great too. It's been a few years now so I hope it hasn't gone downhill. I think it did change hands at some point.
One of the guides mentioned the rental sleds were junk by the end of the season because they do no maintenance to them but we had no issues.
Good to know though about Crooked Creek as a better option.
One of the guides mentioned the rental sleds were junk by the end of the season because they do no maintenance to them but we had no issues.
Good to know though about Crooked Creek as a better option.
indy_500
Well-known member
I think you took them the wrong way... Between the head mechanic Stan, and all of the guides - mostly lefty, that entire crew has bent over backwards multiple times for me and my riding crew. 2nd day out there with my axys it died every time you touched the throttle. Stan dropped what he was doing to scan my sled and figure out what was going on. After riding it all day i bent both lower a arms, and lefty and stan let me use the shop after hours late at night to wrench on my own sled in their heated shop. 3rd day I cut into a blood vein with my handsaw and blood was gushing out everywhere, if it wasn't for lefty finding me I would've been standing there awhile holding my finger until it stopped bleeding. Also had multiple problems over the years with buddy's sleds and they were always helpful to point us in the right direction to get us what we needed. Do they all seem happy and upbeat all the time? No but they are always willing to help... My 2 cents