More Than a Ride: Growing Up on Snowmobiles

As a Midwesterner, it’s almost a requirement to snowmobile.

I was introduced to the sport as a very young girl by my grandparents, and from the beginning, snowmobiles were simply part of my life. I was always surrounded by the snowmobile industry, especially with my grandpa Wayne being a photographer. Snowmobiles, riders, and stories from the trail were woven into many of my childhood memories.

While snowmobiling was always around me, it was riding with my grandpa Mitch that made me fall in love with the sport.

In fact, I got my snowmobile license long before I ever got my driver's license. Some of my favorite childhood memories were made riding through the countryside with Grandpa Mitch. We spent countless weekends exploring, jumping ditches, and occasionally getting ourselves stuck in the woods somewhere. Looking back, those rides weren't really about where we were going—they were about the adventure we found along the way.

One of my favorite memories from one of our rides, believe it or not, was when the belt on my sled suddenly broke. Grandpa Mitch had no idea and just kept right on going down the trail while I sat stranded in the middle of nowhere.

For nearly twenty minutes, he rode along completely unaware that I wasn't behind him anymore. Eventually, he looked back and realized the sled following him wasn't me at all! When he finally did come back to find me, we had to tow my sled out.

It's one of those stories that seemed frustrating at the time but has become one of our favorite memories. Because it was a new adventure! We still laugh about it to this day.

The reason I love snowmobiling so much is because anyone can do it.

And it’s such an exhilarating, freeing experience that you can’t get from much else. Whether you're carving through fresh snow, cruising down a trail, or exploring somewhere you've never been before, snowmobiling gives you a feeling that is difficult to describe until you've experienced it yourself.

What makes it even more special is the opportunity to share those experiences with the people you love. Some of my best memories have been made riding with family and friends, spending time outdoors, and creating stories that we continue to talk about years later.

Snowmobiling can take you places that cars and many other vehicles simply can't. It allows you to experience winter in a completely different way and see parts of the world that few people ever get to see. And because I can ride well, I’ve even gotten to be part of some industry photoshoots, which was a blast!

For me, snowmobiling has never been just about the ride. It's about family, adventure, laughter, and the memories created along the way.

And sometimes, those memories start with being stranded in the middle of nowhere while your grandpa unknowingly rides off into the distance for a few minutes.

—Taylor, a midwestern girl, living in the mountains