Tips on snowmobiling (without killing yourself)

Dress well. I did it one time with just a good coat and jeans. 60 miles an hour later and I got wicked frostbite on my legs.

When you are driving through unknown areas,don’t speed like a freak.It is easy to lose control after hitting something buried beneath the snow.There can also be fence wires that you will not see until it is too late.They will slice one’s head off.
Also,travelling across frozen water can be interesting too.I was launched into the air like Superman after hitting a slab of ice that was sticking up out of the ice.
As Adirondack said,you also need to dress for it too.If you have engine failure far away from help,you can get into alot of trouble.
They can be a blast,but one needs to use caution.Having said all that,check out Tip Up Town in Houghton Lake.It is alot of fun :)

You should always have two sleds if you are going any distance. If one breaks down you can both ride the other one out. There are outfitters in the Black Hills that cater to people that have never snowmobiled.

Follow the trail rules.

Always wear a helmet and listen to L’s advice. Think of them as a motorcycle on skis. You don’t have a lot of protection if something goes wrong. But it’s a lot of fun too.

Don’t snowmobile over private property without permission. And if you don’t know the owners well, you may want to have written permission (and carry it with you). Sometimes property “managers” are not aware of what “owners” have done, and this will save time and grief, and maybe even an arrest.

Limit travel on public roadways, even where that is allowed. You’re harder for automobile drivers to see and hear (sometimes), and can be unexpected to see in the road at all. You will not likely survive a crash with an automobile at any kind of speed.

The frozen lakes thing is nice, but know that body of water. Any water with a current in it is likely to have thin ice on top. This can be caused by underwater springs, entry and exit points for rivers and streams, and “narrows” areas between adjacent ponds. There may even be property owners with “bubbler” systems along the lake, which retard or eliminate heavy ice formation around permanent structures such as piers and breakwaters.

Be extra careful while traveling at night.

They are a little funny to steer, sort of like a quad bike but not quite. I love them, course I like anything that goes without me having to peddle or row! I wish they were not quite so noisy, but nothing’s perfect. Just practice a bit before you take off and you’ll be right. Get yourself a hand held gps so you don’t get lost, stay on the trails and let someone know when you expect to be back so they can send out the search party if you don’t return on schedule!